GPK vs MERC vs SON Stock Comparison

Graphic Packaging Holding, Mercer International and Sonoco Products Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SON Sonoco Products Co
$49.87 +0.5% 1M +25.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.97B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.04%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sonoco Products leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Sonoco Products 6, Graphic Packaging Holding 3, Mercer International 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGPKMERCSONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.63B $7.81M $4.97B SON
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.6x 0.0x -21.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.5x — 9.8x SON
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.0% -4.8% +3.6% SON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% -27.9% -3.1% GPK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.3% -23.1% 2.7% GPK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -6.8x 5.6x MERC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.29% 0.04% MERC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -45.9% -94.8% +25.6% SON
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.1%/yr -59.3%/yr -3.0%/yr SON
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.1% 97.8% 33.6% SON
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 14/100 39/100 GPK

Percentile Scorecard

GPKMERCSON

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

AxisGPKMERCSON
Valuation 94 #2 of 17 18 #236 of 289 44 #10 of 17
Growth 20 #13 of 16 1 #266 of 268 27 #12 of 16
Profitability 64 #6 of 15 28 #171 of 237 43 #9 of 15
Financial Health 21 #12 of 15 10 #260 of 288 29 #11 of 15
Shareholder Returns 77 #4 of 14 14 #177 of 206 54 #7 of 14
Overall 55 14 39
  • GPK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • MERC ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials
  • SON ranked among 17 companies in Packaging

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGPKMERCSONSPY
1 month -4.3%-62.5%+0.5% +0.7%
3 months -19.7%-79.7%-12.2% +3.7%
6 months -7.7%-89.3%-0.2% +7.1%
Year to date -41.6%-93.9%+14.3% +12.8%
1 year -45.9%-94.8%+25.6% +11.9%
3 years -57.8%-98.5%-2.7% +85.2%
3 years, per year -25.0%-75.3%-0.9% +22.8%
5 years -55.8%-98.9%-13.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year -15.1%-59.3%-3.0% +10.9%
10 years -29.5%-98.5%+0.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year -3.4%-34.2%+0.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGPKMERCSONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.1%97.8%33.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.4%115.3%36.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.871.850.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.97-0.970.76 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-99.3%-41.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -48.4%-95.7%-17.6% -1.2%
52-week high $17.05$2.79$60.55 $779.14
52-week low $8.24$0.12$39.27 $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.

MultipleGPKMERCSON
P/E now vs peer median 13.5xmedian 19.7x 0.0xmedian 17.6x -21.8xmedian 19.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.7x 0.0xmedian 1.8x 0.7xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 10.1x -6.8xmedian 9.8x 12.4xmedian 10.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.8xmedian 15.9x -0.1xmedian 15.6x 14.0xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.5x -0.1xmedian 1.8x 1.7xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median -0.39median 0.80 0.00median 0.78 0.62median 0.80

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 monthsGPKMERCSON
Revenue $8.64B $1.86B $7.37B
Gross profit $1.34B $52.72M $1.49B
Operating income $504.00M -$437.94M $202.22M
Net income $194.00M -$517.45M -$226.84M
Free cash flow $189.00M -$154.18M $351.16M
EPS (diluted) $0.65 $-7.72 $-2.29
Cash & equivalents $205.00M $78.78M $183.10M
Total debt $5.67B $1.95B $4.29B
Shares (diluted) 296.70M 67.04M 99.50M
Enterprise value $1.86B -$440.41M $4.01B

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
MetricGPKMERCSON
P/E 13.5x 0.0x -21.8x
P/FCF 13.8x -0.1x 14.0x
P/Operating cash flow 3.3x -0.1x 7.8x
P/S 0.3x 0.0x 0.7x
P/B 0.8x -0.1x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 1.0x -0.1x 14.8x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x -6.8x 12.4x
EV/EBIT 16.0x -4.3x 44.7x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.0x 1.2x
EV/FCF 42.7x -12.2x 25.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.2x -22.2x 14.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.39 0.00 0.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSON
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.0% -4.8% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.7% -5.0% 18.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -26.6% -81.9% -1.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -13.6% -45.3% 13.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -45.9% -5,891% -63.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -24.2% -163.0% -30.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -63.7% -373.6% -136.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.0% -130.8% -35.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -63.1% -372.7% -136.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -34.1% -130.0% -35.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.1% -270.4% -6.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.1% -41.4% -7.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 147.8% -261.2% 17.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -28.6% -0.7% -8.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSON
Gross margin 15.5% 2.8% 20.2%
EBITDA margin 12.4% -14.9% 9.9%
Operating margin 5.8% -23.6% 2.7%
Pretax margin 2.9% -29.7% -0.1%
Net margin 2.2% -27.9% -3.1%
FCF margin 2.2% -8.3% 4.8%
Operating cash flow margin 9.2% -4.6% 8.6%
Return on equity 6.0% – -7.1%
Return on assets 1.7% -27.0% -2.1%
Return on invested capital 4.3% -23.1% 2.7%
Return on capital employed 5.3% -33.3% 2.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.1x 0.2x -2.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.0% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSON
Debt / assets 48.6% 104.3% 42.3%
Debt / equity 1.8x -19.9x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -6.8x 5.6x
Debt / FCF 30.0x -12.7x 12.2x
Liabilities / assets 72.2% 105.2% 72.2%
Equity / assets 27.8% -5.2% 27.8%
Interest coverage 2.0x -3.7x 1.1x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.3x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.34 0.04 1.62

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSON
Dividend yield 5.0% 0.0% 4.3%
Net buyback yield – – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 5.0% 0.0% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -1.9% -93.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -6.5% 60.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -60.0% 2.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -26.1% 2.7%

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.

ConsensusGPKMERCSON
Forward P/E 13.5xFY2026 – 9.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.65FY2026 $-3.79FY2026 $5.09FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -63.9%FY2026 – -10.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +44.6% – +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.24BFY2026 $2.02BFY2026 $7.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.4%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.2% +10.5% -5.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGPKMERCSON
Held by institutions 100.0% 63.8% 97.9%
Institutions holding 500 67 508
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% -11.3% +13.2%
Institutions buying 323 27 265
Institutions selling 130 19 160
Buyers to sellers 2.48 1.42 1.66

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.

GPKMERCSON
GPK 1.00 0.19 0.44
MERC 0.19 1.00 0.21
SON 0.44 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GPK, MERC and SON?

Sonoco Products (SON) is the largest by market capitalisation: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) $2.63B, Mercer International (MERC) $7.81M, Sonoco Products (SON) $4.97B.

Which company is growing faster?

Sonoco Products (SON) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) +0.0%, Mercer International (MERC) -4.8%, Sonoco Products (SON) +3.6%.

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%, Sonoco Products (SON) -3.1%). On return on invested capital, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) leads (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 4.3%, Mercer International (MERC) -23.1%, Sonoco Products (SON) 2.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sonoco Products (SON) returned the most: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -45.9%, Mercer International (MERC) -94.8%, Sonoco Products (SON) +25.6%. Over five years, Sonoco Products (SON) compounded fastest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -15.1%/yr, Mercer International (MERC) -59.3%/yr, Sonoco Products (SON) -3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mercer International (MERC) has the highest dividend yield: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 0.00%, Mercer International (MERC) 1.29%, Sonoco Products (SON) 0.04%. Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sonoco Products (SON) has been the steadiest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 47.1%, Mercer International (MERC) 97.8%, Sonoco Products (SON) 33.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sonoco Products (SON) leads on 6. 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.