Altria's Juul Investment Devalued to Just $1.6 Billion

Altria Group (NYSE: MO) reported third-quarter earnings Friday morning that showed the pandemic hasn't materially damaged its tobacco business, but the continuing controversy surrounding Juul Labs electronic cigarettes caused Altria to take another massive writedown of its investment in the company. The original $12.8 billion investment that gave the tobacco giant a 38% ownership stake in the e-cig maker has now been reduced to just $1.6 billion, an 88% devaluation, after Altria wrote off another $2.6 billion and took $1.40 per share in charges to earnings. Altria's attempts to expand beyond the tobacco industry have not panned out as intended.