BAT Extends Share Buyback With Merrill Lynch and Adopts Weekly Reporting

The latest update is out from British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ).

British American Tobacco has entered a new agreement with Merrill Lynch International to continue its share buyback programme between 23 April and 29 June 2026, with all repurchased ordinary shares to be cancelled to reduce the company’s share capital. The company will also switch from daily to consolidated weekly disclosures of buyback activity in line with updated UK Listing Rules, while confirming that purchases will remain within shareholder-approved limits and regulatory parameters on pricing and market conduct.

These moves underline BAT’s ongoing commitment to capital returns via buybacks and signal operational alignment with recent changes in U.K. market disclosure rules, which may streamline reporting without reducing transparency for investors. The defined authority cap and pricing safeguards indicate a controlled approach that aims to balance shareholder value enhancement with compliance under the Market Abuse Regulation, UK Safe Harbour provisions, and Financial Conduct Authority listing requirements.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:BATS) stock is a Buy with a £52.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on British American Tobacco stock, see the GB:BATS Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on BATS Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, BATS is a Outperform.

The score is driven primarily by solid-but-not-clean financial performance (profitability strength offset by leverage and a notable 2025 cash-flow decline). Valuation is supportive due to the high dividend yield and moderate P/E, while technicals are broadly neutral. Earnings-call guidance and capital-return plans help, but are tempered by vapor/illicit pressures and regional weakness.

To see Spark’s full report on BATS stock, click here.

More about British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco is a global tobacco and nicotine company, best known for manufacturing and marketing cigarettes and next-generation nicotine products across multiple markets. The group focuses on maintaining shareholder returns while operating within evolving regulatory regimes in the U.K. and internationally.

Average Trading Volume: 4,710,462

Technical Sentiment Signal: Strong Buy

Current Market Cap: £91.44B

Learn more about BATS stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.