IP vs EXP vs SON Stock Comparison

International Paper, Eagle Materials and Sonoco Products Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EXP Eagle Materials Inc
$174.71 -2.0% 1M -25.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.39B
P/E
13.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.32B
Div. yield
0.01%
Cement Basic Materials
3 wins
SON Sonoco Products Co
$50.12 -1.0% 1M +21.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.92B
P/E
7.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.46B
Div. yield
0.04%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionIPEXPSONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.68B $5.39B $4.92B IP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.1x 13.4x 7.8x SON
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.3x 13.9x 9.3x SON
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +25.4% +1.7% +17.7% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% 17.3% 8.4% EXP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.5% 12.9% 10.0% EXP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 2.2x 2.7x IP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.04% SON
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -32.4% -25.3% +21.0% SON
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.0%/yr +4.3%/yr -3.4%/yr EXP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.0% 34.5% 33.8% SON
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 51/100 68/100 SON

Percentile Scorecard

IPEXPSON

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

AxisIPEXPSON
Valuation 53 #8 of 16 22 #8 of 10 80 #4 of 16
Growth 40 #10 of 16 – 87 #3 of 16
Profitability 47 #9 of 16 100 #1 of 8 87 #3 of 16
Financial Health 75 #5 of 17 25 #7 of 9 31 #12 of 17
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 57 #4 of 8 54 #7 of 14
Overall 61 51 68
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • EXP ranked among 10 companies in Construction 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

PeriodIPEXPSONSPY
1 month -7.1%-2.0%-1.0% -1.0%
3 months -21.4%-18.2%-13.9% +2.9%
6 months +1.6%-16.3%+3.4% +6.4%
Year to date -15.8%-15.5%+14.8% +11.4%
1 year -32.4%-25.3%+21.0% +13.1%
3 years -0.3%+12.3%-0.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -0.1%+3.9%-0.3% +21.5%
5 years -37.5%+23.6%-15.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year -9.0%+4.3%-3.4% +10.9%
10 years -29.4%+125.8%-1.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year -3.4%+8.5%-0.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureIPEXPSONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.0%34.5%33.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%32.8%36.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.241.080.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.72-0.740.62 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-48.2%-41.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.6%-27.3%-17.2% -2.5%
52-week high $49.19$240.24$60.55 $779.14
52-week low $29.38$163.37$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.

MultipleIPEXPSON
P/E now vs peer median -5.1xmedian 18.2x 13.4xmedian 19.7x 7.9xmedian 18.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 2.3xmedian 1.8x 0.7xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 9.5x 9.8xmedian 9.3x 5.9xmedian 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.3xmedian 15.7x 31.6xmedian 31.6x 14.0xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.4x 3.6xmedian 2.3x 1.4xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.08median 0.83 -11.00median 1.85 0.90median 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 monthsIPEXPSON
Revenue $24.20B $2.32B $7.46B
Gross profit $7.21B $628.19M $1.55B
Operating income $2.13B $539.59M $1.04B
Net income -$3.44B $402.57M $628.33M
Free cash flow $492.00M $170.51M $354.83M
EPS (diluted) $-6.49 $12.95 $6.29
Cash & equivalents $726.00M $233.54M $168.65M
Total debt $34.22B $6.57B $4.45B
Shares (diluted) 529.50M 31.09M 99.78M
Enterprise value $13.58B $4.41B $3.90B

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
MetricIPEXPSON
P/E -5.1x 13.4x 7.9x
P/FCF 42.3x 31.6x 14.0x
P/Operating cash flow 7.9x 8.5x 7.8x
P/S 0.9x 2.3x 0.7x
P/B 1.4x 3.6x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 3.6x 4.7x
EV/EBITDA 5.9x 9.8x 5.9x
EV/EBIT 13.8x 12.8x 8.9x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 3.0x 1.2x
EV/FCF 59.5x 40.5x 26.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.1x 10.9x 14.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.08 -11.00 0.90

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIPEXPSON
Revenue growth (1Y) 25.4% 1.7% 17.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 2.0% 15.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 32.6% -6.5% 15.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% -1.9% 13.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% -9.0% 124.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.8% -4.1% 19.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -12,633% -11.1% 13.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -74.4% -5.5% 9.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -12,708% -6.2% 12.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.9% -1.2% 8.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 139.3% 14.4% 17.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 4.3% -1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 516.9% -45.7% 148.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.3% -26.3% 2.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIPEXPSON
Gross margin 29.8% 27.0% 20.8%
EBITDA margin 20.4% 30.3% 20.9%
Operating margin 8.8% 23.2% 13.9%
Pretax margin -13.5% 21.5% 10.8%
Net margin -14.2% 17.3% 8.4%
FCF margin 2.0% 7.3% 4.8%
Operating cash flow margin 10.9% 27.2% 8.5%
Return on equity -23.5% 26.1% 17.5%
Return on assets -9.4% 10.0% 5.7%
Return on invested capital 7.5% 12.9% 10.0%
Return on capital employed 7.3% 15.0% 12.6%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x 1.6x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.9% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIPEXPSON
Debt / assets 25.2% 45.0% 40.6%
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.2x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 2.2x 2.7x
Debt / FCF 18.7x 10.3x 12.6x
Liabilities / assets 60.4% 62.0% 67.2%
Equity / assets 39.6% 38.0% 32.8%
Interest coverage 6.2x 11.3x 5.1x
Current ratio 1.1x 3.2x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.8x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.62 3.12 1.83

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIPEXPSON
Dividend yield 5.6% 0.6% 4.3%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 7.2% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 5.7% 7.8% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 8.0% 33.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 18.8% 59.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -4.0% 2.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -4.5% 2.9%

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.

ConsensusIPEXPSON
Forward P/E 25.3xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 9.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.31FY2026 $12.53FY2026 $5.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -9.3%FY2026 -5.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +121.4% +4.2% +18.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.99BFY2026 $2.20BFY2026 $7.74BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.7%FY2026 -4.9%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.1% +6.0% -5.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIPEXPSON
Held by institutions 85.3% 100.0% 97.9%
Institutions holding 855 529 507
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +4.2% +13.2%
Institutions buying 453 272 264
Institutions selling 282 167 160
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.63 1.65

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.

IPEXPSON
IP 1.00 0.58 0.50
EXP 0.58 1.00 0.41
SON 0.50 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IP, EXP and SON?

International Paper (IP) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Paper (IP) $17.68B, Eagle Materials (EXP) $5.39B, Sonoco Products (SON) $4.92B.

Which stock is cheaper, IP, EXP and SON?

Sonoco Products (SON) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (International Paper (IP) -5.1x, Eagle Materials (EXP) 13.4x, Sonoco Products (SON) 7.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sonoco Products (SON) is cheapest (International Paper (IP) 25.3x, Eagle Materials (EXP) 13.9x, Sonoco Products (SON) 9.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

International Paper (IP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: International Paper (IP) +25.4%, Eagle Materials (EXP) +1.7%, Sonoco Products (SON) +17.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Eagle Materials (EXP) has the highest net margin (International Paper (IP) -14.2%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 17.3%, Sonoco Products (SON) 8.4%). On return on invested capital, Eagle Materials (EXP) leads (International Paper (IP) 7.5%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 12.9%, Sonoco Products (SON) 10.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sonoco Products (SON) returned the most: International Paper (IP) -32.4%, Eagle Materials (EXP) -25.3%, Sonoco Products (SON) +21.0%. Over five years, Eagle Materials (EXP) compounded fastest (International Paper (IP) -9.0%/yr, Eagle Materials (EXP) +4.3%/yr, Sonoco Products (SON) -3.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Sonoco Products (SON) has the highest dividend yield: International Paper (IP) 0.00%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 0.01%, Sonoco Products (SON) 0.04%. International Paper (IP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sonoco Products (SON) has been the steadiest (International Paper (IP) 45.0%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 34.5%, Sonoco Products (SON) 33.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IP, EXP 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.