Philip Morris International Inc.: An Industry Goes Up in Smoke

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) shares fell off a cliff on April 19 after the company reported disappointing earnings. The fall was bigger than the disappointment, but it seemed to portend trouble for tobacco generally and took the whole consumer staples sector of the market down with it. The company ? which sells exclusively outside the U.S. and spun-out from Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) in 2008 ? had net income of $1.65 billion, $1.00 per share, on revenue of $6.9 billion.