Imperial Brands (IMB) Competitors GBX 2,900 +78.00 (+2.76%) As of 12:49 PM Eastern Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsHeadlinesInsider TradesSustainabilityBuy This Stock IMB vs. BATS, DGE, CCEP, RKT, TSCO, KYGA, CCH, ABF, BNZL, and SBRYShould you be buying Imperial Brands stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Imperial Brands include British American Tobacco (BATS), Diageo (DGE), Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT), Tesco (TSCO), Kerry Group (KYGA), Coca-Cola HBC (CCH), Associated British Foods (ABF), Bunzl (BNZL), and J Sainsbury (SBRY). These companies are all part of the "consumer defensive" sector. Imperial Brands vs. British American Tobacco Diageo Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Reckitt Benckiser Group Tesco Kerry Group Coca-Cola HBC Associated British Foods Bunzl J Sainsbury British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) and Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) are both large-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, community ranking, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk. Does the media refer more to BATS or IMB? In the previous week, British American Tobacco had 4 more articles in the media than Imperial Brands. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for British American Tobacco and 5 mentions for Imperial Brands. Imperial Brands' average media sentiment score of 0.68 beat British American Tobacco's score of 0.35 indicating that Imperial Brands is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment British American Tobacco 3 Very Positive mention(s) 1 Positive mention(s) 2 Neutral mention(s) 1 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Neutral Imperial Brands 1 Very Positive mention(s) 1 Positive mention(s) 3 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Which has more risk and volatility, BATS or IMB? British American Tobacco has a beta of 0.27, suggesting that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Imperial Brands has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Is BATS or IMB a better dividend stock? British American Tobacco pays an annual dividend of GBX 236 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.4%. Imperial Brands pays an annual dividend of GBX 153 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. British American Tobacco pays out -38.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Imperial Brands pays out 64.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. British American Tobacco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio. Which has stronger earnings and valuation, BATS or IMB? Imperial Brands has lower revenue, but higher earnings than British American Tobacco. British American Tobacco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Imperial Brands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioBritish American Tobacco£25.81B2.71-£13.64B-£619.76-5.13Imperial Brands£17.31B1.41£1.98B£236.1212.28 Is BATS or IMB more profitable? Imperial Brands has a net margin of 11.44% compared to British American Tobacco's net margin of -52.84%. Imperial Brands' return on equity of 41.84% beat British American Tobacco's return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets British American Tobacco-52.84% -25.94% 5.16% Imperial Brands 11.44%41.84%6.92% Do analysts prefer BATS or IMB? British American Tobacco currently has a consensus target price of GBX 3,183.33, indicating a potential upside of 0.04%. Imperial Brands has a consensus target price of GBX 2,205, indicating a potential downside of 23.97%. Given British American Tobacco's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe British American Tobacco is more favorable than Imperial Brands.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score British American Tobacco 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 2 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.67Imperial Brands 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 1 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.50 Does the MarketBeat Community prefer BATS or IMB? British American Tobacco received 597 more outperform votes than Imperial Brands when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 74.01% of users gave British American Tobacco an outperform vote while only 69.56% of users gave Imperial Brands an outperform vote. CompanyUnderperformOutperformBritish American TobaccoOutperform Votes123074.01% Underperform Votes43225.99% Imperial BrandsOutperform Votes63369.56% Underperform Votes27730.44% Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of BATS or IMB? 40.7% of British American Tobacco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.0% of Imperial Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 10.6% of British American Tobacco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Imperial Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. SummaryBritish American Tobacco beats Imperial Brands on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks. Remove Ads Get Imperial Brands News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for IMB and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding {thisCompany.Symbol} and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of LON and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart IMB vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricImperial BrandsTobacco IndustryDefensive SectorLON ExchangeMarket Cap£24.34B£47.18B£6.71B£2.52BDividend Yield5.38%4.94%3.16%4.90%P/E Ratio12.283.7411.53134.65Price / Sales1.41205.9673.66261,054.88Price / Cash10.5714.60146.2627.90Price / Book4.242.772.854.46Net Income£1.98B-£5.83B£1.01B£5.77B7 Day Performance4.39%-0.05%-0.12%-1.85%1 Month Performance2.80%1.74%1.03%-2.65%1 Year Performance64.35%9.72%49.14%103.94% Imperial Brands Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)IMBImperial Brands1.2795 of 5 starsGBX 2,900+2.8%GBX 2,205-24.0%+60.3%£24.34B£17.31B12.2825,200Dividend IncreaseNews CoverageBATSBritish American Tobacco0.8277 of 5 starsGBX 3,152-0.3%GBX 3,183.33+1.0%+29.8%£69.35B£25.81B-5.0952,000Insider TradeNews CoverageDGEDiageo2.7234 of 5 starsGBX 2,051.50-0.6%GBX 2,876.67+40.2%-30.7%£45.54B£20.48B11.4930,269CCEPCoca-Cola Europacific PartnersN/AGBX 6,540-2.4%N/A+10,317.3%£36.24B£23.04B22.5027,600RKTReckitt Benckiser Group0.4102 of 5 starsGBX 5,130-1.2%GBX 4,788.50-6.7%+20.9%£35.00B£13.78B23.4826,000TSCOTesco2.2532 of 5 starsGBX 325.80+0.1%GBX 366.67+12.5%+12.2%£21.74B£66.34B17.0549,000KYGAKerry GroupN/AGBX 93.40-2.9%N/A+20.6%£15.48B£736.58B24.7021,000Gap DownHigh Trading VolumeCCHCoca-Cola HBC1.1777 of 5 starsGBX 3,460-0.6%GBX 2,825-18.4%+44.5%£14.97B£12.23B23.9232,700ABFAssociated British Foods1.709 of 5 starsGBX 1,918.68-0.1%GBX 2,246.67+17.1%-20.6%£13.83B£19.45B9.77133,000Analyst ForecastBNZLBunzl1.988 of 5 starsGBX 3,007.42+0.9%GBX 3,375+12.2%+2.8%£9.84B£11.23B20.7924,528Analyst ForecastSBRYJ Sainsbury2.8687 of 5 starsGBX 236-0.7%GBX 302.50+28.2%-13.6%£5.45B£32.63B39.80152,000News Coverage Remove Ads Related Companies and Tools Related Companies BATS Alternatives DGE Alternatives CCEP Alternatives RKT Alternatives TSCO Alternatives KYGA Alternatives CCH Alternatives ABF Alternatives BNZL Alternatives SBRY Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (LON:IMB) was last updated on 4/3/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our Partners“Fed Proof” Your Bank Account with THESE 4 Simple StepsStarting as soon as a few months from now, the United States government will make a sweeping change to bank ac...Weiss Ratings | SponsoredTrump’s Final Plan Presidential insider exposes shocking plot to reshape U.S. economy: The 2025 Trump Reset -- Inside Trump’...Porter & Company | SponsoredAmerica’s Retirement Accounts Are at Risk—Here’s WhyWhen Trump took office in 2017, gold was just $1,100 an ounce. By the time he left, it had soared to $1,839. ...Premier Gold Co | SponsoredElon Musk Confirms: Tesla’s Optimus is Replacing Workers… and Heading to MarsMusk confirmed that SpaceX's Starship will carry Optimus to Mars in 2026 as part of an autonomous mission to h...InvestorPlace | SponsoredMost gold “analysts” aren’t really gold analysts… [watch out]People who don’t understand the gold market are about to lose a lot of money. Unfortunately, most so-called “g...Golden Portfolio | SponsoredNew “Trump” currency proposed in DCAfter a massive run-up – tech stocks are crashing. And as you’d suspect, the rich and powerful got out firs...Paradigm Press | SponsoredDOGE Social Security bombshell?Elon Musk just dropped another bombshell... He revealed his DOGE organization has been taking aim at Social...Altimetry | SponsoredTrump’s Secret WeaponPlease don't wait—this is your moment to take action. Download your Wealth Protection Guide now, claim your fr...American Alternative | Sponsored Adding Choose a watchlist: Watchlist Adding You have already added five stocks to your watchlist. Upgrade to MarketBeat All Access to add more stocks to your watchlist. Adding Imperial Brands PLC Please log in to your account or sign up in order to add this asset to your watchlist. Share Imperial Brands With A Colleague Link copied to clipboard. Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. Start Your 30-Day Trial MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.