Clearwater Paper (CLW) Operating Margin (2010 - 2026)
Clearwater Paper (CLW) recorded Operating Margin of 0.65% in Q3 2026, up 14.53 percentage points from -13.88% a year earlier and up 7.03 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Clearwater Paper (CLW) Operating Margin (2010 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a TTM basis, Clearwater Paper's Operating Margin came in at -1.61% as of Sep 30, 2026, up 2.58 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it came in at -2.71%, up 1.96 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Operating Margin has a five-year change of -11.17 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Across earlier years, Operating Margin came in at -4.66% in FY2024 (-11.54 pp), 6.88% in FY2023 (-1.43 pp), 8.31% in FY2022 (+7.63 pp) and 0.68% in FY2021 (-7.78 pp).
- Quarterly Operating Margin has ranged from -13.88% in Q3 2025 to 16.24% in Q2 2023 over the past five years.
- On a year-over-year basis, Operating Margin rose in three of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.83 percentage points.
- Peak year-over-year performance for Operating Margin in the last five years was a gain of 19.91 percentage points in Q2 2022, against a drop of 29.86 percentage points in Q2 2024 at the low end.
- Per Business Quant, the preceding three quarters came in at -6.38% (Q2 2026), -2.89% (Q1 2026) and 1.94% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smurfit Westrock | 23.05 Bn | 20.09 Bn | 1.44 Bn | 5.97% |
| 2 | Packaging Corp Of America | 22.08 Bn | 19.65 Bn | 603.90 Mn | 14.81% |
| 3 | Amcor | 20.81 Bn | 16.21 Bn | 1.16 Bn | 7.41% |
| 4 | International Paper | 18.29 Bn | 14.37 Bn | 1.93 Bn | 14.88% |
| 5 | Ball | 17.38 Bn | 14.54 Bn | 709.00 Mn | -0.96% |
| 6 | Crown Holdings | 13.08 Bn | 10.44 Bn | 724.00 Mn | 11.91% |
| 7 | Sonoco Products | 5.02 Bn | 4.07 Bn | 405.32 Mn | -31.25% |
| 8 | Silgan Holdings | 4.36 Bn | 2.16 Bn | 328.59 Mn | 9.35% |
| 9 | Graphic Packaging Holding | 3.33 Bn | 2.34 Bn | 307.00 Mn | 4.61% |
| 10 | Clearwater Paper | 214.26 Mn | 15.96 Mn | 21.20 Mn | 0.65% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 0.65% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | -6.38% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | -2.89% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 1.94% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | -13.88% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 2.50% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | -1.06% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | -4.03% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | -0.31% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | -13.62% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | -0.31% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 0.89% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 7.42% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 16.24% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 13.39% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 9.08% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 5.98% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 6.74% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 5.63% |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 3.06% |
API Access
Clearwater Paper Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CLW&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "CLW", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CLW&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();