IP vs SW vs RYAM Stock Comparison

International Paper, Smurfit Westrock and Rayonier Advanced Materials Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SW Smurfit Westrock plc
$41.85 -10.0% 1M -2.7% 1Y
Market cap
$22.12B
P/E
44.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.33B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Smurfit Westrock leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Smurfit Westrock 5, International Paper 4, Rayonier Advanced Materials 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIPSWRYAMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.68B $22.12B $437.47M SW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.1x 44.5x -3.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.3x 18.4x — SW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +25.4% +1.7% -3.3% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% 1.6% -9.5% SW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.5% 3.1% -4.7% IP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 3.2x 8.4x IP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -32.4% -2.7% -10.1% SW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.0%/yr -3.0%/yr -2.1%/yr RYAM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.0% 44.1% 68.0% SW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 53/100 22/100 IP

Percentile Scorecard

IPSWRYAM

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

AxisIPSWRYAM
Valuation 53 #8 of 16 67 #6 of 16 42 #55 of 94
Growth 40 #10 of 16 67 #6 of 16 9 #84 of 92
Profitability 47 #9 of 16 40 #10 of 16 26 #66 of 89
Financial Health 75 #5 of 17 69 #6 of 17 10 #87 of 97
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 23 #11 of 14 –
Overall 61 53 22
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • SW ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • RYAM ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIPSWRYAMSPY
1 month -7.1%-10.0%-26.9% -1.0%
3 months -21.4%-13.8%-20.1% +2.9%
6 months +1.6%+4.7%-30.5% +6.4%
Year to date -15.8%+8.2%+13.6% +11.4%
1 year -32.4%-2.7%-10.1% +13.1%
3 years -0.3%+32.4%+137.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year -0.1%+9.8%+33.4% +21.5%
5 years -37.5%-14.1%-10.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year -9.0%-3.0%-2.1% +10.9%
10 years -29.4%+91.0%-51.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year -3.4%+6.7%-7.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureIPSWRYAMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.0%44.1%68.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%40.4%56.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.241.451.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.72-0.06-0.15 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-55.1%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.6%-19.3%-43.1% -2.5%
52-week high $49.19$51.84$11.75 $779.14
52-week low $29.38$32.79$5.52 $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.

MultipleIPSWRYAM
P/E now vs peer median -5.1xmedian 18.2x 44.1xmedian 18.2x -3.2xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x 0.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 9.5x 8.4xmedian 9.5x 13.6xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.3xmedian 15.7x 21.6xmedian 15.7x -12.4xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.4x 1.2xmedian 1.4x 2.3xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.08median 0.83 —median 0.83 0.03median 1.70

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 monthsIPSWRYAM
Revenue $24.20B $31.33B $1.47B
Gross profit $7.21B $5.62B $86.44M
Operating income $2.13B $1.48B -$51.13M
Net income -$3.44B $497.00M -$139.93M
Free cash flow $492.00M $1.02B -$36.56M
EPS (diluted) $-6.49 $0.94 $-2.07
Cash & equivalents $726.00M $677.00M $57.01M
Total debt $34.22B $14.16B $774.77M
Shares (diluted) 529.50M 526.00M 67.51M
Enterprise value $13.58B $19.02B $160.09M

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
MetricIPSWRYAM
P/E -5.1x 44.1x -3.2x
P/FCF 42.3x 21.6x -12.4x
P/Operating cash flow 7.9x 6.7x 8.8x
P/S 0.9x 0.7x 0.3x
P/B 1.4x 1.2x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.3x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 5.9x 8.4x 13.6x
EV/EBIT 13.8x 24.0x -22.9x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 1.1x 0.8x
EV/FCF 59.5x 34.9x -32.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.1x 10.7x 22.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.08 – 0.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIPSWRYAM
Revenue growth (1Y) 25.4% 1.7% -3.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – -6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 32.6% -4.5% -32.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% – -15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% 17.2% -130.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.8% – -43.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -12,633% 41.2% 68.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -74.4% – -113.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -12,708% 40.1% 68.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.9% – -111.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 139.3% 52.3% -55.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% – -35.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 516.9% 1,094% -241.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.3% – -34.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIPSWRYAM
Gross margin 29.8% 17.9% 5.9%
EBITDA margin 20.4% 13.5% 5.9%
Operating margin 8.8% 4.7% -3.5%
Pretax margin -13.5% 2.3% -10.2%
Net margin -14.2% 1.6% -9.5%
FCF margin 2.0% 3.2% -2.5%
Operating cash flow margin 10.9% 10.5% 3.5%
Return on equity -23.5% 2.7% -65.8%
Return on assets -9.4% 1.1% -8.5%
Return on invested capital 7.5% 3.1% -4.7%
Return on capital employed 7.3% 3.9% -4.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x 6.6x -0.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.4% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIPSWRYAM
Debt / assets 25.2% 31.3% 47.8%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.8x 4.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 3.2x 8.4x
Debt / FCF 18.7x 14.0x -21.2x
Liabilities / assets 60.4% 60.0% 88.0%
Equity / assets 39.6% 40.0% 12.0%
Interest coverage 6.2x – -0.5x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.4x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.62 1.44 0.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIPSWRYAM
Dividend yield 5.6% 4.3% –
Net buyback yield 0.2% -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 5.7% 4.2% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusIPSWRYAM
Forward P/E 25.3xFY2026 18.4xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.31FY2026 $2.27FY2026 $-1.18FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +10.7%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +121.4% +66.5% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.99BFY2026 $33.69BFY2026 $1.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.7%FY2026 +8.1%FY2026 -4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.1% +8.8% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIPSWRYAM
Held by institutions 85.3% 95.9% 77.1%
Institutions holding 855 640 188
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +5.7% -2.3%
Institutions buying 453 373 98
Institutions selling 282 191 48
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.95 2.04

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.

IPSWRYAM
IP 1.00 0.81 0.26
SW 0.81 1.00 0.26
RYAM 0.26 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IP, SW and RYAM?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Paper (IP) $17.68B, Smurfit Westrock (SW) $22.12B, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) $437.47M.

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%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -3.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) has the highest net margin (International Paper (IP) -14.2%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 1.6%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -9.5%). On return on invested capital, International Paper (IP) leads (International Paper (IP) 7.5%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 3.1%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Smurfit Westrock (SW) returned the most: International Paper (IP) -32.4%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -2.7%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -10.1%. Over five years, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) compounded fastest (International Paper (IP) -9.0%/yr, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -3.0%/yr, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -2.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Smurfit Westrock (SW) has been the steadiest (International Paper (IP) 45.0%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.1%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) 68.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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