The global tobacco industry is more concentrated than ever, we might see Altria and Philipp Morris International merge again, then practically all of the world'

The global tobacco industry is more concentrated than ever, we might see Altria and Philipp Morris International merge again, then practically all of the world's cigarettes will be sold by 4-5 companies. For Tobacco companies a few things are going on, the number of cigarettes sold in Western countries is declining, yet profits are up (a conundrum explained by the industry's enormous pricing power). Smoking rates are still extremely high in countries like Indonesia. The biggest brands in the various "alternative" tobacco products like e-cigarettes are already owned by the conventional incumbents. Simultaneously these stocks face a lot of ESG pressure and are being sold by many funds on principle, not valuation. Just looking and multiples on profit, it is remarkable how low the valuations of some of these firms is.