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Background and Basis of Presentation | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Background and Basis of Presentation | Background and Basis of Presentation: Background At March 31, 2017, Altria Group, Inc.’s wholly-owned subsidiaries included Philip Morris USA Inc. (“PM USA”), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co. (“Middleton”), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PM USA; Sherman Group Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries (“Nat Sherman”), which are engaged in the manufacture and sale of super premium cigarettes and the sale of premium cigars; and UST LLC (“UST”), which through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (“USSTC”) and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. (“Ste. Michelle”), is engaged in the manufacture and sale of smokeless tobacco products and wine. Altria Group, Inc.’s other operating companies included Nu Mark LLC (“Nu Mark”), a wholly-owned subsidiary that is engaged in the manufacture and sale of innovative tobacco products, and Philip Morris Capital Corporation (“PMCC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary that maintains a portfolio of finance assets, substantially all of which are leveraged leases. Other Altria Group, Inc. wholly-owned subsidiaries included Altria Group Distribution Company, which provides sales, distribution and consumer engagement services to certain Altria Group, Inc. operating subsidiaries, and Altria Client Services LLC, which provides various support services in areas, such as legal, regulatory, finance, human resources and external affairs, to Altria Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Altria Group, Inc.’s access to the operating cash flows of its wholly-owned subsidiaries consists of cash received from the payment of dividends and distributions, and the payment of interest on intercompany loans by its subsidiaries. At March 31, 2017, Altria Group, Inc.’s principal wholly-owned subsidiaries were not limited by long-term debt or other agreements in their ability to pay cash dividends or make other distributions with respect to their equity interests. At September 30, 2016, Altria Group, Inc. had an approximate 27% ownership of SABMiller plc (“SABMiller”), which Altria Group, Inc. accounted for under the equity method of accounting. In October 2016, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV completed its business combination with SABMiller, and Altria Group, Inc. received cash and shares representing a 9.6% ownership in the combined company. The newly formed Belgian company, which retained the name Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (“AB InBev”), became the holding company for the combined businesses. Subsequently, Altria Group, Inc. purchased approximately 12 million ordinary shares of AB InBev, increasing Altria Group, Inc.’s ownership to approximately 10.2% at December 31, 2016. At March 31, 2017, Altria Group, Inc. had an approximate 10.2% ownership of AB InBev, which Altria Group, Inc. accounts for under the equity method of accounting using a one-quarter lag. For the three months ended March 31, 2016, Altria Group, Inc. recorded a pre-tax gain of $40 million for the change in the fair value of the derivative financial instrument that it entered into in connection with the AB InBev/SABMiller business combination. The pre-tax gain was included in gain on AB InBev/SABMiller business combination in Altria Group, Inc.’s condensed consolidated statement of earnings. Altria Group, Inc. receives cash dividends on its interest in AB InBev if and when AB InBev pays such dividends. Share Repurchases In July 2015, Altria Group, Inc.’s Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”) authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase program that it expanded to $3.0 billion in October 2016 (as expanded, the “July 2015 share repurchase program”). At March 31, 2017, Altria Group, Inc. had approximately $1,384 million remaining in the July 2015 share repurchase program. The timing of share repurchases under this program depends upon marketplace conditions and other factors, and the program remains subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors. Altria Group, Inc.’s share repurchase activity was as follows:
|  | For the Three Months Ended March 31,
|  | 2017 |  | 2016
|  | (in millions, except per share data)
Total number of shares repurchased |  | 7.7 |  |  | 2.8 |
Aggregate cost of shares repurchased |  | $ | 551 |  |  | $ | 168 |
Average price per share of shares repurchased |  | $ | 71.77 |  |  | $ | 59.81 |
Basis of Presentation The interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Altria Group, Inc. are unaudited. It is the opinion of Altria Group, Inc.’s management that all adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the interim results presented have been reflected in the interim condensed consolidated financial statements. All such adjustments were of a normal recurring nature. Net revenues and net earnings for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year. These statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes, which appear in Altria Group, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. On January 1, 2017, Altria Group, Inc. adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (“ASU No. 2016-09”) and ASU No. 2015-11, Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory (“ASU No. 2015-11”). ASU No. 2016-09 simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. The adoption of ASU No. 2016-09 did not have a material impact on Altria Group, Inc.’s condensed consolidated financial statements. The portions of the guidance that have an impact on Altria Group, Inc.’s condensed consolidated financial statements have been adopted prospectively, with the exception of the classification of employee taxes paid by Altria Group, Inc. on the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows related to shares withheld by Altria Group, Inc. for tax withholding purposes, which has been adopted retrospectively. Altria Group, Inc. has made an accounting policy election to continue to estimate the number of share-based awards that are expected to vest, which includes estimating forfeitures. Certain prior-year amounts in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows have been reclassified to conform with the current year’s presentation due to Altria Group, Inc.’s adoption of ASU No. 2016-09. ASU No. 2015-11 requires inventory that is measured using the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) or average cost methods to be measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Previous guidance required inventory that was measured using the FIFO or average cost methods to be measured at the lower of cost or market. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on Altria Group, Inc.’s condensed consolidated financial statements. For a description of recently issued accounting guidance applicable to, but not yet adopted by, Altria Group, Inc., see Note 11. Recent Accounting Guidance Not Yet Adopted.

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