GPK vs IP vs MERC Stock Comparison

Graphic Packaging Holding, International Paper and Mercer International Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

International Paper leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (International Paper 8, Graphic Packaging Holding 2, Mercer International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGPKIPMERCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.57B $20.94B $8.71M IP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.3x -5.1x 0.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.4x 25.5x — GPK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.0% +25.4% -4.8% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% -14.2% -27.9% GPK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.3% 7.5% -23.1% IP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x 1.7x -6.8x MERC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 5.06% 5.52% 0.00% IP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -50.0% -30.7% -95.0% IP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.6%/yr -7.6%/yr -58.8%/yr IP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.3% 44.9% 97.9% IP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 67/100 14/100 IP

Percentile Scorecard

GPKIPMERC

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

AxisGPKIPMERC
Valuation 93 #2 of 16 53 #8 of 16 20 #231 of 287
Growth 7 #15 of 16 47 #9 of 16 1 #264 of 266
Profitability 71 #5 of 15 57 #7 of 15 27 #172 of 236
Financial Health 15 #12 of 14 85 #3 of 14 8 #264 of 288
Shareholder Returns 75 #4 of 13 92 #2 of 13 13 #176 of 203
Overall 52 67 14
  • GPK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • IP 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

PeriodGPKIPMERCSPY
1 month -7.4%-4.7%-59.4% -0.2%
3 months -25.4%-24.3%-80.9% +3.9%
6 months -10.6%-1.9%-88.0% +8.2%
Year to date -42.3%-15.2%-93.4% +12.9%
1 year -50.0%-30.7%-95.0% +12.3%
3 years -58.5%+0.8%-98.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -25.4%+0.3%-74.8% +23.3%
5 years -57.1%-32.8%-98.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year -15.6%-7.6%-58.8% +10.9%
10 years -31.0%-26.0%-98.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year -3.6%-3.0%-33.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGPKIPMERCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.3%44.9%97.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.8%44.5%115.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.881.261.87 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.06-0.68-0.97 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-51.1%-99.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.0%-32.1%-95.3% -1.2%
52-week high $17.37$49.19$2.79 $779.14
52-week low $8.24$29.38$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.

MultipleGPKIPMERC
P/E now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 19.3x -5.1xmedian 19.3x 0.0xmedian 18.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.7x 0.9xmedian 0.7x 0.0xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 9.4x 6.0xmedian 9.4x -6.8xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 15.6x 42.6xmedian 15.6x -0.1xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.4x 1.4xmedian 1.4x -0.1xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median -0.39median 0.82 0.08median 0.82 0.00median 0.76

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 monthsGPKIPMERC
Revenue $8.64B $24.20B $1.86B
Gross profit $1.34B $7.21B $52.72M
Operating income $504.00M $2.13B -$437.94M
Net income $194.00M -$3.44B -$517.45M
Free cash flow $189.00M $492.00M -$154.18M
EPS (diluted) $0.65 $-6.49 $-7.72
Cash & equivalents $205.00M $726.00M $78.78M
Total debt $5.67B $34.22B $1.95B
Shares (diluted) 296.70M 529.50M 67.04M
Enterprise value $1.80B $16.83B -$439.51M

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
MetricGPKIPMERC
P/E 13.3x -5.1x 0.0x
P/FCF 13.6x 42.6x -0.1x
P/Operating cash flow 3.2x 7.9x -0.1x
P/S 0.3x 0.9x 0.0x
P/B 0.8x 1.4x -0.1x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 2.0x -0.1x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x 6.0x -6.8x
EV/EBIT 15.9x 13.8x -4.3x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.2x 1.0x
EV/FCF 42.5x 59.8x -12.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.1x 11.1x -22.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.39 0.08 0.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGPKIPMERC
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.0% 25.4% -4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.7% 6.1% -5.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -26.6% 32.6% -81.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -13.6% 7.9% -45.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -45.9% 6.8% -5,891%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -24.2% -13.8% -163.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -63.7% -12,633% -373.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.0% -74.4% -130.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -63.1% -12,708% -372.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -34.1% -60.9% -130.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.1% 139.3% -270.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.1% 8.6% -41.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 147.8% 516.9% -261.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -28.6% -18.3% -0.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGPKIPMERC
Gross margin 15.5% 29.8% 2.8%
EBITDA margin 12.4% 20.4% -14.9%
Operating margin 5.8% 8.8% -23.6%
Pretax margin 2.9% -13.5% -29.7%
Net margin 2.2% -14.2% -27.9%
FCF margin 2.2% 2.0% -8.3%
Operating cash flow margin 9.2% 10.9% -4.6%
Return on equity 6.0% -23.5% –
Return on assets 1.7% -9.4% -27.0%
Return on invested capital 4.3% 7.5% -23.1%
Return on capital employed 5.3% 7.3% -33.3%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.1x -0.8x 0.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% – 0.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGPKIPMERC
Debt / assets 48.6% 25.2% 104.3%
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.6x -19.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x 1.7x -6.8x
Debt / FCF 30.0x 18.7x -12.7x
Liabilities / assets 72.2% 60.4% 105.2%
Equity / assets 27.8% 39.6% -5.2%
Interest coverage 2.0x 6.2x -3.7x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.34 1.62 0.04

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGPKIPMERC
Dividend yield 5.1% 5.5% 0.0%
Net buyback yield – 0.2% –
Shareholder yield 5.1% 5.7% 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.

ConsensusGPKIPMERC
Forward P/E 13.4xFY2026 25.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.65FY2026 $1.31FY2026 $-3.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -63.9%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +44.6% +122.1% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.24BFY2026 $23.04BFY2026 $2.02BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.4%FY2026 -2.5%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.2% +17.4% +10.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGPKIPMERC
Held by institutions 100.0% 85.3% 63.8%
Institutions holding 499 855 67
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +4.9% -11.3%
Institutions buying 322 453 27
Institutions selling 130 282 19
Buyers to sellers 2.48 1.61 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.

GPKIPMERC
GPK 1.00 0.43 0.20
IP 0.43 1.00 0.22
MERC 0.20 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GPK, IP and MERC?

International Paper (IP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) $2.57B, International Paper (IP) $20.94B, Mercer International (MERC) $8.71M.

Which company is growing faster?

International Paper (IP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) +0.0%, International Paper (IP) +25.4%, Mercer International (MERC) -4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) has the highest net margin (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 2.2%, International Paper (IP) -14.2%, Mercer International (MERC) -27.9%). On return on invested capital, International Paper (IP) leads (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 4.3%, International Paper (IP) 7.5%, Mercer International (MERC) -23.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year International Paper (IP) returned the most: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -50.0%, International Paper (IP) -30.7%, Mercer International (MERC) -95.0%. Over five years, International Paper (IP) compounded fastest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -15.6%/yr, International Paper (IP) -7.6%/yr, Mercer International (MERC) -58.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

International Paper (IP) has the highest dividend yield: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 5.06%, International Paper (IP) 5.52%, Mercer International (MERC) 0.00%. Mercer International (MERC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, International Paper (IP) has been the steadiest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 47.3%, International Paper (IP) 44.9%, Mercer International (MERC) 97.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GPK, IP 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, International Paper (IP) leads on 8. 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.