Tobacco industry stalwart Altria Group (MO 2.36%) delivered market-beating returns for investors over the last five years. While its share price is up 53% over the last half-decade, the company's dividend-adjusted total return rate of roughly 121% across that stretch significantly exceeded the S&P 500 index's total return of 105%.

Altria's stock total return performance over that time was enough to turn a $10,000 investment into more than $22,120 today. A closer look into recent dynamics shaping Altria's valuation offers clues about whether a $10,000 investment in the company could once again result in an investment doubling (or more) over the next five years.

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Altria's smokeless products are key to future performance

Altria stock trades at roughly 12 times this year's expected earnings and pays a dividend yielding 6.4%. There's also a very good chance the company will raise its dividend again in the near future.

Altria has raised its dividend on an annual basis for 55 consecutive years. It actually delivered 59 payout increases across that stretch.

Altria will likely continue to pay a strong dividend and increase its payout annually for several more years.

Along with stock buybacks, margin improvements helped pave the way for earnings growth even in the face of sales declines. While Altria's revenue declined 3.6% annually to $11.36 billion across the first half of 2025, non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share were actually up 7.2% compared to the prior-year period.

Altria saw a strong valuation run-up over the last year of trading, with the company's share price climbing nearly 29% over that period. In addition to the bullish backdrop for the broader market, the company's gains have been driven by encouraging performance for its products outside of smokeable tobacco and resilience for cigarette revenue despite ongoing unit volume headwinds. Recent gains for the stock could make doubling over the next five years more difficult, but the stock has a path to hitting that performance level if growth for smokeless products continues to beat expectations.