Universal Corporation (UVV) Stock

Universal Corporation (UVV) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $46.28 (as of 2026-09-02), with a market capitalization of $1.15B and a trailing P/E of 35.3. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients. Through Tobacco Operations and Ingredients Operations, it procures, finances, processes, packs, stores, and ships tobaccos for consumer tobacco manufacturers and provides related services such as blending and testing, along with offerings in reconstituted leaf and other ingredient processing.

Understand Universal Corporation: how it makes money

Universal processes, stores, and ships leaf tobacco (flue-cured, burley, oriental, dark air-cured) to cigarette and cigar makers worldwide, plus a small plant-based ingredients unit. The business is overwhelmingly tobacco, so margins swing with leaf oversupply and inventory writedowns rather than any durable pricing power.

Profit is the thin residual after processing costs on a commodity leaf with no pricing power; the P&L is driven largely by whether you mark inventory up or write it down.

Business quality (Weak): A low-margin commodity processor where an 11% gross margin and negative operating margin leave little cushion against supply gluts or inventory impairments.

Valuation: At 35× earnings, UVV trades 49% above the Wholesale average (23×).

Bull case

No Repeat of Write-Downs: Management does not expect last year's large tobacco inventory write-downs to recur, which could let the roughly 11% gross margin expand and pull the operating margin back above breakeven.
Ingredients as Second Engine: Universal remains committed to Ingredients as a long-term growth engine, a diversifying revenue line that could offset tobacco's cyclical weight over time.

Bear case

Chronic Leaf Oversupply: Tobacco markets remain oversupplied with slower customer buying activity, a structural condition that caps pricing and keeps Universal in a low-margin processor role rather than a value-add partner.
180 Million Kilos Unsold: Unsold Flue-Cured and Burley stocks reached approximately 180 million kilos, a working-capital overhang that pressures margins and ties up cash until volumes turn.
Valuation Aheads the Recovery: The stock trades at 35.0x earnings versus the 23.4x wholesale industry average (49% above), pricing in a margin turnaround that the current negative 2% operating margin has not yet delivered.

Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price	$46.28
Market Cap	$1.15B
P/E Ratio	35.3
EV / EBITDA	9.0
Price / Book	0.79
Price / Sales	0.40
FCF Yield	7.0%
DCF Value (model)	$12.02
DCF Upside vs Price	-74.0%

Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)	$2.89B
Net Margin	1.1%
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-0.0%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-559.6%
FCF Growth (YoY)	-31.5%

Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score	2.96 (grey)
Piotroski F-Score	6/9 (moderate)

Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E	35.3
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)	20.1
Industry P/E (Wholesale)	23.9
vs Sector	75.6%
vs Industry	48.2%

Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional Holder	BlackRock, Inc. ($200.68M)
Institutional Holders Tracked	10
Congressional Trades (recent)	2

Company
Sector	Consumer Discretionary
Industry	Wholesale
CEO	Preston Douglas Wigner
Employees	10,800
Country	US
IPO Date	1988-01-05

Universal Corporation earnings call transcripts

UVV Q4 FY26 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-05-28) · analysis
UVV Q3 FY26 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-02-09) · analysis
UVV Q1 FY26 earnings call transcript (reported 2025-08-06) · analysis

All UVV earnings calls

Related Companies (Wholesale; 8 comparable wholesalers)

Data as of 2026-09-02.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.