MERC vs SW vs RYAM Stock Comparison

Mercer International, Smurfit Westrock and Rayonier Advanced Materials Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SW Smurfit Westrock plc
$42.22 -9.0% 1M -2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$22.30B
P/E
44.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.33B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Smurfit Westrock leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Smurfit Westrock 7, Mercer International 1, Rayonier Advanced Materials 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMERCSWRYAMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.98M $22.30B $445.91M SW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 0.0x 44.9x -3.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 18.6x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -4.8% +1.7% -3.3% SW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -27.9% 1.6% -9.5% SW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -23.1% 3.1% -4.7% SW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -6.8x 3.2x 8.4x MERC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.12% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -95.5% -2.0% -11.7% SW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -59.2%/yr -4.0%/yr -1.9%/yr RYAM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 97.6% 44.2% 68.2% SW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 14/100 63/100 22/100 SW

Percentile Scorecard

MERCSWRYAM

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

AxisMERCSWRYAM
Valuation 19 #232 of 287 73 #5 of 16 43 #54 of 94
Growth 1 #265 of 267 73 #5 of 16 9 #84 of 92
Profitability 27 #175 of 239 50 #8 of 15 26 #66 of 89
Financial Health 8 #268 of 292 79 #4 of 15 10 #87 of 97
Shareholder Returns 14 #176 of 204 39 #9 of 14 –
Overall 14 63 22
  • MERC ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials
  • 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

PeriodMERCSWRYAMSPY
1 month -62.5%-9.0%-24.5% -0.8%
3 months -82.1%-15.7%-23.9% +3.5%
6 months -89.3%+5.4%-33.5% +7.0%
Year to date -93.9%+9.2%+10.0% +12.2%
1 year -95.5%-2.0%-11.7% +13.0%
3 years -98.5%+35.8%+135.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year -75.4%+10.8%+33.1% +23.1%
5 years -98.9%-18.4%-9.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -59.2%-4.0%-1.9% +11.0%
10 years -98.5%+92.7%-50.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year -34.1%+6.8%-6.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMERCSWRYAMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 97.6%44.2%68.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 115.0%40.4%56.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.841.461.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.98-0.04-0.17 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -99.3%-55.1%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -95.7%-18.6%-44.9% -1.8%
52-week high $2.79$51.84$11.75 $779.14
52-week low $0.12$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.

MultipleMERCSWRYAM
P/E now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 17.8x 44.5xmedian 19.3x -3.1xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 1.8x 0.7xmedian 0.7x 0.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -6.8xmedian 9.9x 8.4xmedian 9.7x 13.5xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -0.1xmedian 16.0x 21.8xmedian 15.7x -12.0xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median -0.1xmedian 1.8x 1.2xmedian 1.4x 2.3xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.00median 0.79 —median 0.82 0.03median 1.66

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 monthsMERCSWRYAM
Revenue $1.86B $31.33B $1.47B
Gross profit $52.72M $5.62B $86.44M
Operating income -$437.94M $1.48B -$51.13M
Net income -$517.45M $497.00M -$139.93M
Free cash flow -$154.18M $1.02B -$36.56M
EPS (diluted) $-7.72 $0.94 $-2.07
Cash & equivalents $78.78M $677.00M $57.01M
Total debt $1.95B $14.16B $774.77M
Shares (diluted) 67.04M 526.00M 67.51M
Enterprise value -$439.25M $19.20B $168.53M

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
MetricMERCSWRYAM
P/E 0.0x 44.5x -3.1x
P/FCF -0.1x 21.8x -12.0x
P/Operating cash flow -0.1x 6.7x 8.5x
P/S 0.0x 0.7x 0.3x
P/B -0.1x 1.2x 2.3x
P/Tangible book -0.1x 1.3x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA -6.8x 8.4x 13.5x
EV/EBIT -4.3x 24.1x -22.6x
EV/Revenue 1.0x 1.1x 0.8x
EV/FCF -12.2x 35.1x -31.6x
EV/Operating cash flow -22.2x 10.8x 22.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.00 – 0.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMERCSWRYAM
Revenue growth (1Y) -4.8% 1.7% -3.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.0% – -6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -81.9% -4.5% -32.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -45.3% – -15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -5,891% 17.2% -130.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -163.0% – -43.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -373.6% 41.2% 68.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -130.8% – -113.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -372.7% 40.1% 68.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -130.0% – -111.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -270.4% 52.3% -55.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -41.4% – -35.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -261.2% 1,094% -241.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.7% – -34.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMERCSWRYAM
Gross margin 2.8% 17.9% 5.9%
EBITDA margin -14.9% 13.5% 5.9%
Operating margin -23.6% 4.7% -3.5%
Pretax margin -29.7% 2.3% -10.2%
Net margin -27.9% 1.6% -9.5%
FCF margin -8.3% 3.2% -2.5%
Operating cash flow margin -4.6% 10.5% 3.5%
Return on equity – 2.7% -65.8%
Return on assets -27.0% 1.1% -8.5%
Return on invested capital -23.1% 3.1% -4.7%
Return on capital employed -33.3% 3.9% -4.0%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.2x 6.6x -0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.0% 0.4% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMERCSWRYAM
Debt / assets 104.3% 31.3% 47.8%
Debt / equity -19.9x 0.8x 4.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -6.8x 3.2x 8.4x
Debt / FCF -12.7x 14.0x -21.2x
Liabilities / assets 105.2% 60.0% 88.0%
Equity / assets -5.2% 40.0% 12.0%
Interest coverage -3.7x – -0.5x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.4x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.04 1.45 0.91

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMERCSWRYAM
Dividend yield 0.0% 4.2% –
Net buyback yield – -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 4.2% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) -1.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -6.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -60.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -26.1% – –

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.

ConsensusMERCSWRYAM
Forward P/E – 18.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-3.79FY2026 $2.27FY2026 $-1.18FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +10.7%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +67.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.02BFY2026 $33.77BFY2026 $1.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.9%FY2026 +8.3%FY2026 -4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.5% +9.3% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMERCSWRYAM
Held by institutions 63.8% 95.9% 77.1%
Institutions holding 67 640 188
Change in shares held, QoQ -11.3% +5.7% -2.3%
Institutions buying 27 373 98
Institutions selling 19 191 48
Buyers to sellers 1.42 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.

MERCSWRYAM
MERC 1.00 0.20 0.19
SW 0.20 1.00 0.26
RYAM 0.19 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MERC, SW and RYAM?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mercer International (MERC) $8.98M, Smurfit Westrock (SW) $22.30B, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) $445.91M.

Which company is growing faster?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mercer International (MERC) -4.8%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) +1.7%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -3.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) has the highest net margin (Mercer International (MERC) -27.9%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 1.6%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -9.5%). On return on invested capital, Smurfit Westrock (SW) leads (Mercer International (MERC) -23.1%, 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: Mercer International (MERC) -95.5%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -2.0%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -11.7%. Over five years, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) compounded fastest (Mercer International (MERC) -59.2%/yr, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -4.0%/yr, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -1.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Mercer International (MERC) 1.12%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 0.00%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) 0.00%. Smurfit Westrock (SW) and Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Smurfit Westrock (SW) has been the steadiest (Mercer International (MERC) 97.6%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.2%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) 68.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MERC, 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 7. 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.