INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY vs PACKAGING CORP OF AMERICA, two Paper & Packaging stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where IP and PKG diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), IP reads -1.8% and PKG reads +15.1%; on net margin, IP reads -13.8% and PKG reads 8.0%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's IP price has a different growth bar priced in than PKG (-1.8% implied for IP vs +15.1% for PKG); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What PKG's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | IP | PKG |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $40.81 | $246.66 |
| Market cap | $21.7B | $22.0B |
| Sector | Paper & Packaging | Paper & Packaging |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -1.8% | +15.1% |
| P/E | — | 30.0 |
| P/B | 1.47 | 4.79 |
| P/S | 0.89 | 2.38 |
| EV/EBITDA | 8.0 | 14.1 |
| Revenue growth | +43.9% | +7.8% |
| Gross margin | — | 19.1% |
| Operating margin | — | 10.6% |
| Net margin | -13.8% | 8.0% |
| Return on equity | -22.6% | 16.2% |
| Return on assets | -9.2% | 6.9% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 9.8% |
| FCF yield | 2.5% | 3.2% |
| Dividend yield | 4.5% | 2.0% |
| Debt / equity | 0.06 | 0.86 |
| Current ratio | 1.21 | 3.07 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.90 | 7.68 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 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.