UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ALTRIA GROUP, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| Virginia | 13-3260245 | |||||||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||
| 6601 West Broad Street, | Richmond, | Virginia | 23230 | ||||||||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | ||||||||||
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2025 Performance Incentive Plan
(Full title of the plan)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
W. Hildebrandt Surgner, Jr.
Vice President, Corporate Secretary and
Associate General Counsel
ALTRIA GROUP, INC.
6601 West Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23230
(Name and address of agent for service)
(804) 274-2200
(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer x | Accelerated filer ☐ | |||||||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer ☐ | Smaller reporting filer ☐ | |||||||||||||
| Emerging growth filer ☐ | ||||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Part I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
Item 1. Plan Information.
Not required to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”).
Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.
Not required to be filed with the Commission.
Part II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
The following documents filed by Altria Group, Inc. (the “Company”) with the Commission (File No. 001-08940) are incorporated by reference in, and made a part of, this Registration Statement (other than documents or information included in such documents deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with Commission rules):
(i)the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (including portions of the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the Commission on April 3, 2025, incorporated by reference in such Annual Report on Form 10-K);
(ii)the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2025;
(iii)the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K, or amendments thereto, filed with the Commission on January 30, 2025, January 30, 2025, February 6, 2025 and May 19, 2025; and
(iv)the description of the Company’s Common Stock contained in Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, including any subsequent amendment or any report subsequently filed for the purpose of updating such description.
All documents filed by the Company under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), after the date of this Registration Statement and before the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and to be a part of, this Registration Statement from the date of filing of such documents (other than documents or information included in such documents deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with Commission rules). Any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in this Registration Statement or in any other subsequently filed document that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.
Item 4. Description of Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
Not applicable.
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
The Virginia Stock Corporation Act (the “VSCA”) permits the Company to indemnify its directors and officers in connection with certain actions, suits and proceedings brought against them if they acted in good faith and believed their conduct to be in the best interests of the Company and, in the case of criminal actions, had no reasonable cause to believe that the conduct was unlawful. The VSCA requires such indemnification when a director or an officer entirely prevails in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she was a party because he or she is or was a director or an officer of the Company,
and further provides that the Company may make any other or further indemnity (including indemnity with respect to a proceeding by or in the right of the Company), and may make additional provision for advances and reimbursement of expenses, if authorized by its articles of incorporation or shareholder-adopted by-laws, except an indemnity against willful misconduct or a knowing violation of the criminal law. The Company’s articles of incorporation, as amended, provide that a director or an officer or former director or officer of the Company shall be indemnified to the full extent permitted by the VSCA as currently in effect or as hereafter amended in connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought by or in the right of the Company or brought by or on behalf of shareholders of the Company.
The VSCA establishes a statutory limit on liability of directors and officers of the Company for damages assessed against them in a suit brought by or in the right of the Company or brought by or on behalf of shareholders of the Company and authorizes the Company to specify a lower monetary limit on liability in the Company’s articles of incorporation or, with shareholder approval, by-laws; however, the liability of a director or an officer shall not be limited if such director or officer engaged in willful misconduct or a knowing violation of the criminal law or of any federal or state securities law. The Company’s articles of incorporation, as amended, provide for the limitation or elimination of the liability of a director or an officer or former director or officer of the Company for monetary damages to the Company or its shareholders in any action, suit or proceeding, to the full extent permitted by the VSCA as currently in effect or as hereafter amended. The Company carries insurance on behalf of its directors and officers.
The distribution agreement among the Company, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Philip Morris USA Inc. and Philip Morris International Inc. (“PMI”) provides for indemnification by PMI of the Company’s directors, officers and employees for certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Exchange Act, related to information provided to the Company by PMI or incorporated into filings by the Company from PMI’s filings with the Commission.
The Company has entered into an indemnity agreement with each of the members of its Board of Directors (the “Board”). The agreement provides for the mandatory advancement and reimbursement of reasonable expenses (subject to limited exceptions) incurred by the members of the Board in various legal proceedings in which they may be involved by reason of their service as directors, as permitted by Virginia law and the Company’s articles of incorporation.
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
Not applicable.
Item 8. Exhibits.
| Exhibit No. | Description | ||||||||||
| 5 | |||||||||||
| 23.1 | Consent of McGuireWoods LLP (included in Exhibit 5). | ||||||||||
| 23.2 | |||||||||||
| 24 | |||||||||||
| 99 | |||||||||||
| 107 | |||||||||||
Item 9. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Filing Fee Tables” table in the effective Registration Statement; and
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change in such information in this Registration Statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to provisions described in Item 6 above, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the County of Henrico, Commonwealth of Virginia, on May 21, 2025.
| ALTRIA GROUP, INC. | |||||||||||||||||
| By: | /s/ SALVATORE MANCUSO | ||||||||||||||||
| (Salvatore Mancuso | |||||||||||||||||
| Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) | |||||||||||||||||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on May 21, 2025.
| Signature | Title | ||||||||||
| /s/ WILLIAM F. GIFFORD, JR. | Director and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | ||||||||||
| (William F. Gifford, Jr.) | |||||||||||
| /s/ SALVATORE MANCUSO | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) | ||||||||||
| (Salvatore Mancuso) | |||||||||||
| /s/ STEVEN D’AMBROSIA | Vice President and Controller (Principal Accounting Officer) | ||||||||||
| (Steven D’Ambrosia) | |||||||||||
| * IAN L.T. CLARKE, | Directors | ||||||||||
| MARJORIE M. CONNELLY, | |||||||||||
| R. MATT DAVIS, | |||||||||||
| DEBRA J. KELLY-ENNIS, | |||||||||||
| KATHRYN B. MCQUADE, | |||||||||||
| GEORGE MUÑOZ, | |||||||||||
| VIRGINIA E. SHANKS, | |||||||||||
| RICHARD S. STODDART, | |||||||||||
| ELLEN R. STRAHLMAN, | |||||||||||
| M. MAX YZAGUIRRE | |||||||||||
| *By: | /s/ WILLIAM F. GIFFORD, JR. (WILLIAM F. GIFFORD, JR. | ||||||||||||||||
| ATTORNEY-IN-FACT) | |||||||||||||||||