Investment Rating - The industry investment rating is "Positive" [2] Core Insights - The report highlights that major overseas tobacco companies, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco, have released their annual reports, indicating a slowdown in the market share growth of PLOOM and an acceleration in the iteration of new products by British American Tobacco [2] - British American Tobacco reported a revenue of £13.54 billion for the second half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 0.1%, with new products contributing £1.97 billion, representing a 10.6% increase and accounting for 14.5% of total revenue [2] - Japan Tobacco's revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 was ¥833.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%, with new products generating ¥3.12 billion, a 34.5% increase, and accounting for 3.7% of total revenue [2] Summary by Sections British American Tobacco - The company experienced accelerated growth in new products in the second half of 2025, with revenue from vapor products decreasing by 5.5% year-on-year but increasing by 9.2% quarter-on-quarter [3] - The heat-not-burn (HNB) segment saw a revenue decline of 2.1% year-on-year, but the premium series HILO's increased market share helped maintain price levels [3] - Revenue from oral tobacco reached £700 million in the second half of 2025, with a significant year-on-year increase of 54.8%, driven by the nationwide launch of VELO PLUS [3] Japan Tobacco - Japan Tobacco's new product sales reached 3.9 billion units in the fourth quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 30.0%, with HNB sales at 3.2 billion units, up 40.7% [4] - The market share of PLOOM in Japan was 15.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, showing a slowdown in growth compared to previous quarters [4] - The company is expanding its global market presence, with new product launches in 19 countries as of February 2026 [4] Product Optimization and Global Expansion - Both British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco plan to accelerate the global expansion of new products in 2026, despite anticipated intense competition in other regions [5] - Innovations in product features and differentiated consumption experiences are expected to enhance industry penetration rates [5] - British American Tobacco is set to launch a new HYPER device in the second quarter of 2026, which promises improved performance and user experience [5]