Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. BTI scored 50.3, MO scored 51.8 — MO leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. MO's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but BTI's are as of December 2025 — a 6-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
BTI
British American Tobacco p.l.c.
Tobacco · Quality-Growth
50.3
$55.50 · $119.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
1.5
MO leads
MO
Altria Group, Inc.
Tobacco · Quality-Growth
51.8
$71.68 · $119.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestBTI14.2x
Fastest growthMO-0.6%
Highest qualityMO94 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueMO-2%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
BTI
stronger →← stronger
MO
74
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
94
28
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
27
71
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
55
BTI is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
BTI
MO
$8.9bB+
FCF
$9.1bB+
-1.0%D+
Rev
-0.6%D+
0.72B
D/E
Negative equity
14.2xA-
P/E
15.0xB+
1.40B
PEG
2.74C
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
BTI
MO
1% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
2% below
~1%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~1%/yr
+6%
1-yr DCF upside
+8%
+1%
5-yr DCF upside
+2%
-6%
10-yr DCF upside
-6%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
BTI
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Foreign reporter (GBP)
MO
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
BTIBritish American Tobacco p.l.c.
Tobacco · $55.50 · beta 0.10
Why now
Tobacco · market cap $119.4b. 18% off the 52-week high of $67.30. 6 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $70.43 (implying +27% upside).
Moat
Net margin 30% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 16% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 106% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Dividend payout 84% of earnings on a 6.0% yield — distribution coverage is thin; one earnings stumble could force a dividend cut.
MOAltria Group, Inc.
Tobacco · $71.68 · beta 0.46
Why now
Tobacco · market cap $119.7b. 7% off the 52-week high of $77.06. 11 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $70.00 (implying -2% upside).
Moat
Net margin 34% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. FCF converts 114% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $119.7b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Dividend payout 89% of earnings on a 6.2% yield — distribution coverage is thin; one earnings stumble could force a dividend cut.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where BTI and MO diverge
On the headline score the gap is 1.5 points in favor of MO. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
QualityBTI 74.1 · MO 93.8MO +19.7
ValueBTI 71.0 · MO 54.7BTI +16.3
GrowthBTI 28.2 · MO 27.2level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is MO or BTI the better stock?
MO scores higher: MO 51.8, BTI 50.3 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do MO and BTI differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where MO leads by 20 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are MO and BTI scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.