Obermatt

Flags

Financial distress

Imperial Brands

LSE:IMB · GB0004544929
TobaccoX-Large

360

80
EV / EBIT97
Price / Owner Earnings85
Owner Earnings Yield90
Dividend Yield85
Price/Sales18
EV / Gross Profit78
Price/Book17
Return on Capital85
Cash Return on Capital80
Return on Equity92
EBIT Margin76
Gross Profitability48
Cash Conversion71
Accruals88
Owner Earnings Margin64
Sales growth33
Profit Growth98
Long-Term EPS Growth63
Owner Earnings Growth23
Reinvestment20
Price momentum52
Debt load7
Refinancing14
Debt Payback40
Liquidity61
Analyst ratings49
Opinion Changes16
Price Target Upside57
Market mood43
Value Creation12/20creating some value
  • Creates more value than its capital costs
  • Owner earnings growing
  • Owner earnings per share growing
  • Reinvests at strong returns
  • Solid earnings base

What this means

Imperial Brands clears its cost of capital, but the record is mixed across the five tests. Real value creation, just not yet consistent.

Profile

CountryUK
IndustryTobacco
SizeX-Large
TypePublic Company
ExchangeLSE
Founded1996
Employees5,577
ISINGB0004544929
Last UpdateApr 2, 2026
Themes
Fast-Moving Consumer GoodsPackaging ServicesConsumer GoodsFood and BeverageOtherReal Estate

Description

Imperial Brands PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, imports, markets, and sells tobacco and tobacco-related products. Segments The company operates through Tobacco & NGP, and Distribution segments. The Tobacco & NGP segment includes…

Analysis

Hidden champion

Imperial Brands PLC fits the profile of a hidden champion, yet the market has not awarded it the premium its quality earns.

On valuation, the picture is attractive. The owner-earnings multiple stands at 10.3×; owner earnings: the cash an owner could take out each year. The implied growth embedded in that price is around -3% a year, against analyst forecasts of 9%. The price, in other words, assumes less than the experts do.

Growth is moderate; the safety picture is stretched. The company scores 12/20 on our value-creation score: creating some value.

No flags apply to this company at this time: accounts, balance sheet, and cash quality all pass. A clean bill of health is meaningful, not just the absence of a warning. This analysis describes numbers; it is not investment advice.

360° rank · history

1007550250
21
2023202420252026

All-time high

65

Mar 2026

All-time low

3

Jan 2023

Average rank

38

across all years

Detailed & Historical Ranks

Deep dive into 15 detailed ranks and 3 years of history.

Current202520242023
Price/Sales
18
60
18
26
Price/Earnings
88
79
97
93
Price/Book
17
12
21
45
Dividend Yield
85
81
94
96
Value (overall)
52
39
55
60

Cells are coloured by rank band (red weak → green strong). Sentiment & 360° history begins 2023.

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Make Sense of the Ranks

Every rank runs 1–100 against true peers. Higher is always better.

360° View
1 · Watch OutGood· 100
Value
1 · ExpensiveGood Value· 100
Quality
1 · Weak FundamentalsHigh Quality· 100
Growth
1 · Tough TimesHigh Growth· 100
Safety
1 · High LeverageWell-Financed· 100
Sentiment
1 · SkepticismPositive· 100
Learn More →