GPK vs MERC vs WFG Stock Comparison

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

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

West Fraser Timber leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (West Fraser Timber 5, Graphic Packaging Holding 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGPKMERCWFGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.49B $8.33M $5.39B WFG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.9x 0.0x -3.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.4x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.0% -4.8% -10.2% GPK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% -27.9% -26.2% GPK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.3% -23.1% — GPK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -6.8x -181.5x WFG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.21% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -50.0% -95.0% +4.9% WFG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.6%/yr -58.8%/yr -3.4%/yr WFG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.3% 97.9% 33.6% WFG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 14/100 33/100 GPK

Percentile Scorecard

GPKMERCWFG

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

AxisGPKMERCWFG
Valuation 93 #2 of 16 20 #231 of 287 45 #159 of 287
Growth 7 #15 of 16 1 #264 of 266 6 #251 of 266
Profitability 71 #5 of 15 27 #172 of 236 21 #187 of 236
Financial Health 15 #12 of 14 8 #264 of 288 –
Shareholder Returns 75 #4 of 13 13 #176 of 203 62 #78 of 203
Overall 52 14 33
  • GPK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • MERC ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials
  • WFG ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGPKMERCWFGSPY
1 month -7.4%-59.4%-2.7% -0.2%
3 months -25.4%-80.9%+3.4% +3.9%
6 months -10.6%-88.0%+9.0% +8.2%
Year to date -42.3%-93.4%+14.0% +12.9%
1 year -50.0%-95.0%+4.9% +12.3%
3 years -58.5%-98.4%+6.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year -25.4%-74.8%+2.0% +23.3%
5 years -57.1%-98.8%-15.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year -15.6%-58.8%-3.4% +10.9%
10 years -31.0%-98.4%+103.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year -3.6%-33.7%+7.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGPKMERCWFGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.3%97.9%33.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.8%115.0%32.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.881.870.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.06-0.970.14 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-99.3%-43.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.0%-95.3%-9.1% -1.2%
52-week high $17.37$2.79$76.69 $779.14
52-week low $8.24$0.12$57.91 $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.

MultipleGPKMERCWFG
P/E now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 19.3x 0.0xmedian 18.1x -4.0xmedian 18.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.7x 0.0xmedian 1.8x 1.1xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 9.4x -6.8xmedian 9.8x -2,933xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 15.6x -0.1xmedian 15.5x -12.7xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.4x -0.1xmedian 1.8x 1.0xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median -0.39median 0.82 0.00median 0.76 0.61median 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 monthsGPKMERCWFG
Revenue $8.64B $1.86B $5.24B
Gross profit $1.34B $52.72M $1.14B
Operating income $504.00M -$437.94M -$1.49B
Net income $194.00M -$517.45M -$1.20B
Free cash flow $189.00M -$154.18M -$435.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.65 $-7.72 $-17.33
Cash & equivalents $205.00M $78.78M $74.00M
Total debt $5.67B $1.95B $437.00M
Shares (diluted) 296.70M 67.04M 79.16M
Enterprise value $1.72B -$439.90M $4.48B

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
MetricGPKMERCWFG
P/E 13.3x 0.0x -4.0x
P/FCF 13.6x -0.1x -12.7x
P/Operating cash flow 3.2x -0.1x –
P/S 0.3x 0.0x 1.1x
P/B 0.8x -0.1x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 1.0x -0.1x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x -6.8x -2,933x
EV/EBIT 15.9x -4.3x -3.9x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x
EV/FCF 42.5x -12.2x -13.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.1x -22.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.39 0.00 0.61

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGPKMERCWFG
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.0% -4.8% -10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.7% -5.0% -13.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -26.6% -81.9% -29.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -13.6% -45.3% -27.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -45.9% -5,891% -867.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -24.2% -163.0% -52.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -63.7% -373.6% -1,620%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.0% -130.8% -188.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -63.1% -372.7% -331.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -34.1% -130.0% -6.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.1% -270.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.1% -41.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 147.8% -261.2% 17.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -28.6% -0.7% 1.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGPKMERCWFG
Gross margin 15.5% 2.8% 21.8%
EBITDA margin 12.4% -14.9% 0.0%
Operating margin 5.8% -23.6% -28.4%
Pretax margin 2.9% -29.7% -29.3%
Net margin 2.2% -27.9% -26.2%
FCF margin 2.2% -8.3% -8.3%
Operating cash flow margin 9.2% -4.6% –
Return on equity 6.0% – -24.5%
Return on assets 1.7% -27.0% –
Return on invested capital 4.3% -23.1% –
Return on capital employed 5.3% -33.3% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.0x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.1x 0.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGPKMERCWFG
Debt / assets 48.6% 104.3% –
Debt / equity 1.8x -19.9x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -6.8x -181.5x
Debt / FCF 30.0x -12.7x -1.0x
Liabilities / assets 72.2% 105.2% –
Equity / assets 27.8% -5.2% –
Interest coverage 2.0x -3.7x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.3x –
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.6x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 1.34 0.04 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGPKMERCWFG
Dividend yield 5.1% 0.0% 1.8%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 5.1% 0.0% 1.8%
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.

ConsensusGPKMERCWFG
Forward P/E 13.4xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.65FY2026 $-3.79FY2026 $-4.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -63.9%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +44.6% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.24BFY2026 $2.02BFY2026 $5.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.4%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026 +6.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.2% +10.5% +9.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGPKMERCWFG
Held by institutions 100.0% 63.8% 49.7%
Institutions holding 499 67 166
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% -11.3% +3.1%
Institutions buying 322 27 79
Institutions selling 130 19 55
Buyers to sellers 2.48 1.42 1.44

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.

GPKMERCWFG
GPK 1.00 0.19 0.41
MERC 0.19 1.00 0.19
WFG 0.41 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GPK, MERC and WFG?

West Fraser Timber (WFG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) $2.49B, Mercer International (MERC) $8.33M, West Fraser Timber (WFG) $5.39B.

Which company is growing faster?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) +0.0%, Mercer International (MERC) -4.8%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) -10.2%.

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%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) -26.2%). On return on invested capital, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) leads (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 4.3%, Mercer International (MERC) -23.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year West Fraser Timber (WFG) returned the most: Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -50.0%, Mercer International (MERC) -95.0%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) +4.9%. Over five years, West Fraser Timber (WFG) compounded fastest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -15.6%/yr, Mercer International (MERC) -58.8%/yr, West Fraser Timber (WFG) -3.4%/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) 1.21%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) 0.00%. Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) and West Fraser Timber (WFG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, West Fraser Timber (WFG) has been the steadiest (Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 47.3%, Mercer International (MERC) 97.9%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) 33.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, West Fraser Timber (WFG) leads on 5. 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.