IP vs PKG vs CCK Stock Comparison

International Paper, Packaging Corp Of America and Crown Holdings Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PKG Packaging Corp Of America
$247.30 +2.6% 1M +16.0% 1Y
Market cap
$22.47B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.53B
Div. yield
0.02%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
4 wins
CCK Crown Holdings, Inc.
$117.33 +6.9% 1M +18.6% 1Y
Market cap
$12.79B
P/E
16.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.26B
Div. yield
0.01%
Metal Packaging Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Crown Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Crown Holdings 6, Packaging Corp Of America 4, International Paper 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIPPKGCCKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.68B $22.47B $12.79B PKG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.1x 32.5x 16.3x CCK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.3x 22.6x 14.4x CCK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +25.4% +10.3% +10.3% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% 7.3% 5.9% PKG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.5% 9.1% 12.7% CCK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.9x 2.6x IP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.01% PKG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -32.4% +16.0% +18.6% CCK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.0%/yr +13.0%/yr +2.2%/yr PKG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.0% 28.2% 25.3% CCK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 47/100 68/100 CCK

Percentile Scorecard

IPPKGCCK

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

AxisIPPKGCCK
Valuation 53 #8 of 16 13 #14 of 16 60 #7 of 16
Growth 40 #10 of 16 27 #12 of 16 73 #5 of 16
Profitability 47 #9 of 16 93 #2 of 16 100 #1 of 16
Financial Health 75 #5 of 17 88 #3 of 17 38 #11 of 17
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 15 #12 of 14 69 #5 of 14
Overall 61 47 68
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • PKG ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • CCK ranked among 17 companies in Packaging

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIPPKGCCKSPY
1 month -7.1%+2.6%+6.9% -1.0%
3 months -21.4%-2.8%-0.5% +2.9%
6 months +1.6%+16.2%+16.0% +6.4%
Year to date -15.8%+19.9%+13.9% +11.4%
1 year -32.4%+16.0%+18.6% +13.1%
3 years -0.3%+66.1%+43.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year -0.1%+18.4%+12.9% +21.5%
5 years -37.5%+84.6%+11.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year -9.0%+13.0%+2.2% +10.9%
10 years -29.4%+203.3%+115.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year -3.4%+11.7%+8.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureIPPKGCCKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.0%28.2%25.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%26.3%24.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.240.680.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.720.570.73 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-32.7%-48.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.6%-3.9%-4.0% -2.5%
52-week high $49.19$257.38$122.16 $779.14
52-week low $29.38$191.68$92.04 $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.

MultipleIPPKGCCK
P/E now vs peer median -5.1xmedian 18.2x 31.6xmedian 18.2x 16.4xmedian 18.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 2.3xmedian 0.7x 1.0xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 9.5x 14.0xmedian 9.5x 8.7xmedian 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.3xmedian 15.7x 29.8xmedian 15.7x 10.6xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.4x 4.7xmedian 1.4x 3.8xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.08median 0.83 -4.47median 0.83 0.76median 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 monthsIPPKGCCK
Revenue $24.20B $9.53B $13.26B
Gross profit $7.21B $1.92B $2.78B
Operating income $2.13B $1.04B $1.63B
Net income -$3.44B $691.80M $922.00M
Free cash flow $492.00M $739.90M $1.20B
EPS (diluted) $-6.49 $7.77 $7.14
Cash & equivalents $726.00M $442.80M $656.00M
Total debt $34.22B $12.89B $6.06B
Shares (diluted) 529.50M 89.00M 109.80M
Enterprise value $13.58B $20.00B $9.61B

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
MetricIPPKGCCK
P/E -5.1x 31.6x 16.4x
P/FCF 42.3x 29.8x 10.6x
P/Operating cash flow 7.9x 13.6x 7.4x
P/S 0.9x 2.3x 1.0x
P/B 1.4x 4.7x 3.8x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 5.4x 5.1x
EV/EBITDA 5.9x 14.0x 8.7x
EV/EBIT 13.8x 24.5x 11.2x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 2.7x 1.4x
EV/FCF 59.5x 34.3x 15.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.1x 15.6x 10.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.08 -4.47 0.76

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIPPKGCCK
Revenue growth (1Y) 25.4% 10.3% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 5.9% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 32.6% 0.2% 3.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 1.3% 7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% -16.7% 4.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.8% -4.9% 11.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -12,633% -23.5% 39.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -74.4% -7.2% 16.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -12,708% -22.9% 48.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.9% -7.1% 21.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 139.3% 25.8% 31.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 2.9% 24.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 516.9% 18.7% 20.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.3% -3.4% 154.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIPPKGCCK
Gross margin 29.8% 20.1% 21.0%
EBITDA margin 20.4% 19.1% 15.8%
Operating margin 8.8% 10.9% 12.3%
Pretax margin -13.5% 9.6% 9.3%
Net margin -14.2% 7.3% 5.9%
FCF margin 2.0% 7.8% 9.0%
Operating cash flow margin 10.9% 17.0% 13.0%
Return on equity -23.5% 15.0% 27.2%
Return on assets -9.4% 6.3% 6.4%
Return on invested capital 7.5% 9.1% 12.7%
Return on capital employed 7.3% 10.6% 16.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.9x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x 2.3x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIPPKGCCK
Debt / assets 25.2% 36.0% 41.6%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.9x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.9x 2.6x
Debt / FCF 18.7x 5.4x 5.1x
Liabilities / assets 60.4% 57.7% 76.9%
Equity / assets 39.6% 42.3% 23.1%
Interest coverage 6.2x – 4.1x
Current ratio 1.1x 2.9x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.62 4.01 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIPPKGCCK
Dividend yield 5.6% 2.2% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 0.3% 6.4%
Shareholder yield 5.7% 2.5% 7.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 64.8% 14.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 60.6% 11.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -0.3% 15.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -0.7% 7.6%

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.

ConsensusIPPKGCCK
Forward P/E 25.3xFY2026 22.6xFY2026 14.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.31FY2026 $10.94FY2026 $8.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +11.2%FY2026 +4.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +121.4% +31.6% +8.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.99BFY2026 $9.52BFY2026 $12.96BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.7%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.1% +17.6% +4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIPPKGCCK
Held by institutions 85.3% 97.9% 98.3%
Institutions holding 855 901 601
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +1.6% -3.3%
Institutions buying 453 456 255
Institutions selling 282 291 270
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.57 0.94

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.

IPPKGCCK
IP 1.00 0.73 0.49
PKG 0.73 1.00 0.50
CCK 0.49 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IP, PKG and CCK?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Paper (IP) $17.68B, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) $22.47B, Crown Holdings (CCK) $12.79B.

Which stock is cheaper, IP, PKG and CCK?

Crown Holdings (CCK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (International Paper (IP) -5.1x, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 32.5x, Crown Holdings (CCK) 16.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Crown Holdings (CCK) is cheapest (International Paper (IP) 25.3x, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 22.6x, Crown Holdings (CCK) 14.4x). 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%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +10.3%, Crown Holdings (CCK) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) has the highest net margin (International Paper (IP) -14.2%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 7.3%, Crown Holdings (CCK) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Crown Holdings (CCK) leads (International Paper (IP) 7.5%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 9.1%, Crown Holdings (CCK) 12.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Crown Holdings (CCK) returned the most: International Paper (IP) -32.4%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +16.0%, Crown Holdings (CCK) +18.6%. Over five years, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) compounded fastest (International Paper (IP) -9.0%/yr, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +13.0%/yr, Crown Holdings (CCK) +2.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) has the highest dividend yield: International Paper (IP) 0.00%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 0.02%, Crown Holdings (CCK) 0.01%. International Paper (IP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Crown Holdings (CCK) has been the steadiest (International Paper (IP) 45.0%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 28.2%, Crown Holdings (CCK) 25.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IP, PKG and CCK?

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