IP vs GPK vs SON Stock Comparison

International Paper, Graphic Packaging Holding and Sonoco Products Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SON Sonoco Products Co
$48.77 -2.4% 1M +21.5% 1Y
Market cap
$4.95B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.04%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

International Paper leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (International Paper 5, Sonoco Products 4, Graphic Packaging Holding 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIPGPKSONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $19.04B $2.60B $4.95B IP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.5x 13.4x -21.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.3x 13.1x 9.6x SON
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +25.4% +0.0% +3.6% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% 2.2% -3.1% GPK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.5% 4.3% 2.7% IP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 5.1x 5.6x IP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.04% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -26.8% -50.6% +21.5% SON
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.0%/yr -15.6%/yr -3.4%/yr SON
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.0% 47.3% 33.6% SON
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 52/100 38/100 IP

Percentile Scorecard

IPGPKSON

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

AxisIPGPKSON
Valuation 60 #7 of 16 93 #2 of 16 47 #9 of 16
Growth 53 #8 of 16 7 #15 of 16 27 #12 of 16
Profitability 50 #8 of 15 57 #7 of 15 43 #9 of 15
Financial Health 80 #4 of 16 20 #13 of 16 27 #12 of 16
Shareholder Returns 77 #4 of 14 85 #3 of 14 46 #8 of 14
Overall 64 52 38
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • GPK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • SON ranked among 17 companies in Packaging

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIPGPKSONSPY
1 month +1.4%-7.7%-2.4% +0.9%
3 months -19.1%-24.6%-17.3% +5.9%
6 months +2.7%-11.1%-0.8% +8.5%
Year to date -12.4%-43.4%+11.8% +13.3%
1 year -26.8%-50.6%+21.5% +12.4%
3 years +4.1%-59.2%-3.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +1.4%-25.9%-1.2% +23.5%
5 years -30.5%-57.2%-15.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year -7.0%-15.6%-3.4% +11.0%
10 years -23.4%-31.7%-2.1% +263.4%
10 years, per year -2.6%-3.7%-0.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIPGPKSONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.0%47.3%33.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.6%47.9%36.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.270.880.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.60-1.070.64 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-73.0%-41.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.9%-50.6%-19.5% -0.9%
52-week high $49.19$17.26$60.55 $779.14
52-week low $29.38$8.24$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.

MultipleIPGPKSON
P/E now vs peer median -5.3xmedian 19.1x 13.0xmedian 19.1x -21.3xmedian 19.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 0.3xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 9.9x 7.5xmedian 9.9x 12.2xmedian 9.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 44.0xmedian 15.5x 13.4xmedian 15.5x 13.7xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.5x 0.8xmedian 1.5x 1.7xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.09median 0.78 -0.38median 0.78 0.61median 0.78

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 monthsIPGPKSON
Revenue $24.20B $8.64B $7.37B
Gross profit $7.21B $1.34B $1.49B
Operating income $2.13B $504.00M $202.22M
Net income -$3.44B $194.00M -$226.84M
Free cash flow $492.00M $189.00M $351.16M
EPS (diluted) $-6.49 $0.65 $-2.29
Cash & equivalents $726.00M $205.00M $183.10M
Total debt $9.22B $5.67B $4.29B
Shares (diluted) 529.50M 296.70M 99.50M
Enterprise value $14.94B $1.82B $4.00B

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
MetricIPGPKSON
P/E -5.3x 13.0x -21.3x
P/FCF 44.0x 13.4x 13.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.2x 3.2x 7.6x
P/S 0.9x 0.3x 0.7x
P/B 1.5x 0.8x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 1.0x 14.5x
EV/EBITDA 6.1x 7.5x 12.2x
EV/EBIT 14.1x 15.8x 44.2x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 0.9x 1.2x
EV/FCF 61.2x 42.3x 25.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.4x 10.1x 14.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.09 -0.38 0.61

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIPGPKSON
Revenue growth (1Y) 25.4% 0.0% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% -3.7% 18.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 32.6% -26.6% -1.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% -13.6% 13.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% -45.9% -63.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.8% -24.2% -30.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -12,633% -63.7% -136.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -74.4% -35.0% -35.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -12,708% -63.1% -136.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.9% -34.1% -35.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 139.3% 3.1% -6.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% -10.1% -7.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 516.9% 147.8% 17.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.3% -28.6% -8.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIPGPKSON
Gross margin 29.8% 15.5% 20.2%
EBITDA margin 20.4% 12.4% 9.9%
Operating margin 8.8% 5.8% 2.7%
Pretax margin -13.5% 2.9% -0.1%
Net margin -14.2% 2.2% -3.1%
FCF margin 2.0% 2.2% 4.8%
Operating cash flow margin 10.9% 9.2% 8.6%
Return on equity -23.5% 6.0% -7.1%
Return on assets -9.4% 1.7% -2.1%
Return on invested capital 7.5% 4.3% 2.7%
Return on capital employed 7.3% 5.3% 2.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x 4.1x -2.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.2% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIPGPKSON
Debt / assets 25.2% 48.6% 42.3%
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.8x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 5.1x 5.6x
Debt / FCF 18.7x 30.0x 12.2x
Liabilities / assets 60.4% 72.2% 72.2%
Equity / assets 39.6% 27.8% 27.8%
Interest coverage 6.2x 2.0x 1.1x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.4x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.64 1.33 1.61

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIPGPKSON
Dividend yield 5.3% 5.2% 4.4%
Net buyback yield 0.2% – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 5.5% 5.2% 4.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -93.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 60.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 2.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusIPGPKSON
Forward P/E 26.3xFY2026 13.1xFY2026 9.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.31FY2026 $0.65FY2026 $5.09FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -63.9%FY2026 -10.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +122.1% +44.6% +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.04BFY2026 $8.24BFY2026 $7.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.5%FY2026 -4.4%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.4% +0.2% -5.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIPGPKSON
Held by institutions 85.3% 100.0% 97.9%
Institutions holding 855 499 507
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +5.3% +13.2%
Institutions buying 453 322 264
Institutions selling 282 130 160
Buyers to sellers 1.61 2.48 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.

IPGPKSON
IP 1.00 0.43 0.51
GPK 0.43 1.00 0.44
SON 0.51 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IP, GPK and SON?

International Paper (IP) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Paper (IP) $19.04B, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) $2.60B, Sonoco Products (SON) $4.95B.

Which company is growing faster?

International Paper (IP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: International Paper (IP) +25.4%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) +0.0%, Sonoco Products (SON) +3.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) has the highest net margin (International Paper (IP) -14.2%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 2.2%, Sonoco Products (SON) -3.1%). On return on invested capital, International Paper (IP) leads (International Paper (IP) 7.5%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 4.3%, Sonoco Products (SON) 2.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sonoco Products (SON) returned the most: International Paper (IP) -26.8%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -50.6%, Sonoco Products (SON) +21.5%. Over five years, Sonoco Products (SON) compounded fastest (International Paper (IP) -7.0%/yr, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) -15.6%/yr, Sonoco Products (SON) -3.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: International Paper (IP) 0.00%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 0.00%, Sonoco Products (SON) 0.04%. International Paper (IP) and Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 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%, Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) 47.3%, Sonoco Products (SON) 33.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IP, GPK 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, International Paper (IP) 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.