14. Philip Morris International
Fortune rank: 14
2008 profit: $6.89 Billion
The maker of Marlboro, Parliament and Virginia Slims cigarette brands spun off from Altria Group during the year to avoid U.S. litigation. Since then, PMI's operating profits rose 17% as it raised prices on Marlboro cigarettes in places like Turkey, where customers are trading up to its premium brands. In 2008 Philip Morris also took advantage of the weak greenback when converting foreign profits to dollars (Its 17% profit growth shrinks to 11% without counting currency changes.)
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Last updated April 20 2009: 11:09 AM ET
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