Avery Dennison vs Packaging Corporation of America
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Avery Dennison and Packaging Corporation of America side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Packaging Corporation of America is the larger business, with $9.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $8.9B for Avery Dennison.
- Packaging Corporation of America grew revenue faster (7.2%, against 1.1%).
- Avery Dennison earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (14.6%, against 11.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Packaging Corporation of America’s earnings: a P/E of 33.0x against 20.1x for Avery Dennison.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Avery Dennison
AVY
5/10
Gross marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Packaging Corporation of America
PKG
5/10
Revenue growth5-year growthNet marginFCF marginNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AVY FY25 | PKG FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $14.0B | $22.6B |
| Revenue | $8.9B | $9.0B |
| Free cash flow | $712M | $729M |
| Net income | $688M | $774M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 1.1% | 7.2% |
| 5-year growth | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| Share count change | −3.0% | 0.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 28.8% | 21.0% |
| Operating margin | — | 12.3% |
| Net margin | 7.8% | 8.6% |
| FCF margin | 8.0% | 8.1% |
| Return on capital | 14.6% | 11.8% |
| Return on equity | 30.2% | 17.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $3.5B | $3.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.5x | 1.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $861M | $603M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 20.1x | 33.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 4 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
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.