BAT cancels 658,415 shares as buyback activity reshapes BAT stock

Published on 10/20/2026 at 10:14 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

First-half revenue reached GBP 12.24 billion, up 1.40 percent. BAT stock costs EUR 52.69 on October 20, 2026, 0.21 percent above Xetra.

Buyback and operating progress

British American Tobacco canceled 658,415 shares between October 12 and October 16, 2026.
First-half 2026 revenue reached GBP 12.24 billion, up 1.40 percent reported.
BAT stock trades at EUR 52.69 at 10:06 a.m. CEST at Lang & Schwarz on October 20, 2026, 0.21 percent above the Xetra close of October 19, 2026.

Trading-Floor mit großen Bildschirmen, Kursdiagrammen und dem Kürzel LSE im Hintergrund — British American Tobacco plc (GB0002875804) illustriert den Börsenhandel am Trading-Floor mit Kursdiagrammen, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (GB0002875804) canceled 658,415 ordinary shares between October 12 and October 16, 2026, taking its issued voting share count to 2,155,911,533, according to TipRanks on October 19, 2026. The transaction extends BAT's buyback program and reduces the number of shares linked to future per-share results.

The latest move builds on BAT's October 7 agreement with Merrill Lynch International to purchase and cancel shares through December 23, 2026. Investegate reported that shareholders authorized purchases of up to 217,492,219 shares.

Three buyback milestones

On September 29, 2026, BAT presented its Horizon 2030 strategy and kept its full-year 2026 targets at 3 to 5 percent revenue growth and 4 to 6 percent adjusted profit from operations growth. The company also set a mid-teens New Category revenue growth ambition through 2030 and a contribution margin target of at least 30 percent, as reported by TradingView.

On October 7, the company opened the next buyback period. Between October 12 and October 16, the program removed 658,415 shares. The chronology points to a steady capital-return policy rather than a single transaction.

What does the operating base show?

BAT's first-half 2026 revenue was GBP 12.24 billion, up 1.40 percent reported and 2.90 percent at constant currency. Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 7.90 percent to GBp 164.00, while adjusted profit from operations increased 3.50 percent to GBP 5.43 billion, according to Yahoo Finance on October 12, 2026. Smokeless products represented 19.80 percent of group revenue in the same period.

Dates for the next phase

The current buyback agreement runs through December 23, 2026. Simply Wall St lists February 11, 2027 as the date for BAT's fiscal year 2026 results.

Stock holds above Xetra close

BAT stock was trading at EUR 52.69 at Lang & Schwarz on October 20, 2026 at 10:06 a.m. CEST, 0.21 percent above the Xetra close of October 19, 2026 at EUR 52.58. The small daily premium leaves the buyback and the 2026 operating targets as the more substantive measures of the stock's current setup.

The further course of trading is shown by the continuously updated real-time quote of BAT stock.