CLW vs MERC vs SUZ Stock Comparison

Clearwater Paper, Mercer International and Suzano Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CLW Clearwater Paper Corp
$13.05 -34.4% 1M -32.4% 1Y
Market cap
$209.18M
P/E
87.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.51B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
SUZ Suzano S.A.
$9.00 +5.0% 1M -2.6% 1Y
Market cap
$11.32B
P/E
7.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.04B
Div. yield
–
Pulp and Paper Basic Materials
9 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Suzano leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Suzano 9, Mercer International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLWMERCSUZLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $209.18M $8.43M $11.32B SUZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 87.2x 0.0x 7.3x SUZ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 6.3x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -3.2% -4.8% +0.7% SUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.2% -27.9% 17.2% SUZ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.3% -23.1% 7.1% SUZ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -6.8x 3.1x MERC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.19% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -32.4% -95.1% -2.6% SUZ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -20.8%/yr -59.3%/yr +0.5%/yr SUZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 63.0% 97.9% 29.8% SUZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 14/100 57/100 SUZ

Percentile Scorecard

CLWMERCSUZ

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

AxisCLWMERCSUZ
Valuation 100 #1 of 16 20 #231 of 287 90 #29 of 287
Growth 40 #10 of 16 1 #264 of 266 17 #222 of 266
Profitability 36 #10 of 15 28 #170 of 234 76 #57 of 234
Financial Health 53 #8 of 16 8 #266 of 289 30 #202 of 289
Shareholder Returns 15 #12 of 14 14 #174 of 203 72 #58 of 203
Overall 49 14 57
  • CLW ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • MERC ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials
  • SUZ ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCLWMERCSUZSPY
1 month -34.4%-62.5%+5.0% +0.9%
3 months -39.7%-80.0%+8.3% +5.9%
6 months +1.2%-88.8%+0.8% +8.5%
Year to date -25.0%-93.9%-3.6% +13.3%
1 year -32.4%-95.1%-2.6% +12.4%
3 years -62.2%-98.5%-13.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year -27.7%-75.4%-4.6% +23.5%
5 years -68.8%-98.9%+2.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year -20.8%-59.3%+0.5% +11.0%
10 years -75.8%-98.5%+158.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year -13.2%-34.2%+10.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCLWMERCSUZSPY
Volatility, 1Y 63.0%97.9%29.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 70.1%115.2%27.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.801.860.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.51-0.97-0.09 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.8%-99.3%-41.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.0%-95.7%-21.5% -0.9%
52-week high $23.30$2.79$11.46 $779.14
52-week low $12.44$0.12$7.67 $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.

MultipleCLWMERCSUZ
P/E now vs peer median 87.7xmedian 19.1x 0.0xmedian 17.5x 7.2xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 0.7x 0.0xmedian 1.8x 1.3xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 9.9x -6.8xmedian 9.8x 5.8xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 15.5x -0.1xmedian 15.8x 12.8xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.5x -0.1xmedian 1.8x 1.2xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median -1.27median 0.78 0.00median 0.78 -0.20median 0.78

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 monthsCLWMERCSUZ
Revenue $1.51B $1.86B $9.04B
Gross profit $27.10M $52.72M $2.58B
Operating income -$24.30M -$437.94M $1.91B
Net income $2.40M -$517.45M $1.56B
Free cash flow $56.80M -$154.18M $888.28M
EPS (diluted) $0.15 $-7.72 $1.25
Cash & equivalents $35.70M $78.78M $3.21B
Total debt $567.40M $1.95B $17.89B
Shares (diluted) 16.13M 67.04M 1.24B
Enterprise value $10.88M -$439.80M -$7.01B

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
MetricCLWMERCSUZ
P/E 87.7x 0.0x 7.2x
P/FCF 3.7x -0.1x 12.8x
P/Operating cash flow 2.0x -0.1x 3.6x
P/S 0.1x 0.0x 1.3x
P/B 0.3x -0.1x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 0.3x -0.1x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 10.6x -6.8x 5.8x
EV/EBIT -30.5x -4.3x 12.7x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 1.0x 2.7x
EV/FCF 13.1x -12.2x 27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.1x -22.2x 7.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.27 0.00 -0.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLWMERCSUZ
Revenue growth (1Y) -3.2% -4.8% 0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 43.6% -5.0% -1.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -76.0% -81.9% -23.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 28.2% -45.3% -17.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 62.7% -5,891% -20.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.2% -163.0% -30.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -98.3% -373.6% 11.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -69.5% -130.8% -29.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -98.3% -372.7% 14.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -69.0% -130.0% -36.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 478.1% -270.4% -11.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.6% -41.4% -13.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 142.2% -261.2% -70.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.9% -0.7% -47.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLWMERCSUZ
Gross margin 1.8% 2.8% 28.6%
EBITDA margin 4.6% -14.9% 46.0%
Operating margin -1.6% -23.6% 21.1%
Pretax margin -3.2% -29.7% 25.9%
Net margin 0.2% -27.9% 17.2%
FCF margin 3.8% -8.3% 9.8%
Operating cash flow margin 7.0% -4.6% 34.8%
Return on equity 0.3% – 16.6%
Return on assets 0.1% -27.0% 4.8%
Return on invested capital -1.3% -23.1% 7.1%
Return on capital employed -2.1% -33.3% 6.4%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.0x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 43.8x 0.2x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLWMERCSUZ
Debt / assets 31.9% 104.3% 54.2%
Debt / equity 0.7x -19.9x 1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -6.8x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 10.0x -12.7x 20.1x
Liabilities / assets 55.3% 105.2% 70.9%
Equity / assets 44.7% -5.2% 29.1%
Interest coverage – -3.7x 1.4x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.3x 3.4x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.6x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 1.9x
Altman Z-score 1.74 0.04 1.04

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLWMERCSUZ
Dividend yield – 0.0% 2.3%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% 2.3%
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.

ConsensusCLWMERCSUZ
Forward P/E – – 6.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-3.74FY2026 $-3.79FY2026 $1.43FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – -31.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – -29.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.55BFY2026 $2.02BFY2026 $10.39BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.5%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026 +7.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.7% +10.5% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLWMERCSUZ
Held by institutions 88.7% 63.8% 5.9%
Institutions holding 134 67 136
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.9% -11.3% +0.6%
Institutions buying 85 27 77
Institutions selling 33 19 46
Buyers to sellers 2.58 1.42 1.67

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.

CLWMERCSUZ
CLW 1.00 0.09 0.10
MERC 0.09 1.00 0.01
SUZ 0.10 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLW, MERC and SUZ?

Suzano (SUZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Clearwater Paper (CLW) $209.18M, Mercer International (MERC) $8.43M, Suzano (SUZ) $11.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLW, MERC and SUZ?

Suzano (SUZ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Clearwater Paper (CLW) 87.2x, Mercer International (MERC) 0.0x, Suzano (SUZ) 7.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Suzano (SUZ) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Clearwater Paper (CLW) -3.2%, Mercer International (MERC) -4.8%, Suzano (SUZ) +0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Suzano (SUZ) has the highest net margin (Clearwater Paper (CLW) 0.2%, Mercer International (MERC) -27.9%, Suzano (SUZ) 17.2%). On return on invested capital, Suzano (SUZ) leads (Clearwater Paper (CLW) -1.3%, Mercer International (MERC) -23.1%, Suzano (SUZ) 7.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Suzano (SUZ) returned the most: Clearwater Paper (CLW) -32.4%, Mercer International (MERC) -95.1%, Suzano (SUZ) -2.6%. Over five years, Suzano (SUZ) compounded fastest (Clearwater Paper (CLW) -20.8%/yr, Mercer International (MERC) -59.3%/yr, Suzano (SUZ) +0.5%/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%, Mercer International (MERC) 1.19%, Suzano (SUZ) 0.00%. Clearwater Paper (CLW) and Suzano (SUZ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Suzano (SUZ) has been the steadiest (Clearwater Paper (CLW) 63.0%, Mercer International (MERC) 97.9%, Suzano (SUZ) 29.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Suzano (SUZ) leads on 9. 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.