“We expect EPS growth to moderate as we lap the lower share count associated with the 2024 accelerated share repurchase program and the benefit of the MSA legal fund expiration.”

In context

“anding premium leadership. Turning to ABI's financial results. We recorded $130 million of adjusted equity earnings in the second quarter, down 10.3% versus the prior year. This decline was driven by a lower ownership interest compared to the year ago period, reflecting the sale of a portion of our ABI investment last year. We continue to view our ABI stake as a financial investment, and our goal remains to maximize the long-term value of the investment for our shareholders. As Billy mentioned, our businesses performed well in a dynamic environment during the first half of the year. As a result, we raised the lower end of our 2025 guidance range. We now expect to deliver adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $5.35 to $5.45, representing a growth rate of 3% to 5% from a base of $5.19 in 2024. We expect EPS growth to moderate as we lap the lower share count associated with the 2024 accelerated share repurchase program and the benefit of the MSA legal fund expiration. We are also mindful of the challenged state of tobacco consumers, and we'll continue to closely monitor their purchasing behaviors. Before turning to Q&A, I'd like to highlight the significant value we returned to shareholders during the first half of the year. We paid approximately $3.5 billion in dividends and repurchased 10.4 million shares for $600 million. At the end of the second quarter, we had $400 million remaining under our current share repurchase program, which we expect to complete by the end of the year. In addition, our balance sheet remains strong. Our total debt-to-EBITDA ratio as of June 30 was 2.0x, in line with our target of approximately 2x. With that, we'll wrap up, [Audio Gap] and Billy and I will be happy to take your questions. While the calls are being compiled,”