PACKAGING CORP OF AMERICA vs Smurfit Westrock plc, two Paper & Packaging stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Two containerboard makers of similar size, $21.5B and $24.7B, in very different states of health on paper. Packaging Corp earns 16.16% on equity at an 8.04% net margin; Smurfit Westrock, still folding in a large merger, shows 2.1% and 1.22%, numbers that will look better once integration costs pass. The market prices the difference into book value, 4.69 times for Packaging Corp against 1.37 times for Smurfit Westrock. Smurfit Westrock pays more, 3.66% against 2.07%, and carries almost no debt, 0.05 against 0.86. Packaging Corp's profits are running clean today; Smurfit Westrock's are held down by a merger it has yet to fully absorb.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | PKG | SW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $228.98 | $44.22 |
| Market cap | $20.4B | $23.3B |
| Sector | Paper & Packaging | Paper & Packaging |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +11.3% | +13.9% |
| P/E | 27.8 | 61.4 |
| P/B | 4.45 | 1.29 |
| P/S | 2.21 | 0.74 |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.2 | 5.8 |
| Revenue growth | +7.8% | +43.3% |
| Gross margin | 19.1% | 16.4% |
| Operating margin | 10.6% | 3.3% |
| Net margin | 8.0% | 1.2% |
| Return on equity | 16.2% | 2.1% |
| Return on assets | 6.9% | 0.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.8% | 5.6% |
| FCF yield | 3.4% | 4.4% |
| Dividend yield | 2.2% | 3.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.86 | 0.05 |
| Current ratio | 3.07 | 1.44 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.68 | 1.39 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
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.