GPK vs MERC vs SW Stock Comparison

Graphic Packaging Holding, Mercer International and Smurfit Westrock Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SW Smurfit Westrock plc
$41.85 -10.0% 1M -2.7% 1Y
Market cap
$22.12B
P/E
44.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.33B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Smurfit Westrock leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Smurfit Westrock 6, Graphic Packaging Holding 4, Mercer International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGPKMERCSWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.60B $8.43M $22.12B SW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.4x 0.0x 44.5x GPK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.1x — 18.4x GPK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.0% -4.8% +1.7% SW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% -27.9% 1.6% GPK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.3% -23.1% 3.1% GPK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -6.8x 3.2x MERC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.19% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -50.4% -94.4% -2.7% SW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.8%/yr -57.7%/yr -3.0%/yr SW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.4% 96.6% 44.1% SW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 14/100 53/100 SW

Percentile Scorecard

GPKMERCSW

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

AxisGPKMERCSW
Valuation 100 #1 of 16 19 #232 of 287 67 #6 of 16
Growth 0 #16 of 16 1 #265 of 267 67 #6 of 16
Profitability 53 #8 of 16 27 #176 of 240 40 #10 of 16
Financial Health 19 #14 of 17 8 #273 of 295 69 #6 of 17
Shareholder Returns 85 #3 of 14 13 #177 of 204 23 #11 of 14
Overall 51 14 53
  • GPK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • MERC ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials
  • SW ranked among 17 companies in Packaging

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGPKMERCSWSPY
1 month -9.3%-56.3%-10.0% -1.0%
3 months -20.4%-79.1%-13.8% +2.9%
6 months -6.2%-87.5%+4.7% +6.4%
Year to date -41.8%-92.9%+8.2% +11.4%
1 year -50.4%-94.4%-2.7% +13.1%
3 years -56.9%-98.4%+32.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year -24.5%-74.7%+9.8% +21.5%
5 years -57.5%-98.6%-14.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -15.8%-57.7%-3.0% +10.9%
10 years -35.1%-98.2%+91.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year -4.2%-33.1%+6.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureGPKMERCSWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.4%96.6%44.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.9%113.0%40.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.871.911.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.06-0.98-0.06 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-99.2%-55.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.4%-95.0%-19.3% -2.5%
52-week high $17.68$2.79$51.84 $779.14
52-week low $8.24$0.14$32.79 $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.

MultipleGPKMERCSW
P/E now vs peer median 13.4xmedian 18.2x 0.0xmedian 17.9x 44.1xmedian 18.2x
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 9.5x -6.8xmedian 9.8x 8.4xmedian 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.7xmedian 15.7x -0.1xmedian 16.0x 21.6xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.4x -0.1xmedian 1.8x 1.2xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median -0.39median 0.83 0.00median 0.73 —median 0.83

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 monthsGPKMERCSW
Revenue $8.64B $1.86B $31.33B
Gross profit $1.34B $52.72M $5.62B
Operating income $504.00M -$437.94M $1.48B
Net income $194.00M -$517.45M $497.00M
Free cash flow $189.00M -$154.18M $1.02B
EPS (diluted) $0.65 $-7.72 $0.94
Cash & equivalents $205.00M $78.78M $677.00M
Total debt $5.67B $1.95B $14.16B
Shares (diluted) 296.70M 67.04M 526.00M
Enterprise value $1.82B -$439.79M $19.02B

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
MetricGPKMERCSW
P/E 13.4x 0.0x 44.1x
P/FCF 13.7x -0.1x 21.6x
P/Operating cash flow 3.3x -0.1x 6.7x
P/S 0.3x 0.0x 0.7x
P/B 0.8x -0.1x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 1.0x -0.1x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x -6.8x 8.4x
EV/EBIT 16.0x -4.3x 24.0x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x
EV/FCF 42.6x -12.2x 34.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.2x -22.2x 10.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.39 0.00 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSW
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.0% -4.8% 1.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.7% -5.0% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -26.6% -81.9% -4.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -13.6% -45.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -45.9% -5,891% 17.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -24.2% -163.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) -63.7% -373.6% 41.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.0% -130.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) -63.1% -372.7% 40.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -34.1% -130.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.1% -270.4% 52.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.1% -41.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 147.8% -261.2% 1,094%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -28.6% -0.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSW
Gross margin 15.5% 2.8% 17.9%
EBITDA margin 12.4% -14.9% 13.5%
Operating margin 5.8% -23.6% 4.7%
Pretax margin 2.9% -29.7% 2.3%
Net margin 2.2% -27.9% 1.6%
FCF margin 2.2% -8.3% 3.2%
Operating cash flow margin 9.2% -4.6% 10.5%
Return on equity 6.0% – 2.7%
Return on assets 1.7% -27.0% 1.1%
Return on invested capital 4.3% -23.1% 3.1%
Return on capital employed 5.3% -33.3% 3.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.1x 0.2x 6.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.0% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSW
Debt / assets 48.6% 104.3% 31.3%
Debt / equity 1.8x -19.9x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -6.8x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 30.0x -12.7x 14.0x
Liabilities / assets 72.2% 105.2% 60.0%
Equity / assets 27.8% -5.2% 40.0%
Interest coverage 2.0x -3.7x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.3x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.34 0.04 1.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGPKMERCSW
Dividend yield 5.0% 0.0% 4.3%
Net buyback yield – – -0.1%
Shareholder yield 5.0% 0.0% 4.2%
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.

ConsensusGPKMERCSW
Forward P/E 13.1xFY2026 – 18.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.67FY2026 $-3.78FY2026 $2.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -62.8%FY2026 – +10.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +43.3% – +66.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.23BFY2026 $2.04BFY2026 $33.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.5%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026 +8.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.0% +12.0% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGPKMERCSW
Held by institutions 100.0% 63.8% 95.9%
Institutions holding 499 67 640
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% -11.3% +5.7%
Institutions buying 322 27 373
Institutions selling 130 19 191
Buyers to sellers 2.48 1.42 1.95

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.

GPKMERCSW
GPK 1.00 0.20 0.52
MERC 0.20 1.00 0.21
SW 0.52 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GPK, MERC and SW?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) $2.60B, Mercer International (MERC) $8.43M, Smurfit Westrock (SW) $22.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, GPK, MERC and SW?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 13.4x, Mercer International (MERC) 0.0x, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) is cheapest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 13.1x, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 18.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) +0.0%, Mercer International (MERC) -4.8%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) +1.7%.

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%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 1.6%). On return on invested capital, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) leads (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 4.3%, Mercer International (MERC) -23.1%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 3.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Smurfit Westrock (SW) returned the most: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -50.4%, Mercer International (MERC) -94.4%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -2.7%. Over five years, Smurfit Westrock (SW) compounded fastest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -15.8%/yr, Mercer International (MERC) -57.7%/yr, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -3.0%/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) 1.19%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 0.00%. Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Smurfit Westrock (SW) has been the steadiest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 47.4%, Mercer International (MERC) 96.6%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 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.