Skip to content

CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Imperial Brands share price: where next after CEO Alison Cooper set to exit

The British tobacco company halved its growth forecasts last week after warning that backlash from US regulators against vaping could dent revenues, prompting a hunt for a new CEO by disgruntled shareholders.

Imperial Brands Source: Bloomberg

Imperial Brands share price has fallen more than 23% since January, with the company struggling to deal with challenging market conditions that have forced its to downgrade its full-year guidance.

In response, shareholders eager for strategic change to rectify the situation have called for new management, with Imperial Brands’ CEO Alison Cooper set to step down once a replacement is found.

Interested in trading tobacco stocks? Open a demo or live account with IG

Challenging times ahead for Imperial Brands

Imperial Brands downgraded its full-year revenue growth from 4% to 2%, with earnings per share flat year-on-year.

The company’s decision to revise its previous guidance reflects the challenges its next generation products (NGP) are facing in the US market, as well as its weaker performance more generally in Africa, Asia and Australasia.

Over the last quarter, Imperial Brands admitted that NGP sales have ‘deteriorated’ due to increased regulation from US regulators, with Massachusetts opting to temporarily ban the sale of e-cigarettes.

To offset weaker growth, the company is prioritising cost cutting measures, with it looking to raise £2 billion from its asset divestment programme by May 2020.

‘But reducing costs can't prop up profits forever,’ Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said. ‘Scale is the key to success in the tobacco industry, and as the smallest of the big-four tobacco giants, Imperial can ill-afford to lose ground.’

US vaping backlash will hurt big tobacco

The tobacco industry has invested heavily in next generation products (NGP) like e-cigarettes as a method of offsetting declining demand for traditional tobacco products.

But with the recent consumer and regulatory backlash brought about by a series of vaping-related illnesses that have claimed the lives of 11 people in the US, the industry is expected to see sales slump.

Last month, the US Centers for Disease control and Prevention even went as far to tell the public to avoid using e-cigarettes altogether.


This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
CFDs are a leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

Act on stock opportunities today

Go long or short on thousands of international stocks with CFDs.

  • Get full exposure for a comparatively small deposit
  • Trade on spreads from just 0.1%
  • Get greater order book visibility with direct market access

See opportunity on a stock?

Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re on to something.

  • Log in to your demo
  • Try a risk-free trade
  • See whether your hunch pays off

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.

  • Trade a huge range of popular stocks
  • Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
  • See and react to breaking news in-platform

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take advantage while conditions prevail.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Forex
  • Shares
  • Indices

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.

Plan your trading week

Get the week’s market-moving news sent directly to your inbox every Friday. The Week Ahead gives you a full calendar of upcoming economic events, as well as commentary from our expert analysts on the key markets to watch.

For more info on how we might use your data, see our privacy notice and access policy and privacy webpage.

You might be interested in…

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.