Philip Morris International

Early years

The company history began in 1847 with the opening of a single shop on London's Bond Street by a local tobacconist, Philip Morris. The shop gained popularity after the Crimean War, where Turkish tobacco became popular among returning soldiers who started preferring cigarettes over pipe tobacco and cigars. Morris hired more employees to hand-roll them. After Morris died in 1873, his widow Margaret and brother Leopold ran the business. Leopold became the sole owner in 1880 and formed a partnership with Joseph Grunebaum, leading to the incorporation of Philip Morris & Company and Grunebaum, Ltd. in 1881. The company became Philip Morris & Co., Ltd. in 1885 when the partnership dissolved. Highly indebted, it was bought by one of its creditors, William Curtis Thomson, in 1894.

In 1902, King Edward VII, a long-time customer of the shop, appointed Philip Morris as royal tobacconist, boosting business. That same year, the company was incorporated in the United States by Gustav Eckmeyer, who had been its sole importer and distributor in the New World since 1872. Ownership was shared between Eckmeyer and the parent company, and the venture began selling its first domestic brands along with its traditional luxury imports, including Marlborough, named after one of the London manufactories located on Marlborough street.

In 1919, the American subsidiary was bought by investor Georges Whelan and incorporated in Virginia under the name of Philip Morris & Co., Ltd. Inc. Marlborough dropped the letters u g h in 1924 and was relaunched as a premium cigarette for the growing US female market. With Turkish tobacco falling out of fashion and its brands sitting firmly in the luxury and premium segments, total sales account for as little as 0.5% of the total cigarette market in 1925.

In the early 1950s, growing concerns about the health effects of cigarettes led most manufacturers to add filters: by the end of 1954, filtered brands accounted for more than 10 percent of sales volumes. To enter this market, Philip Morris' executives first decided to purchase Benson & Hedges in 1954, which had pioneered the market with its Parliament brand. However, the brand lost nearly 10% of its market share under the new management. The company then decided a brand repositioning for Marlboro, a premium yet stagnant brand from its portfolio. George Weissman, the new vice-president for marketing and new products, signed up Leo Burnett to the task. The agency's challenge was to appeal to male smokers concerned enough about their health to consider switching to filter cigarettes. The logo and packaging were redesigned and the marketing was supported by a series of Marlboro Men. The campaign was a success: within a year of its national roll-out, volumes increased 3,000%, swiftly becoming the fourth best-selling cigarette brand.

Becoming an international giant

Increasing sales fueled the company's expansion: in 1954, Philip Morris Australia became the first international affiliate of the company. Then, in 1957, the Swiss Fabriques de Tabac Réunies in Neuchatel became the first to acquire foreign licensing rights to produce the booming Marlboro, marking the company's first move into Europe since leaving Britain. Philip Morris Inc. purchased the Swiss company in 1963. The overseas division was renamed Philip Morris International in 1961, alongside Philip Morris Domestic and Philip Morris Industrial.

The company underwent rapid expansion abroad in the 1960s. By 1965, Philip Morris products were available in 140 countries and territories. Domestically, Marlboro became the leading brand in the United States by 1972. During the mid-60s the company began to form a horizontal conglomerate, gradually purchasing various entities such as Miller brewing (1968), Seven-Up (1978), Kraft Foods (1988) and many others. The company also pursued a series of international partnerships with local monopolies, allowing its products to reach consumers in more than 170 countries and territories by 1980.

In 1987, Philip Morris International (PMI) was incorporated in Virginia as an operating company of Philip Morris, Inc. The fall of the USSR in the early 1990s provided another expansion opportunity, and Philip Morris International was among the first US companies to operate in the former Communist bloc. In 1990, two years before actually opening an office in the country, PMI accepted an oil-for-cigarettes deal with the failing Soviet state to help deal with cigarette shortages. In 1994, Philip Morris International established the Philip Morris Ukraine subsidiary and acquired a 51% stake in a tobacco manufacturing facility in Kharkiv which was soon upgraded. PMI was also one of the first US entrants in the Vietnamese market, opening a manufacturing plant a few months before the two countries normalized their relations. Later, in 2005, PMI also acquired Coltabaco in Colombia and Sampoerna in Indonesia.

PMI as an independent entity

On January 27, 2003, Philip Morris Companies Inc. changed its name to Altria. The conglomerate then gradually changed its strategy, selling off large portions of its non-tobacco consumer products holdings. Kraft Foods Inc. was spun off in March 2007, with the company's 88.1% stake being distributed to Altria shareholders. That same year, Altria began the process of spinning off Philip Morris International to allow it to pursue growth opportunities abroad without the legal uncertainties stemming from its US arm. PMI's spinoff from Altria took effect in March 2008. Altria shareholders were given shares in PMI, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and other stock exchanges. Louis Camilleri, who had been Altria's CEO, became PMI's new Chief Executive.

Brands

Philip Morris International has several multibillion-dollar brands. The top five brands of combustible products accounted for 80% of the total cigarette shipments volume in 2025. According to its 2025 annual report, the company had sold more than 600 Billion cigarettes, along with 155 Billion heated tobacco units and 1.2 billion cans of oral tobacco (nicotine pouches, snus, moist snuff):

Marlboro was launched in 1924 and is the world’s best-selling cigarette brand, ranking first among the most valuable tobacco brands.

Iqos heated tobacco products were launched in 2014. It is PMI’s flagship smoke-free product and surpassed Marlboro net revenue at the end of 2023.

L&M was launched by Liggett & Myers in 1953. In 1999, the L&M trademark was acquired by Philip Morris Companies Inc, but the rights have been split per country by Philip Morris USA (Altria) and PMI since the spin-off in 2008.

Controversies

Foundation for a Smoke-free World

In September 2017, Philip Morris International announced the establishment of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, stating that it would support it with almost US$1 billion of funding over the next 12 years. The declared objective of the Foundation was to "evaluate the impact that smoke-free alternatives can have on smokers and public health, assess the effect of reduced cigarette consumption on the industry value chain, and measure overall progress towards a smoke-free world". However, the Foundation, which claimed to be independent, was surrounded with controversy since its inception. Its claims to independence have been challenged.

The World Health Organization issued a statement in which it pointed out the "conflicts of interest involved with a tobacco company funding a purported health foundation", indicating that it would not partner with the Foundation and inviting governments and the public health community to follow its lead. More than one hundred public health organizations have taken a strong stance in rejecting collaboration with the foundation. In May 2024, anti-tobacco activist Cliff Douglas was hired as CEO of the Foundation. After negotiating a final payment of $140 million, the organisation split from PMI and rebranded as Global Action to End Smoking.

Australia

The Australian Government announced it would introduce "Tobacco Plain Packaging Laws" on 29 April 2010. Philip Morris International (PMI), arranged for its wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary Philip Morris Asia (PMA) to "takeover" two Australian subsidiaries – Philip Morris Australia Limited and Philip Morris Limited on 23 February 2011. In June 2011, Philip Morris International announced that it was using ISDS provisions in the Australia-Hong Kong Bilateral Investment treaty (BIT) to demand compensation for Australia's plain cigarette packaging anti-smoking legislation. It was one of several tobacco companies to launch legal action against the Australian Government.

In response, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International took the Australian government to the High Court of Australia to try to stop the government of Australia from introducing plain packaging for tobacco products.

Two challenges to the tobacco plain packaging legislation were heard by the High Court of Australia between 17 and 19 April 2012: "British American Tobacco Australasia Limited and Ors v. Commonwealth of Australia" and "J T International SA v. Commonwealth of Australia".

On 15 August 2012, the High Court handed down orders for these matters, and found that the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 is not contrary to s 51(xxxi) of the Constitution. On 5 October 2012, the Court handed down its reasons for the decision. By a 6:1 majority (Heydon J in dissent) the Court held that there had been no acquisition of property that would have required provision of "just terms" under s51(xxxi) of the Constitution.