Who Owns Black & Mild?
Black & Mild is owned by Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) through John Middleton Co., a wholly owned subsidiary acquired for $2.9 billion in December 2007. Created in 1968 as the first cigar filled with pipe tobacco, Black & Mild is the best-selling tipped large machine-made cigar in the United States, shipping approximately 1.8 billion sticks in 2025.
Parent Company
Acquired
2007
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
Black & Mild Timeline
Who Owns Black & Mild?
- Parent Company: Altria Group, Inc.
- Ownership Type: Subsidiary
- Acquisition Year: 2007
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: NYSE: MO
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| Black & Mild | Altria Group, Inc. | Subsidiary |
Where to Buy
Disclosure: We may earn commission from purchases
Black & Mild on AmazonAdvertisement
History of Black & Mild
- Founded: 1968
- Founders: John Middleton Co. (internal development)
- Acquired by Altria Group, Inc.: 2007
John Middleton opened a tobacco shop in Philadelphia in 1856, and the family business spent a century selling cigars and pipe tobacco. The company began manufacturing in 1950 and, in 1968, introduced what it describes as the first cigar made with pipe tobacco: a blend of air-cured and pipe tobaccos in a cigar format, marketed as Black & Mild. The pipe-tobacco fill gave the cigar a milder, aromatic character that distinguished it from conventional machine-made cigars.
Through the 1970s and 1980s Black & Mild became a convenience-store staple, particularly in five-packs and later as single cigarillos and tipped cigars. By the 2000s it held roughly a quarter of the U.S. retail cigar market almost single-handedly, and its growth, about 10% compounded through the mid-2000s, made Middleton the acquisition that pulled Altria into cigars.
Since the 2007 acquisition the brand has only grown. Black & Mild shipped approximately 1.8 billion sticks in 2025, and Altria calls it the best-selling tipped large machine-made cigar in the country and the second-best-selling large machine-made cigar overall. Production runs at Middleton's facilities in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia. Sister products include Middleton's Cherry Blend cigars and the Prince Albert and Carter Hall pipe tobacco lines.
Variants now span the classic plastic-tip cigarillo in original, wine, and sweet flavors, wood-tip versions, and the Black & Mild FT compact format. The five-pack and single-stick formats dominate convenience channel distribution, where the brand's shelf presence is effectively universal among U.S. tobacco retailers.
Advertisement
About Altria Group, Inc.
Is Altria the same company as Philip Morris?
Altria is the former Philip Morris Companies, renamed in 2003. Philip Morris USA, the domestic cigarette business, remains a wholly owned Altria subsidiary. Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro abroad, is a separate publicly traded company spun off in 2008.
Does Altria own Marlboro?
Altria owns Marlboro in the United States through Philip Morris USA. Philip Morris International owns and sells the brand in roughly 175 markets outside the United States.
Advertisement
What brands does Altria own?
Altria's portfolio includes Marlboro and other PM USA cigarettes in the U.S., Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky smokeless tobacco, Black & Mild cigars, on! nicotine pouches, and NJOY e-vapor products. It also holds minority stakes in Anheuser-Busch InBev and Cronos Group.
Is Altria publicly traded?
Yes. Altria trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MO and is a member of the S&P 500. It is one of the best-performing U.S. stocks in history on a dividend-reinvested basis and has raised its dividend for more than 55 consecutive years.
Advertisement
Who is the CEO of Altria?
Salvatore Mancuso became CEO in May 2025, succeeding Billy Gifford. Mancuso joined Altria in 1990 and served as chief financial officer before taking the top role.
What happened to NJOY?
Altria acquired NJOY in 2023 for approximately $2.75 billion. Its main product, NJOY ACE, has been off the U.S. market since March 31, 2025, after the International Trade Commission found it infringed Juul patents and banned its import and sale. Altria has appealed and completed a redesigned product, but does not expect ACE to return during 2026.
Advertisement
- Founded: 1847
- Headquarters: Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: NYSE: MO
- Revenue: $23.3 billion net revenues / $20.1 billion net of excise taxes (FY2025)
- Employees: ~6,200
Where Is Black & Mild Made / Based?
- Headquarters: King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Manufacturing / Operations: Richmond, Virginia, USA, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
Black & Mild Categories & Tags
Black & Mild Recalls & Controversies
Black & Mild sits inside the long-running public health debate over flavored cigars and cigarillos. Public health groups and the FDA have scrutinized sweet and wine-flavored variants for youth appeal, and local jurisdictions including several cities have restricted or banned flavored cigar sales. The FDA's proposed rule to prohibit characterizing flavors in cigars, if finalized, would directly affect portions of the Black & Mild line.
Like all tobacco products, the brand carries mandated health warnings and operates under the federal tobacco control framework. Litigation and regulatory scrutiny at the brand level have been routine rather than company-defining; the larger controversies attach to Altria corporately.
Brands Owned by Altria Group, Inc.
Household Consumer GoodsCopenhagen
Owned by Altria Group, Inc.
America's oldest and best-selling premium moist smokeless tobacco brand, created in 1822 and owned by Altria through U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company.
smokeless-tobaccosnuffdip
Household Consumer GoodsNJOY
Owned by Altria Group, Inc.
E-vapor brand owned by Altria Group, maker of FDA-authorized NJOY ACE and NJOY Daily vaping products, currently navigating an import ban on its flagship device.
e-vaporvapingnjoy-ace
Household Consumer Goodson!
Owned by Altria Group, Inc.
Tobacco-free nicotine pouch brand owned by Altria Group through Helix Innovations, holding about 15% of the U.S. nicotine pouch category behind market leader ZYN.
nicotine-pouchestobacco-freealtria
Household Consumer GoodsSkoal
Owned by Altria Group, Inc.
Second-largest premium moist smokeless tobacco brand in the United States, introduced in 1934 and owned by Altria through U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company.
smokeless-tobaccodipwintergreen
Advertisement
Black & Mild Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Category leadership in tipped large machine-made cigars
- +Volume grew roughly 50% under Altria ownership to 1.8 billion sticks
- +Benefits from the largest tobacco distribution network in the U.S.
- +Cigar category grows while cigarettes decline
- +Minimal marketing cost with strong convenience-store pull
Considerations
- -Proposed federal flavor restrictions target part of the line
- -Full tobacco regulatory and excise exposure
- -Local flavor bans shrink distribution in some cities
- -Youth-use scrutiny concentrates on the cigarillo segment
- -Brand depends on a single manufacturing network
Frequently Asked Questions About Black & Mild
Advertisement
Sources & Further Reading
Competitors to Black & Mild
No direct competitors found in the same category. This could be because Black & Mildoperates in a unique market segment or we're still building our competitor database.
Advertisement
Independent Alternatives to Black & Mild
Looking for brands with different ownership structures? These similar brands are not owned by Altria Group, Inc., giving you alternative choices that support different corporate structures.
Household Consumer GoodsSanino
Owned by Evyap
Turkish personal care brand owned by Evyap, known primarily for toothpaste and oral care products sold in Ukraine and Eastern European markets.
toothpasteoral-carepersonal-care
Privately Owned
Sanino is privately owned, unlike Black & Mild which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Household Consumer GoodsSolo
Owned by Dart Container Corporation
American disposable cups and food service products brand, owned by Dart Container Corporation since 2012.
disposable-cupsfood-servicetableware
Privately Owned
Solo is privately owned, unlike Black & Mild which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Household Consumer GoodsBetter Homes & Gardens
Owned by Dotdash Meredith (IAC)
Licensed home goods brand available exclusively at Walmart, offering stylish furniture, decor, kitchenware, and garden products inspired by the iconic lifestyle magazine.
home-decorfurniturekitchenware
Privately Owned
Better Homes & Gardens is privately owned, unlike Black & Mild which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Household Consumer GoodsKenvue
Owned by Kenvue
Consumer health brand of Kenvue, the company behind Tylenol, Listerine, Band-Aid, and Neutrogena, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark following a November 2026 acquisition.
consumer-healthpersonal-careotc
Privately Owned
Kenvue is privately owned, unlike Black & Mild which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Household Consumer GoodsKraftMaid
Owned by Cabinetworks Group
American semi-custom cabinetry brand owned by Cabinetworks Group, offering kitchen and bathroom cabinets through dealers and home centers.
cabinetrykitchen-cabinetsbathroom-cabinets
Privately Owned
KraftMaid is privately owned, unlike Black & Mild which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Household Consumer GoodsSherwin-Williams
Owned by The Sherwin-Williams Company
Flagship paint and coatings brand of The Sherwin-Williams Company, founded in 1866 and sold through approximately 4,900 company-operated stores.
paintcoatingshome-improvement
Publicly Traded
Sherwin-Williams operates independently without a large parent corporation.
Altria Group, Inc. Stock Information
Advertisement
Jobs at Altria Group, Inc.
Latest News About Black & Mild
Advertisement
Related Articles About Black & Mild
View more articles
News & Updates
Monthly IPO Roundup: November 2026 -- October's Biggest Listings
October 2026 IPOs: Jio Platforms set India's all-time record at $3.2B and surged 27%, GCash owner Mynt raised a Philippine-record P60.9B, Anthropic filed publicly for a possible mid-November debut, and U.S. listings were a biotech grab bag. Full recap.
Who Brands StaffNov 6, 2026
Ipo RoundupIpoStock Market
News & Updates
Monthly M&A Roundup: October 2026 Brand Ownership Changes
October 2026's biggest deals: Paramount Skydance closed its $110B Warner Bros. Discovery takeover, Salesforce signed Braze for $5.66B, Proofpoint bought Varonis for $6.3B, the Weston family agreed to buy Boots for $8.9B, and Viatris added Pacira for $1.65B. Full breakdown.
Who Brands StaffNov 6, 2026
M And A RoundupAcquisitionsNews
Rivalry
Duracell vs Energizer: The Battery Brand Rivalry
Duracell is Berkshire Hathaway-owned (25-30% US share). Energizer is publicly traded (NYSE: ENR) with Rayovac. Together they control ~85% of branded US batteries, but Amazon Basics has 27.1% online. Explore our database.
Who Brands StaffOct 23, 2026
DuracellEnergizerRivalry
People Also Searched
Discover popular brands and companies in the Household & Consumer Goods category and related searches from other users.
Brandcleaning
Ajax
American household cleaning brand launched in 1947 by Colgate-Palmolive, known for its powdered cleanser and the iconic "Stronger than dirt" tagline.
Brand in Household & Consumer Goods
householdsurface-cleaner
Brandlaundry
Ariel
Procter & Gamble's international laundry detergent brand and the Tide equivalent in Europe, Latin America, and emerging markets, first launched in 1967.
Brand in Household & Consumer Goods
detergentfabric-care
Brandbaking-soda
Arm & Hammer
American consumer goods brand owned by Church & Dwight, best known for baking soda-based products including toothpaste, laundry detergent, cat litter, and deodorant.
Brand in Household & Consumer Goods
toothpastelaundry