PKG vs SON Stock Comparison

Packaging Corp Of America and Sonoco Products Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PKG Packaging Corp Of America
$253.80 +7.0% 1M +23.9% 1Y
Market cap
$22.61B
P/E
30.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.82B
Div. yield
2.17%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
5 wins
SON Sonoco Products Co
$49.29 -1.5% 1M +22.1% 1Y
Market cap
$4.87B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
4.34%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Packaging Corp Of America leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Packaging Corp Of America 5, Sonoco Products 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPKGSONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $22.61B $4.87B PKG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.9x -21.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.2x 9.2x SON
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.0% +3.6% PKG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.17% 4.34% SON
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +23.9% +22.1% PKG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.4%/yr -3.2%/yr PKG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.0% 33.7% PKG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 30/100 44/100 SON

Percentile Scorecard

PKGSON

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

AxisPKGSON
Valuation 13 #14 of 16 67 #6 of 16
Growth 53 #8 of 16 20 #13 of 16
Profitability – 43 #9 of 15
Financial Health – 29 #11 of 15
Shareholder Returns 23 #11 of 14 62 #6 of 14
Overall 30 44
  • 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

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

Risk

MeasurePKGSONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.0%33.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.8%36.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.710.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.850.66 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.7%-41.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.4%-18.6% -1.8%
52-week high $257.38$60.55 $779.14
52-week low $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.

MultiplePKGSON
P/E now vs peer median 30.9xmedian 19.3x -21.6xmedian 19.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.7x —median 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.1xmedian 15.7x 13.9xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.4x 1.7xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median -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 monthsPKGSON
Revenue $9.82B $7.37B
Gross profit $2.02B $1.49B
Operating income $1.10B $202.22M
Net income – -$226.60M
EPS (diluted) $8.17 $-2.28
Cash & equivalents – $183.10M
Shares (diluted) 89.00M 99.78M
Enterprise value $22.61B $4.87B

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
MetricPKGSON
P/E 30.9x -21.6x
P/FCF 28.1x 13.9x
P/Operating cash flow – 7.7x
P/S 2.3x 0.7x
P/B – 1.7x
P/Tangible book – 14.6x
EV/EBITDA – –
EV/EBIT – –
EV/Revenue 2.3x 0.7x
EV/FCF – –
EV/Operating cash flow – 7.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -12.62 0.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPKGSON
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.0% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 18.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.5% -1.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 13.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -11.6% -63.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -0.2% -30.2%
Net income growth (1Y) – -136.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -35.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -18.0% -136.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.4% -35.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -6.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -7.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPKGSON
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin – –
Operating margin – –
Pretax margin – –
Net margin – –
FCF margin – –
Operating cash flow margin – 8.6%
Return on equity – -7.1%
Return on assets – -2.1%
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover – 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – -2.8x
Stock comp / revenue – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPKGSON
Debt / assets – –
Debt / equity – –
Net debt / EBITDA – –
Debt / FCF – –
Liabilities / assets – 72.2%
Equity / assets – 27.8%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio – 1.2x
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPKGSON
Dividend yield 2.2% 4.3%
Net buyback yield – –
Shareholder yield 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.

ConsensusPKGSON
Forward P/E 23.2xFY2026 9.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.92FY2026 $5.34FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +11.0%FY2026 -6.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +32.1% +17.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.55BFY2026 $7.74BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.2%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% -5.3%

Institutional Ownership

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

PKGSON
PKG 1.00 0.46
SON 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PKG and SON?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) $22.61B, Sonoco Products (SON) $4.87B.

Which company is growing faster?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 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: Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +23.9%, Sonoco Products (SON) +22.1%. Over five years, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) compounded fastest (Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +13.4%/yr, Sonoco Products (SON) -3.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Sonoco Products (SON) has the highest dividend yield: Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 2.17%, Sonoco Products (SON) 4.34%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) has been the steadiest (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.

Do PKG and SON move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.46, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, 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 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.