GPK vs MERC vs IP Stock Comparison

Graphic Packaging Holding, Mercer International and International Paper Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

International Paper leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (International Paper 7, 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.

QuestionGPKMERCIPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.56B $8.73M $17.72B IP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.2x 0.0x -5.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.5x — 25.5x GPK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.0% -4.8% +25.4% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% -27.9% -14.2% GPK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.3% -23.1% 7.5% IP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -6.8x 1.7x MERC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.15% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -49.2% -95.5% -31.7% IP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.1%/yr -59.2%/yr -7.8%/yr IP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.4% 97.6% 45.0% IP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 14/100 68/100 IP

Percentile Scorecard

GPKMERCIP

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

AxisGPKMERCIP
Valuation 93 #2 of 16 19 #232 of 287 60 #7 of 16
Growth 0 #16 of 16 1 #265 of 267 47 #9 of 16
Profitability 71 #5 of 15 27 #175 of 239 57 #7 of 15
Financial Health 21 #12 of 15 8 #268 of 292 86 #3 of 15
Shareholder Returns 85 #3 of 14 14 #176 of 204 92 #2 of 14
Overall 54 14 68
  • GPK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • MERC ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGPKMERCIPSPY
1 month -6.5%-62.5%-4.7% -0.8%
3 months -21.3%-82.1%-21.2% +3.5%
6 months -8.6%-89.3%+2.3% +7.0%
Year to date -41.8%-93.9%-15.2% +12.2%
1 year -49.2%-95.5%-31.7% +13.0%
3 years -58.1%-98.5%+0.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year -25.2%-75.4%+0.3% +23.1%
5 years -55.8%-98.9%-33.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -15.1%-59.2%-7.8% +11.0%
10 years -29.5%-98.5%-27.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year -3.4%-34.1%-3.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGPKMERCIPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.4%97.6%45.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.0%115.0%44.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.891.841.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.04-0.98-0.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-99.3%-51.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -49.5%-95.7%-32.1% -1.8%
52-week high $17.37$2.79$49.19 $779.14
52-week low $8.24$0.12$29.38 $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.

MultipleGPKMERCIP
P/E now vs peer median 13.4xmedian 19.3x 0.0xmedian 17.8x -5.1xmedian 19.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.7x 0.0xmedian 1.8x 0.9xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 9.7x -6.8xmedian 9.9x 6.0xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.7xmedian 15.7x -0.1xmedian 16.0x 42.6xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.4x -0.1xmedian 1.8x 1.4xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median -0.39median 0.82 0.00median 0.79 0.08median 0.82

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 monthsGPKMERCIP
Revenue $8.64B $1.86B $24.20B
Gross profit $1.34B $52.72M $7.21B
Operating income $504.00M -$437.94M $2.13B
Net income $194.00M -$517.45M -$3.44B
Free cash flow $189.00M -$154.18M $492.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.65 $-7.72 $-6.49
Cash & equivalents $205.00M $78.78M $726.00M
Total debt $5.67B $1.95B $34.22B
Shares (diluted) 296.70M 67.04M 529.50M
Enterprise value $1.79B -$439.49M $13.62B

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
MetricGPKMERCIP
P/E 13.4x 0.0x -5.1x
P/FCF 13.7x -0.1x 42.6x
P/Operating cash flow 3.3x -0.1x 7.9x
P/S 0.3x 0.0x 0.9x
P/B 0.8x -0.1x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 1.0x -0.1x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x -6.8x 6.0x
EV/EBIT 16.0x -4.3x 13.8x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.0x 1.2x
EV/FCF 42.6x -12.2x 59.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.2x -22.2x 11.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.39 0.00 0.08

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGPKMERCIP
Dividend yield 5.0% 0.0% 5.5%
Net buyback yield – – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 5.0% 0.0% 5.7%
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.

ConsensusGPKMERCIP
Forward P/E 13.5xFY2026 – 25.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.65FY2026 $-3.79FY2026 $1.31FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -63.9%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +44.6% – +122.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.24BFY2026 $2.02BFY2026 $23.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.4%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026 -2.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.2% +10.5% +17.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGPKMERCIP
Held by institutions 100.0% 63.8% 85.3%
Institutions holding 499 67 855
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% -11.3% +4.9%
Institutions buying 322 27 453
Institutions selling 130 19 282
Buyers to sellers 2.48 1.42 1.61

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.

GPKMERCIP
GPK 1.00 0.20 0.43
MERC 0.20 1.00 0.22
IP 0.43 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GPK, MERC and IP?

International Paper (IP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) $2.56B, Mercer International (MERC) $8.73M, International Paper (IP) $17.72B.

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year International Paper (IP) returned the most: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -49.2%, Mercer International (MERC) -95.5%, International Paper (IP) -31.7%. Over five years, International Paper (IP) compounded fastest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -15.1%/yr, Mercer International (MERC) -59.2%/yr, International Paper (IP) -7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 0.00%, Mercer International (MERC) 1.15%, International Paper (IP) 0.00%. Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) and International Paper (IP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, International Paper (IP) has been the steadiest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 47.4%, Mercer International (MERC) 97.6%, International Paper (IP) 45.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.