International Paper vs Packaging Corporation of America
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The short version
- International Paper is the larger business, with $23.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $9.0B for Packaging Corporation of America, about 2.6 times as much.
- International Paper grew revenue faster (49.3%, against 7.2%).
- Packaging Corporation of America turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.1% FCF margin, against −0.7%).
- Packaging Corporation of America earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.8%, against −12.3%).
| Latest fiscal year | IP · FY25 | PKG · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $17.6B | $22.0B |
| Revenue | $23.6B | $9.0B |
| Free cash flow | −$159M | $729M |
| Net income | −$3.5B | $774M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 49.3% | 7.2% |
| 5-year growth | 6.1% | 6.2% |
| Share count change | 42.8% | 0.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 29.6% | 21.0% |
| Operating margin | — | 12.3% |
| Net margin | −14.9% | 8.6% |
| FCF margin | −0.7% | 8.1% |
| Return on capital | −12.3% | 11.8% |
| Return on equity | −30.6% | 17.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $8.7B | $3.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 1.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.0B | $603M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 32.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 4 |
Revenue
FY16
IP $19.5B
PKG $5.8B
FY17
IP $21.7B
PKG $6.4B
FY18
IP $23.3B
PKG $7.0B
FY19
IP $18.3B
PKG $7.0B
FY20
IP $17.6B
PKG $6.7B
FY21
IP $19.4B
PKG $7.7B
FY22
IP $21.2B
PKG $8.5B
FY23
IP $16.0B
PKG $7.8B
FY24
IP $15.8B
PKG $8.4B
FY25
IP $23.6B
PKG $9.0B
IP
PKG
Operating margin
FY16
IP —
PKG 13.6%
FY17
IP —
PKG 14.5%
FY18
IP —
PKG 15.2%
FY19
IP —
PKG 15.1%
FY20
IP —
PKG 10.9%
FY21
IP —
PKG 16.1%
FY22
IP —
PKG 16.8%
FY23
IP —
PKG 13.8%
FY24
IP —
PKG 13.1%
FY25
IP —
PKG 12.3%
IP
PKG
Free cash flow
FY16
IP $1.2B
PKG $533M
FY17
IP $477M
PKG $513M
FY18
IP $1.7B
PKG $629M
FY19
IP $2.5B
PKG $808M
FY20
IP $2.4B
PKG $612M
FY21
IP $1.6B
PKG $489M
FY22
IP $1.2B
PKG $671M
FY23
IP $692M
PKG $845M
FY24
IP $757M
PKG $522M
FY25
IP −$159M
PKG $729M
IP
PKG
Return on capital
FY16
IP 8.4%
PKG 12.9%
FY17
IP 10.3%
PKG 17.1%
FY18
IP 11.1%
PKG 17.2%
FY19
IP 4.7%
PKG 16.6%
FY20
IP 2.9%
PKG 11.1%
FY21
IP 8.1%
PKG 18.7%
FY22
IP 14.4%
PKG 19.2%
FY23
IP 5.2%
PKG 14.1%
FY24
IP 6.3%
PKG 14.0%
FY25
IP −12.3%
PKG 11.8%
IP
PKG
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.