Philip Morris Profit Slips as Cigarette Smoking Decline Takes Toll

The global decline in cigarette smoking is taking a toll on Philip Morris' second quarter results. The cigarette maker earned $1.17 a share, short of forecasts and down more than 10% from the same period a year ago. Revenue slid 1.5% to just under $8 billion, but that was still better than estimates. Philip Morris said if currency adjustments were excluded, revenue would have risen by more than 4%. Shipments to European countries increased more than 8% while the overall shipment volume dropped nearly 3%. TheStreet's Julia Sun has details from New York.