CLW vs GPK vs MERC Stock Comparison

Clearwater Paper, Graphic Packaging Holding and Mercer International Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CLW Clearwater Paper Corp
$19.20 -5.8% 1M -3.7% 1Y
Market cap
$210.55M
P/E
87.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.51B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Graphic Packaging Holding leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Graphic Packaging Holding 7, Clearwater Paper 2, Mercer International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLWGPKMERCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $210.55M $2.58B $8.88M GPK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 87.7x 13.3x 0.0x GPK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.5x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -3.2% +0.0% -4.8% GPK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.2% 2.2% -27.9% GPK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.3% 4.3% -23.1% GPK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x 5.1x -6.8x MERC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 1.13% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.7% -49.2% -95.5% CLW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -14.3%/yr -15.1%/yr -59.2%/yr CLW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 52.7% 47.4% 97.6% GPK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 54/100 14/100 GPK

Percentile Scorecard

CLWGPKMERC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCLWGPKMERC
Valuation 100 #1 of 16 93 #2 of 16 19 #232 of 287
Growth 40 #10 of 16 0 #16 of 16 1 #265 of 267
Profitability 36 #10 of 15 71 #5 of 15 27 #175 of 239
Financial Health 57 #7 of 15 21 #12 of 15 8 #268 of 292
Shareholder Returns 31 #10 of 14 85 #3 of 14 14 #176 of 204
Overall 53 54 14
  • CLW ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • GPK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • MERC ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCLWGPKMERCSPY
1 month -5.8%-6.5%-62.5% -0.8%
3 months +11.0%-21.3%-82.1% +3.5%
6 months +31.3%-8.6%-89.3% +7.0%
Year to date +10.3%-41.8%-93.9% +12.2%
1 year -3.7%-49.2%-95.5% +13.0%
3 years -44.4%-58.1%-98.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year -17.8%-25.2%-75.4% +23.1%
5 years -53.8%-55.8%-98.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year -14.3%-15.1%-59.2% +11.0%
10 years -63.9%-29.5%-98.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year -9.7%-3.4%-34.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCLWGPKMERCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 52.7%47.4%97.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 50.6%48.0%115.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.920.891.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.07-1.04-0.98 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.8%-73.0%-99.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.6%-49.5%-95.7% -1.8%
52-week high $23.30$17.37$2.79 $779.14
52-week low $12.44$8.24$0.12 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCLWGPKMERC
P/E now vs peer median 129.1xmedian 19.3x 13.4xmedian 19.3x 0.0xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.7x 0.3xmedian 0.7x 0.0xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 9.7x 7.5xmedian 9.7x -6.8xmedian 9.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 15.7x 13.7xmedian 15.7x -0.1xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 1.4x 0.8xmedian 1.4x -0.1xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median -1.87median 0.82 -0.39median 0.82 0.00median 0.79

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCLWGPKMERC
Revenue $1.51B $8.64B $1.86B
Gross profit $27.10M $1.34B $52.72M
Operating income -$24.30M $504.00M -$437.94M
Net income $2.40M $194.00M -$517.45M
Free cash flow $56.80M $189.00M -$154.18M
EPS (diluted) $0.15 $0.65 $-7.72
Cash & equivalents $35.70M $205.00M $78.78M
Total debt $567.40M $5.67B $1.95B
Shares (diluted) 16.13M 296.70M 67.04M
Enterprise value $12.25M $1.80B -$439.34M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCLWGPKMERC
P/E 129.1x 13.4x 0.0x
P/FCF 5.5x 13.7x -0.1x
P/Operating cash flow 2.9x 3.3x -0.1x
P/S 0.2x 0.3x 0.0x
P/B 0.4x 0.8x -0.1x
P/Tangible book 0.4x 1.0x -0.1x
EV/EBITDA 12.1x 7.5x -6.8x
EV/EBIT -34.6x 16.0x -4.3x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 0.9x 1.0x
EV/FCF 14.8x 42.6x -12.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.0x 10.2x -22.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.87 -0.39 0.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLWGPKMERC
Revenue growth (1Y) -3.2% 0.0% -4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 43.6% -3.7% -5.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -76.0% -26.6% -81.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 28.2% -13.6% -45.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 62.7% -45.9% -5,891%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.2% -24.2% -163.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -98.3% -63.7% -373.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -69.5% -35.0% -130.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -98.3% -63.1% -372.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -69.0% -34.1% -130.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 478.1% 3.1% -270.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.6% -10.1% -41.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 142.2% 147.8% -261.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.9% -28.6% -0.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLWGPKMERC
Gross margin 1.8% 15.5% 2.8%
EBITDA margin 4.6% 12.4% -14.9%
Operating margin -1.6% 5.8% -23.6%
Pretax margin -3.2% 2.9% -29.7%
Net margin 0.2% 2.2% -27.9%
FCF margin 3.8% 2.2% -8.3%
Operating cash flow margin 7.0% 9.2% -4.6%
Return on equity 0.3% 6.0% –
Return on assets 0.1% 1.7% -27.0%
Return on invested capital -1.3% 4.3% -23.1%
Return on capital employed -2.1% 5.3% -33.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 43.8x 4.1x 0.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.2% 0.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLWGPKMERC
Debt / assets 31.9% 48.6% 104.3%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.8x -19.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x 5.1x -6.8x
Debt / FCF 10.0x 30.0x -12.7x
Liabilities / assets 55.3% 72.2% 105.2%
Equity / assets 44.7% 27.8% -5.2%
Interest coverage – 2.0x -3.7x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.4x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.81 1.34 0.04

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLWGPKMERC
Dividend yield – 5.0% 0.0%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 5.0% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -1.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -6.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -60.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -26.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCLWGPKMERC
Forward P/E – 13.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-3.74FY2026 $0.65FY2026 $-3.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -63.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +44.6% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.55BFY2026 $8.24BFY2026 $2.02BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.5%FY2026 -4.4%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.7% +0.2% +10.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLWGPKMERC
Held by institutions 88.7% 100.0% 63.8%
Institutions holding 134 499 67
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.9% +5.3% -11.3%
Institutions buying 85 322 27
Institutions selling 33 130 19
Buyers to sellers 2.58 2.48 1.42

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CLWGPKMERC
CLW 1.00 0.46 0.17
GPK 0.46 1.00 0.20
MERC 0.17 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLW, GPK and MERC?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Clearwater Paper (CLW) $210.55M, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) $2.58B, Mercer International (MERC) $8.88M.

Which stock is cheaper, CLW, GPK and MERC?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Clearwater Paper (CLW) 87.7x, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 13.3x, Mercer International (MERC) 0.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Clearwater Paper (CLW) -3.2%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) +0.0%, Mercer International (MERC) -4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) has the highest net margin (Clearwater Paper (CLW) 0.2%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 2.2%, Mercer International (MERC) -27.9%). On return on invested capital, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) leads (Clearwater Paper (CLW) -1.3%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 4.3%, Mercer International (MERC) -23.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Clearwater Paper (CLW) returned the most: Clearwater Paper (CLW) -3.7%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -49.2%, Mercer International (MERC) -95.5%. Over five years, Clearwater Paper (CLW) compounded fastest (Clearwater Paper (CLW) -14.3%/yr, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -15.1%/yr, Mercer International (MERC) -59.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Clearwater Paper (CLW) 0.00%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 0.00%, Mercer International (MERC) 1.13%. Clearwater Paper (CLW) and Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) has been the steadiest (Clearwater Paper (CLW) 52.7%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 47.4%, Mercer International (MERC) 97.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLW, GPK and MERC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.