We recently published a list of Why These 15 Defensive Stocks Are Surging In 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM) stands against other defensive stocks that are surging in 2025.

Defensive stocks are surging as investors have been shifting their focus. Growth stocks dominated the past two years. Now, slower economic signals and rising risks are changing the landscape due to market uncertainty.

Defensive stocks offer much more stability and tend to perform well even in tough times. People still need electricity, medicine, and food. That reliability draws investors when uncertainty grows.

Many are rotating into these stocks for safety. The surge suggests a broader trend. It could mark a turning point after years of growth-led rallies., so it’s worth looking into the defensive stocks that stand out right now.

Methodology

For this article, I screened the best-performing defensive stocks year-to-date.

I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

A man exhaling smoke from a cigarette indicating the use of tobacco products.

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 102

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM) is a tobacco company that sells cigarettes and smoke-free products.

The stock is up significantly so far in 2025 as the company is successfully pivoting to smoke-free products. These products now account for 40% of revenue and over 40% of gross profits.

This includes a 7.3% revenue increase to $9.7 billion in Q4 2024 and a 14% earnings per share growth. Demand for ZYN nicotine pouches and IQOS heated tobacco gadgets are raking in serious cash, with ZYN boasting solid margins.

On top of that, the company’s killing it with strong pricing power and volume growth, even in a tricky global market. Their latest earnings showed a juicy 9.3% bump in adjusted diluted EPS for 2024, and they’re projecting more growth in 2025. Investors love the steady $1.35 quarterly dividend too.

The FDA has also greenlit ZYN in the U.S.

The consensus price target of $144.56 implies 6% downside.

PM stock is up 27.83% year-to-date.

Overall, PM ranks 5th on our list of defensive stocks that are surging in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of PM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.