IP vs PKG vs SON Stock Comparison

International Paper, Packaging Corp Of America and Sonoco Products Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PKG Packaging Corp Of America
$253.80 +7.0% 1M +23.9% 1Y
Market cap
$22.37B
P/E
30.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.82B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
4 wins
SON Sonoco Products Co
$49.29 -1.5% 1M +22.1% 1Y
Market cap
$4.90B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Packaging Corp Of America leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Packaging Corp Of America 4, International Paper 2, Sonoco Products 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIPPKGSONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.69B $22.37B $4.90B PKG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.1x 30.8x -21.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.5x 23.2x 9.7x SON
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +25.4% +12.0% +3.6% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.5% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -31.7% +23.9% +22.1% PKG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.8%/yr +13.4%/yr -3.2%/yr PKG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.0% 28.0% 33.7% PKG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 30/100 44/100 IP

Percentile Scorecard

IPPKGSON

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

AxisIPPKGSON
Valuation 60 #7 of 16 13 #14 of 16 67 #6 of 16
Growth 47 #9 of 16 53 #8 of 16 20 #13 of 16
Profitability 57 #7 of 15 – 43 #9 of 15
Financial Health 86 #3 of 15 – 29 #11 of 15
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 23 #11 of 14 62 #6 of 14
Overall 68 30 44
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • PKG 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

PeriodIPPKGSONSPY
1 month -4.7%+7.0%-1.5% -0.8%
3 months -21.2%+0.5%-16.0% +3.5%
6 months +2.3%+19.4%-1.9% +7.0%
Year to date -15.2%+23.1%+12.9% +12.2%
1 year -31.7%+23.9%+22.1% +13.0%
3 years +0.8%+69.0%-2.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +0.3%+19.1%-0.9% +23.1%
5 years -33.5%+87.4%-15.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year -7.8%+13.4%-3.2% +11.0%
10 years -27.7%+213.1%-1.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year -3.2%+12.1%-0.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIPPKGSONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.0%28.0%33.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.5%25.8%36.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.260.710.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.700.850.66 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-32.7%-41.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.1%-1.4%-18.6% -1.8%
52-week high $49.19$257.38$60.55 $779.14
52-week low $29.38$191.68$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.

MultipleIPPKGSON
P/E now vs peer median -5.1xmedian 19.3x 30.9xmedian 19.3x -21.6xmedian 19.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 2.3xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 9.7x —median 9.7x —median 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.6xmedian 15.7x 28.1xmedian 15.7x 13.9xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.4x —median 1.4x 1.7xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.08median 0.82 -12.62median 0.82 0.62median 0.82

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 monthsIPPKGSON
Revenue $24.20B $9.82B $7.37B
Gross profit $7.21B $2.02B $1.49B
Operating income $2.13B $1.10B $202.22M
Net income -$3.44B – -$226.60M
Free cash flow $492.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $-6.49 $8.17 $-2.28
Cash & equivalents $726.00M – $183.10M
Total debt $34.22B – –
Shares (diluted) 529.50M 89.00M 99.78M
Enterprise value $13.58B $22.37B $4.90B

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
MetricIPPKGSON
P/E -5.1x 30.9x -21.6x
P/FCF 42.6x 28.1x 13.9x
P/Operating cash flow 7.9x – 7.7x
P/S 0.9x 2.3x 0.7x
P/B 1.4x – 1.7x
P/Tangible book 2.0x – 14.6x
EV/EBITDA 6.0x – –
EV/EBIT 13.8x – –
EV/Revenue 1.2x 2.3x 0.7x
EV/FCF 59.8x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 11.1x – 7.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.08 -12.62 0.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIPPKGSON
Revenue growth (1Y) 25.4% 12.0% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 7.8% 18.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 32.6% 5.5% -1.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 5.1% 13.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% -11.6% -63.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.8% -0.2% -30.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -12,633% – -136.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -74.4% – -35.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -12,708% -18.0% -136.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.9% -2.4% -35.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 139.3% – -6.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% – -7.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 516.9% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.3% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIPPKGSON
Gross margin 29.8% – –
EBITDA margin 20.4% – –
Operating margin 8.8% – –
Pretax margin -13.5% – –
Net margin -14.2% – –
FCF margin 2.0% – –
Operating cash flow margin 10.9% – 8.6%
Return on equity -23.5% – -7.1%
Return on assets -9.4% – -2.1%
Return on invested capital 7.5% – –
Return on capital employed 7.3% – –
Asset turnover 0.7x – 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x – -2.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIPPKGSON
Debt / assets 25.2% – –
Debt / equity 0.6x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x – –
Debt / FCF 18.7x – –
Liabilities / assets 60.4% – 72.2%
Equity / assets 39.6% – 27.8%
Interest coverage 6.2x – –
Current ratio 1.1x – 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x – –
Cash ratio 0.1x – –
Altman Z-score 1.62 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIPPKGSON
Dividend yield 5.5% 2.2% 4.3%
Net buyback yield 0.2% – –
Shareholder yield 5.7% 2.2% 4.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusIPPKGSON
Forward P/E 25.5xFY2026 23.2xFY2026 9.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.31FY2026 $10.92FY2026 $5.09FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +11.0%FY2026 -10.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +122.1% +32.1% +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.04BFY2026 $9.55BFY2026 $7.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.5%FY2026 +6.2%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.4% +18.1% -5.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIPPKGSON
Held by institutions 85.3% 97.9% 97.9%
Institutions holding 855 901 507
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +1.6% +13.2%
Institutions buying 453 456 264
Institutions selling 282 291 160
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.57 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.

IPPKGSON
IP 1.00 0.73 0.50
PKG 0.73 1.00 0.46
SON 0.50 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IP, PKG and SON?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Paper (IP) $17.69B, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) $22.37B, Sonoco Products (SON) $4.90B.

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) +12.0%, Sonoco Products (SON) +3.6%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) returned the most: International Paper (IP) -31.7%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +23.9%, Sonoco Products (SON) +22.1%. Over five years, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) compounded fastest (International Paper (IP) -7.8%/yr, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +13.4%/yr, Sonoco Products (SON) -3.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) has been the steadiest (International Paper (IP) 45.0%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 28.0%, Sonoco Products (SON) 33.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IP, PKG 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, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) leads on 4. 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.