British American Tobacco set for faster growth as smokeless bet pays off, says Jefferies

What Brokers Say Retail & Consumer Written by: Ian Lyall 10:29 Fri 18 Sep 2026 --> Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. British American Tobacco PLC ( LSE:BATS ) View Price & Profile British American Tobacco set for faster growth as smokeless bet pays off, says Jefferies Published: 10:29 18 Sep 2026 EDT British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) could deliver years of accelerating growth as its investment in smokeless products starts to pay off, according to Jefferies. The broker, which rates the shares "buy" with a 5,500p target, said the company is at a turning point, with next-generation products set to drive around half of group revenue growth in the medium term. BAT shares were changing hands at 4,194p on Friday, implying about 30% upside. At the heart of the case is Velo, BAT's nicotine pouch brand, a smokeless product sold as a small sachet placed under the lip. Jefferies believes Velo could lead the US pouch market on value share by 2030, more than doubling its US volumes and unlocking £1.3 billion of extra annual profit. The analysts expect US pouch users to rise to 25.2 million by 2030, from 15.8 million this year. A second tailwind should come from vaping, where BAT is rolling out flavoured products in the US ahead of most rivals. Its cigarette business, still more than half of group profit, is steadier, with US sales back to modest growth. Jefferies also pointed to a much-improved balance sheet, with debt down from more than five times earnings in 2017 to the top of its target range. That opens the door to larger buybacks, which could push earnings growth above the current 5% to 8% range. BAT holds a capital markets day on 28 and 29 September. Continue reading