Graphic Packaging Holding Co vs PACKAGING CORP OF AMERICA, two Paper & Packaging stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Packaging Corp earns nearly double Graphic Packaging's return on equity, 16.16% against 8.44%, and keeps a wider net margin, 8.04% against 3.17%. The market rewards that gap plainly: 29.35 times earnings and 4.69 times book for Packaging Corp, 11.96 times and roughly 1.00 times book for Graphic Packaging. Graphic Packaging also carries heavier debt, 1.9 against 0.86. Its reported free cash flow yield of 27.64% towers over Packaging Corp's 3.26%, but a number that large usually reflects a one-off swing rather than a steady rate, so lean on it lightly. Packaging Corp is the bigger, cleaner, higher-returning operator, priced accordingly at $21.5B against $3.3B.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | GPK | PKG |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10.25 | $228.98 |
| Market cap | $3.0B | $20.4B |
| Sector | Paper & Packaging | Paper & Packaging |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +11.3% |
| P/E | 11.1 | 27.8 |
| P/B | 0.94 | 4.45 |
| P/S | 0.35 | 2.21 |
| EV/EBITDA | 7.9 | 13.2 |
| Revenue growth | -0.1% | +7.8% |
| Gross margin | — | 19.1% |
| Operating margin | 0.9% | 10.6% |
| Net margin | 3.2% | 8.0% |
| Return on equity | 8.4% | 16.2% |
| Return on assets | 2.3% | 6.9% |
| Return on invested capital | 5.0% | 9.8% |
| FCF yield | 29.7% | 3.4% |
| Dividend yield | — | 2.2% |
| Debt / equity | 1.90 | 0.86 |
| Current ratio | 1.41 | 3.07 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.02 | 7.68 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 3 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.