Category share numbers live in earnings coverage, quoted for a week and then buried. Nobody keeps the page updated, which is a pity, because this is the single figure the whole trade plans against: how much of the oral nicotine shelf, the one that used to belong to moist snuff and snus, now belongs to pouches. This tracker records the number each earnings season from the manufacturers' own reports, with the basis stated wherever the source states it. It sits in the trade cluster alongside which strengths sell best at retail and the white label vs private label explainer.
One ground rule first. Pouches are adult products, sold to adults: 18 and over in Europe and the UK, 21 and over in the US. This page is trade analysis of published earnings figures, not investment advice.
What is the headline number this quarter?
| Measure | Q2 2026 | Move | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pouches' share of the US oral category | 59.9 percent | Up 8.1 points year on year; up 1.8 points on Q1 | Altria earnings (Circana retail share, cans sold) |
| ZYN US retail value share | Around 57 percent | Described by PMI as retained | PMI |
| ZYN US shipments | 2.9 billion pouches | Up 1.8 percent year on year | PMI |
| on! share of the pouch category | 14.4 percent | Down 1.7 points year on year; up 1 point sequentially | Altria |
| on! share of the total oral category | 8.6 percent | Up 0.3 points year on year | Altria |
| Turning Point Brands Modern Oral net sales | 68.4 million dollars | Up 128 percent year on year | Turning Point Brands |
The story in one line: the category conversion, pouches taking the oral shelf from moist snuff and snus, is still running at roughly eight points a year, and the growth inside the category is broadening beyond its leader.
What counts as the oral category?
The denominator matters more than the numerator. As used in US earnings reporting, the oral category covers the oral tobacco and nicotine products tracked at US retail: moist snuff, snus and nicotine pouches. Altria's series, the source of the 59.9 percent headline, is Circana retail data across tracked channels (food, drug, mass, convenience, military, dollar and club stores), counted in cans sold. A 59.9 percent share therefore means pouches against the whole traditional oral shelf, not against other pouches. Brand shares come in two bases that must not be mixed: share of the pouch category (on! at 14.4 percent) and share of the total oral category (on! at 8.6 percent). The same brand, two true numbers, differing by the denominator. PMI states ZYN's roughly 57 percent explicitly as a retail value share; where a source does not state its basis, this tracker says so rather than assuming one.
Definitions are also why the strength guide discipline matters here: category figures are only as good as the terms underneath them, and "oral nicotine category" in a headline can mean at least three different denominators in the wild.
Which brands drive the number?
ZYN first, by weight. PMI shipped 2.9 billion ZYN pouches in the US in Q2 2026 and holds around 57 percent of retail value, and it spent the quarter widening the base the share sits on: ZYN Ultra launched in June at 9 and 11 mg, the flagship range received the category's first modified risk authorization for twenty products on 30 June, and 1.5 mg and 8 mg variants were announced for Q3.
Behind it, the growth rates invert. Turning Point Brands, distributor of ALP and FRE, reported Modern Oral net sales of 68.4 million dollars, up 128 percent year on year, with Modern Oral reaching 48 percent of its total net sales. Altria's on! is the established second brand: 14.4 percent of the pouch category, 49.9 million cans shipped in the quarter, and its PLUS line expanding nationally. The leader owns the share; the challengers own the growth rates, which is the usual shape of a category mid-conversion.
Why do shipments and retail shares disagree?
Because factories ship to trade, and shoppers buy from shelves, and the two flows part company whenever distributors stock up or run down. Altria flagged it directly this quarter: on! shipment volume fell 4.2 percent year on year "due to trade inventory movements", while estimated retail takeaway volume rose to 47.2 million cans in Q2 from 40.8 million in Q1, and first-half shipments were up 5.1 percent. A tracker that mixes shipment growth with retail share will contradict itself within a single quarter. This page keeps the two series labelled and separate, and treats retail share as the headline and shipments as the supply-side footnote.
What are we watching next quarter?
Four things, all set up by this quarter's reports. Whether the 59.9 percent line keeps its eight-points-a-year pace or flattens as the easy conversions complete. Whether ZYN Ultra and the new 1.5 mg and 8 mg variants move ZYN's value share, the test of PMI's answer to the higher-strength segment it admitted lagging. Whether on! PLUS's national expansion converts into pouch-category share from its 14.4 percent base. And whether Turning Point's growth rate survives its own scaling. The tracker updates when Q3 2026 earnings land.
FAQ
Is the 59.9 percent a value share or a volume share?
A retail share counted in cans, not dollars: Altria reports the category split from Circana tracked channels, which count cans sold. PMI states its brand shares explicitly as retail value shares, ZYN's roughly 57 percent among them, which is why the two series are never mixed on this page. Where a basis is stated, this tracker records it; where coverage does not state one, the tracker does not invent one.
How fast is the share moving?
Eight points in a year: 59.9 percent in Q2 2026, up 8.1 points on Q2 2025 and 1.8 points on Q1 2026. The remaining moist snuff and snus shelf is already the minority, at 40.1 percent; at the same pace it would fall toward a third of the category within about a year, though conversion curves usually flatten as they approach their ceiling.
Does this tracker cover Europe?
No, and it will not pretend to. The European markets publish no equivalent quarterly category-share series in the open, so the figures that exist for Europe are national sales data points, not a tracker. This page is US-only until a European series exists to track.
When does this page update?
Each earnings season, when PMI, Altria and Turning Point Brands report. The figures above are Q2 2026, reported in July 2026 and checked in October 2026.
Sources
- Philip Morris International, Q2 2026 earnings release (ZYN US shipments 2.9 billion pouches; ZYN Ultra launch; modified risk authorization for 20 ZYN products): https://cdn.financialreports.eu/financialreports/media/filings/29767/2026/RNS/29767_rns_2026-07-22_5a9f66f9-26bd-49dc-bec7-1a993c40f026.pdf
- Philip Morris International Q2 2026 earnings call, transcript (ZYN retail value share of around 57 percent, per the CFO): https://www.MarketBeat.com/earnings/reports/2026-7-22-philip-morris-international-inc-stock/
- Air 2 Vapor, Nicotine Pouches and Who's Leading (Q2 2026 roundup: pouches at 59.9 percent of the oral category; Altria on! at 14.4 percent of the pouch category and 8.6 percent of the oral category; Turning Point Brands Modern Oral net sales 68.4 million dollars, up 128 percent): http://www.air2vapor.com/nicotine-pouches-and-who-s-leading
- Zacks, Can Altria's on! Build Share as Nicotine Pouches Keep Growing? (on! volumes, trade inventory effect, ZYN value share): https://WWW.ZACKS.COM/stock/news/2993777/can-altrias-on-build-share-as-nicotine-pouches-keep-growing?art_rec=blog-analyst_blog-up_next-ID01-img-2993777