IP vs SW vs EXP Stock Comparison

International Paper, Smurfit Westrock and Eagle Materials Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SW Smurfit Westrock plc
$42.22 -9.0% 1M -2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$22.26B
P/E
44.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.33B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
2 wins
EXP Eagle Materials Inc
$173.97 -2.6% 1M -25.4% 1Y
Market cap
$5.39B
P/E
13.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.32B
Div. yield
0.01%
Cement Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Eagle Materials leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Eagle Materials 6, International Paper 3, Smurfit Westrock 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIPSWEXPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.65B $22.26B $5.39B SW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.1x 44.8x 13.4x EXP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.5x 18.6x 14.2x EXP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +25.4% +1.7% +1.7% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% 1.6% 17.3% EXP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.5% 3.1% 12.9% EXP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 3.2x 2.2x IP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -31.7% -2.0% -25.4% SW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.8%/yr -4.0%/yr +4.7%/yr EXP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.0% 44.2% 34.5% EXP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 63/100 51/100 IP

Percentile Scorecard

IPSWEXP

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

AxisIPSWEXP
Valuation 60 #7 of 16 73 #5 of 16 22 #8 of 10
Growth 47 #9 of 16 73 #5 of 16 –
Profitability 57 #7 of 15 50 #8 of 15 100 #1 of 8
Financial Health 86 #3 of 15 79 #4 of 15 25 #7 of 9
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 39 #9 of 14 57 #4 of 8
Overall 68 63 51
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • SW ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • EXP ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIPSWEXPSPY
1 month -4.7%-9.0%-2.6% -0.8%
3 months -21.2%-15.7%-19.8% +3.5%
6 months +2.3%+5.4%-17.1% +7.0%
Year to date -15.2%+9.2%-15.8% +12.2%
1 year -31.7%-2.0%-25.4% +13.0%
3 years +0.8%+35.8%+17.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +0.3%+10.8%+5.6% +23.1%
5 years -33.5%-18.4%+26.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year -7.8%-4.0%+4.7% +11.0%
10 years -27.7%+92.7%+117.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year -3.2%+6.8%+8.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIPSWEXPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.0%44.2%34.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.5%40.4%32.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.261.461.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.70-0.04-0.73 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-55.1%-48.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.1%-18.6%-27.6% -1.8%
52-week high $49.19$51.84$240.24 $779.14
52-week low $29.38$32.79$163.37 $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.

MultipleIPSWEXP
P/E now vs peer median -5.1xmedian 19.3x 44.5xmedian 19.3x 13.4xmedian 19.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x 2.3xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 9.7x 8.4xmedian 9.7x 9.8xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.6xmedian 15.7x 21.8xmedian 15.7x 31.4xmedian 31.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.4x 1.2xmedian 1.4x 3.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.08median 0.82 —median 0.82 -10.95median 2.78

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 monthsIPSWEXP
Revenue $24.20B $31.33B $2.32B
Gross profit $7.21B $5.62B $628.19M
Operating income $2.13B $1.48B $539.59M
Net income -$3.44B $497.00M $402.57M
Free cash flow $492.00M $1.02B $170.51M
EPS (diluted) $-6.49 $0.94 $12.95
Cash & equivalents $726.00M $677.00M $233.54M
Total debt $34.22B $14.16B $6.57B
Shares (diluted) 529.50M 526.00M 31.09M
Enterprise value $13.55B $19.17B $4.40B

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
MetricIPSWEXP
P/E -5.1x 44.5x 13.4x
P/FCF 42.6x 21.8x 31.4x
P/Operating cash flow 7.9x 6.7x 8.5x
P/S 0.9x 0.7x 2.3x
P/B 1.4x 1.2x 3.6x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.3x 3.6x
EV/EBITDA 6.0x 8.4x 9.8x
EV/EBIT 13.8x 24.1x 12.8x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 1.1x 3.0x
EV/FCF 59.8x 35.1x 40.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.1x 10.8x 10.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.08 – -10.95

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIPSWEXP
Revenue growth (1Y) 25.4% 1.7% 1.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – 2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 32.6% -4.5% -6.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% – -1.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% 17.2% -9.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.8% – -4.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -12,633% 41.2% -11.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -74.4% – -5.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -12,708% 40.1% -6.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.9% – -1.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 139.3% 52.3% 14.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% – 4.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 516.9% 1,094% -45.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.3% – -26.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIPSWEXP
Gross margin 29.8% 17.9% 27.0%
EBITDA margin 20.4% 13.5% 30.3%
Operating margin 8.8% 4.7% 23.2%
Pretax margin -13.5% 2.3% 21.5%
Net margin -14.2% 1.6% 17.3%
FCF margin 2.0% 3.2% 7.3%
Operating cash flow margin 10.9% 10.5% 27.2%
Return on equity -23.5% 2.7% 26.1%
Return on assets -9.4% 1.1% 10.0%
Return on invested capital 7.5% 3.1% 12.9%
Return on capital employed 7.3% 3.9% 15.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x 6.6x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.4% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIPSWEXP
Debt / assets 25.2% 31.3% 45.0%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.8x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 3.2x 2.2x
Debt / FCF 18.7x 14.0x 10.3x
Liabilities / assets 60.4% 60.0% 62.0%
Equity / assets 39.6% 40.0% 38.0%
Interest coverage 6.2x – 11.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.4x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x 1.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 1.62 1.45 3.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIPSWEXP
Dividend yield 5.5% 4.2% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 0.2% -0.1% 7.2%
Shareholder yield 5.7% 4.2% 7.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 8.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 18.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -4.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -4.5%

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.

ConsensusIPSWEXP
Forward P/E 25.5xFY2026 18.6xFY2026 14.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.31FY2026 $2.27FY2026 $12.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +10.7%FY2026 -11.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +122.1% +67.4% +3.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.04BFY2026 $33.77BFY2026 $2.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.5%FY2026 +8.3%FY2026 -5.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.4% +9.3% +5.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIPSWEXP
Held by institutions 85.3% 95.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 855 640 529
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +5.7% +4.2%
Institutions buying 453 373 272
Institutions selling 282 191 167
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.95 1.63

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.

IPSWEXP
IP 1.00 0.81 0.58
SW 0.81 1.00 0.57
EXP 0.58 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IP, SW and EXP?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Paper (IP) $17.65B, Smurfit Westrock (SW) $22.26B, Eagle Materials (EXP) $5.39B.

Which stock is cheaper, IP, SW and EXP?

Eagle Materials (EXP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (International Paper (IP) -5.1x, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.8x, Eagle Materials (EXP) 13.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Eagle Materials (EXP) is cheapest (International Paper (IP) 25.5x, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 18.6x, Eagle Materials (EXP) 14.2x). 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%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) +1.7%, Eagle Materials (EXP) +1.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Eagle Materials (EXP) has the highest net margin (International Paper (IP) -14.2%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 1.6%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Eagle Materials (EXP) leads (International Paper (IP) 7.5%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 3.1%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 12.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Smurfit Westrock (SW) returned the most: International Paper (IP) -31.7%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -2.0%, Eagle Materials (EXP) -25.4%. Over five years, Eagle Materials (EXP) compounded fastest (International Paper (IP) -7.8%/yr, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -4.0%/yr, Eagle Materials (EXP) +4.7%/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%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 0.00%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 0.01%. International Paper (IP) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Eagle Materials (EXP) has been the steadiest (International Paper (IP) 45.0%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.2%, Eagle Materials (EXP) 34.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IP, SW and EXP?

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