BUZZ-Philip Morris shares smoking ahead of Q2 report

** Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) of Philip Morris International (LSE: 0M8V.L - news) have been smoking ahead of the company's quarterly report on Tuesday

** Stock up 7 pct from Jun 27 post-Brexit low, bringing YTD gains to 18 pct; recently traded at 22x expected earnings, above its two-year avg of about 18x, according to Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) data

** Philip Morris and rivals including British American Tobacco Plc are struggling with fewer people smoking and tougher regulation around the world

** But shares of some tobacco stocks were seen as safe investments in recent stock volatility sparked by Brexit, although Philip Morris makes more than a third of its revenue in Europe

** Philip Morris' EPS has met or exceeded expectations in six of past eight quarters

** Consensus expectations for Q2: Rev of $6.77 bln, which would be a 1.3 pct dip; EPS of $1.20, according to Thomson Reuters data