SW vs PKG vs IP Stock Comparison

Smurfit Westrock, Packaging Corp Of America and International Paper 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
$22.34B
P/E
45.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.33B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
2 wins
PKG Packaging Corp Of America
$253.80 +7.0% 1M +23.9% 1Y
Market cap
$22.42B
P/E
30.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.82B
Div. yield
–
Paper Packaging Basic Materials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Packaging Corp Of America leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Packaging Corp Of America 5, International Paper 4, Smurfit Westrock 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSWPKGIPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $22.34B $22.42B $17.67B PKG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 45.0x 30.8x -5.1x PKG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.6x 23.2x 25.5x SW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% +12.0% +25.4% IP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.6% — -14.2% SW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.1% — 7.5% IP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x — 1.7x IP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.0% +23.9% -31.7% PKG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.0%/yr +13.4%/yr -7.8%/yr PKG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.2% 28.0% 45.0% PKG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 30/100 68/100 IP

Percentile Scorecard

SWPKGIP

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

AxisSWPKGIP
Valuation 73 #5 of 16 13 #14 of 16 60 #7 of 16
Growth 73 #5 of 16 53 #8 of 16 47 #9 of 16
Profitability 50 #8 of 15 – 57 #7 of 15
Financial Health 79 #4 of 15 – 86 #3 of 15
Shareholder Returns 39 #9 of 14 23 #11 of 14 92 #2 of 14
Overall 63 30 68
  • SW ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • PKG ranked among 17 companies in Packaging
  • IP ranked among 17 companies in Packaging

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSWPKGIPSPY
1 month -9.0%+7.0%-4.7% -0.8%
3 months -15.7%+0.5%-21.2% +3.5%
6 months +5.4%+19.4%+2.3% +7.0%
Year to date +9.2%+23.1%-15.2% +12.2%
1 year -2.0%+23.9%-31.7% +13.0%
3 years +35.8%+69.0%+0.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +10.8%+19.1%+0.3% +23.1%
5 years -18.4%+87.4%-33.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.0%+13.4%-7.8% +11.0%
10 years +92.7%+213.1%-27.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.8%+12.1%-3.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSWPKGIPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.2%28.0%45.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.4%25.8%44.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.460.711.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.040.85-0.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.1%-32.7%-51.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.6%-1.4%-32.1% -1.8%
52-week high $51.84$257.38$49.19 $779.14
52-week low $32.79$191.68$29.38 $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.

MultipleSWPKGIP
P/E now vs peer median 44.5xmedian 19.3x 30.9xmedian 19.3x -5.1xmedian 19.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 0.7x 2.3xmedian 0.7x 0.9xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 9.7x —median 9.7x 6.0xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 15.7x 28.1xmedian 15.7x 42.6xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.4x —median 1.4x 1.4xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.82 -12.62median 0.82 0.08median 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 monthsSWPKGIP
Revenue $31.33B $9.82B $24.20B
Gross profit $5.62B $2.02B $7.21B
Operating income $1.48B $1.10B $2.13B
Net income $497.00M – -$3.44B
Free cash flow $1.02B – $492.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.94 $8.17 $-6.49
Cash & equivalents $677.00M – $726.00M
Total debt $14.16B – $34.22B
Shares (diluted) 526.00M 89.00M 529.50M
Enterprise value $19.25B $22.42B $13.57B

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
MetricSWPKGIP
P/E 44.5x 30.9x -5.1x
P/FCF 21.8x 28.1x 42.6x
P/Operating cash flow 6.7x – 7.9x
P/S 0.7x 2.3x 0.9x
P/B 1.2x – 1.4x
P/Tangible book 1.3x – 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 8.4x – 6.0x
EV/EBIT 24.1x – 13.8x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 2.3x 1.2x
EV/FCF 35.1x – 59.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.8x – 11.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -12.62 0.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSWPKGIP
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% 12.0% 25.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 7.8% 6.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -4.5% 5.5% 32.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% 7.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.2% -11.6% 6.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -0.2% -13.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 41.2% – -12,633%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – – -74.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 40.1% -18.0% -12,708%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -2.4% -60.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 52.3% – 139.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 8.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,094% – 516.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – -18.3%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSWPKGIP
Dividend yield 4.2% 2.2% 5.5%
Net buyback yield -0.1% – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 4.2% 2.2% 5.7%
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.

ConsensusSWPKGIP
Forward P/E 18.6xFY2026 23.2xFY2026 25.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.27FY2026 $10.92FY2026 $1.31FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +11.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +67.4% +32.1% +122.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $33.77BFY2026 $9.55BFY2026 $23.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.3%FY2026 +6.2%FY2026 -2.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.3% +18.1% +17.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSWPKGIP
Held by institutions 95.9% 97.9% 85.3%
Institutions holding 640 901 855
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% +1.6% +4.9%
Institutions buying 373 456 453
Institutions selling 191 291 282
Buyers to sellers 1.95 1.57 1.61

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.

SWPKGIP
SW 1.00 0.77 0.81
PKG 0.77 1.00 0.73
IP 0.81 0.73 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SW, PKG and IP?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Smurfit Westrock (SW) $22.34B, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) $22.42B, International Paper (IP) $17.67B.

Which stock is cheaper, SW, PKG and IP?

Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Smurfit Westrock (SW) 45.0x, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 30.8x, International Paper (IP) -5.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Smurfit Westrock (SW) is cheapest (Smurfit Westrock (SW) 18.6x, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 23.2x, International Paper (IP) 25.5x). 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: Smurfit Westrock (SW) +1.7%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +12.0%, International Paper (IP) +25.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) returned the most: Smurfit Westrock (SW) -2.0%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +23.9%, International Paper (IP) -31.7%. Over five years, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) compounded fastest (Smurfit Westrock (SW) -4.0%/yr, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) +13.4%/yr, International Paper (IP) -7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) has been the steadiest (Smurfit Westrock (SW) 44.2%, Packaging Corp Of America (PKG) 28.0%, International Paper (IP) 45.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.