SON vs SW vs RYAM Stock Comparison

Sonoco Products, Smurfit Westrock and Rayonier Advanced Materials Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SON Sonoco Products Co
$48.77 -2.4% 1M +21.5% 1Y
Market cap
$4.82B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
4.39%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
7 wins
SW Smurfit Westrock plc
$40.35 -10.5% 1M -6.4% 1Y
Market cap
$21.16B
P/E
46.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.48B
Div. yield
4.41%
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sonoco Products leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Sonoco Products 7, Smurfit Westrock 3, Rayonier Advanced Materials 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSONSWRYAMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.82B $21.16B $455.18M SW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -21.3x 46.8x -3.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.6x 17.8x — SON
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.6% +1.1% -3.3% SON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.1% — -9.5% SON
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.7% — -4.7% SON
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.6x — 8.4x SON
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.39% 4.41% 0.00% SW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.5% -6.4% -5.3% SON
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.4%/yr -4.9%/yr -1.3%/yr RYAM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.6% 44.4% 68.1% SON
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 64/100 23/100 SW

Percentile Scorecard

SONSWRYAM

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

AxisSONSWRYAM
Valuation 47 #9 of 16 80 #4 of 16 43 #54 of 94
Growth 27 #12 of 16 13 #14 of 16 10 #82 of 91
Profitability 43 #9 of 15 79 #4 of 15 28 #61 of 84
Financial Health 27 #12 of 16 87 #3 of 16 11 #84 of 94
Shareholder Returns 46 #8 of 14 62 #6 of 14 –
Overall 38 64 23
  • SON 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

PeriodSONSWRYAMSPY
1 month -2.4%-10.5%-17.4% +0.9%
3 months -17.3%-16.4%-19.4% +5.9%
6 months -0.8%+1.7%-28.3% +8.5%
Year to date +11.8%+4.3%+14.3% +13.3%
1 year +21.5%-6.4%-5.3% +12.4%
3 years -3.7%+29.8%+144.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year -1.2%+9.1%+34.8% +23.5%
5 years -15.8%-22.0%-6.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year -3.4%-4.9%-1.3% +11.0%
10 years -2.1%+84.2%-49.1% +263.4%
10 years, per year -0.2%+6.3%-6.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureSONSWRYAMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.6%44.4%68.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.3%41.0%56.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.411.451.80 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.64-0.14-0.08 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.2%-55.1%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.5%-22.2%-42.7% -0.9%
52-week high $60.55$51.84$11.75 $779.14
52-week low $39.27$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.

MultipleSONSWRYAM
P/E now vs peer median -21.3xmedian 19.1x 46.8xmedian 19.1x -3.2xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x 0.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.2xmedian 9.9x —median 9.9x 13.7xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.7xmedian 15.5x 22.9xmedian 15.5x -12.5xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.5x 1.2xmedian 1.5x 2.3xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.61median 0.78 —median 0.78 0.03median 1.84

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 monthsSONSWRYAM
Revenue $7.37B $31.48B $1.47B
Gross profit $1.49B $5.49B $86.44M
Operating income $202.22M $1.44B -$51.13M
Net income -$226.84M $473.00M -$139.93M
Free cash flow $351.16M – -$36.56M
EPS (diluted) $-2.29 – $-2.07
Cash & equivalents $183.10M – $57.01M
Total debt $4.29B – $774.77M
Shares (diluted) 99.50M 526.00M 67.51M
Enterprise value $3.89B $21.19B $189.98M

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
MetricSONSWRYAM
P/E -21.3x 46.8x -3.2x
P/FCF 13.7x 22.9x -12.5x
P/Operating cash flow 7.6x 7.0x 8.9x
P/S 0.7x 0.7x 0.3x
P/B 1.7x 1.2x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 14.5x 1.2x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 12.2x – 13.7x
EV/EBIT 44.2x – -22.9x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 0.7x 0.8x
EV/FCF 25.4x – -32.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.2x 7.0x 22.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.61 – 0.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSONSWRYAM
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.6% 1.1% -3.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.9% – -6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.3% -10.1% -32.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.7% – -15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -63.5% -16.9% -130.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -30.2% – -43.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -136.1% -36.8% 68.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.0% – -113.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -136.3% – 68.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -35.0% – -111.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.3% 2.0% -55.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.8% – -35.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 17.9% – -241.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.4% – -34.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSONSWRYAM
Gross margin 20.2% – 5.9%
EBITDA margin 9.9% – 5.9%
Operating margin 2.7% – -3.5%
Pretax margin -0.1% – -10.2%
Net margin -3.1% – -9.5%
FCF margin 4.8% – -2.5%
Operating cash flow margin 8.6% 9.6% 3.5%
Return on equity -7.1% 2.6% -65.8%
Return on assets -2.1% 1.0% -8.5%
Return on invested capital 2.7% – -4.7%
Return on capital employed 2.5% – -4.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.8x 6.4x -0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.3% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSONSWRYAM
Debt / assets 42.3% – 47.8%
Debt / equity 1.5x – 4.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.6x – 8.4x
Debt / FCF 12.2x – -21.2x
Liabilities / assets 72.2% 60.1% 88.0%
Equity / assets 27.8% 39.9% 12.0%
Interest coverage 1.1x – -0.5x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.5x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.6x – 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.61 – 0.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSONSWRYAM
Dividend yield 4.4% 4.4% –
Net buyback yield 0.2% – –
Shareholder yield 4.5% 4.4% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) -93.2% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 60.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.3% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 2.7% – –

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.

ConsensusSONSWRYAM
Forward P/E 9.6xFY2026 17.8xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $5.09FY2026 $2.27FY2026 $-1.18FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.9%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +17.5% +67.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.65BFY2026 $33.77BFY2026 $1.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +8.3%FY2026 -4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.9% +9.3% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSONSWRYAM
Held by institutions 97.9% – 77.1%
Institutions holding 507 – 188
Change in shares held, QoQ +13.2% – -2.3%
Institutions buying 264 – 98
Institutions selling 160 – 48
Buyers to sellers 1.65 – 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.

SONSWRYAM
SON 1.00 0.53 0.10
SW 0.53 1.00 0.26
RYAM 0.10 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SON, SW and RYAM?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sonoco Products (SON) $4.82B, Smurfit Westrock (SW) $21.16B, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) $455.18M.

Which company is growing faster?

Sonoco Products (SON) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Sonoco Products (SON) +3.6%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) +1.1%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -3.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sonoco Products (SON) has the highest net margin (Sonoco Products (SON) -3.1%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -9.5%). On return on invested capital, Sonoco Products (SON) leads (Sonoco Products (SON) 2.7%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sonoco Products (SON) returned the most: Sonoco Products (SON) +21.5%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -6.4%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -5.3%. Over five years, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) compounded fastest (Sonoco Products (SON) -3.4%/yr, Smurfit Westrock (SW) -4.9%/yr, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) -1.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Smurfit Westrock (SW) has the highest dividend yield: Sonoco Products (SON) 4.39%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 4.41%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) 0.00%. Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sonoco Products (SON) has been the steadiest (Sonoco Products (SON) 33.6%, Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.4%, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) 68.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SON, 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, Sonoco Products (SON) 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.