SONOCO PRODUCTS CO vs Smurfit Westrock plc, two Paper & Packaging stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Sonoco is running near peak form, 28.33% on equity and a 13.57% net margin at just 5.4 times earnings. Smurfit Westrock is doing the opposite, 2.1% and 1.22% at 65.26 times, with merger-integration costs holding the containerboard numbers down for now. The two trade close on book, 1.53 times for Sonoco and 1.37 times for Smurfit Westrock. Their debt loads sit far apart: Sonoco carries 1.31, Smurfit Westrock 0.05. Smurfit Westrock is the far larger company, $24.7B against $5.5B, and pays a bit less than Sonoco, 3.66% against 3.83%. Sonoco's earnings are real today; Smurfit Westrock's wait on a merger to finish clearing.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | SON | SW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $55.91 | $44.22 |
| Market cap | $5.6B | $23.3B |
| Sector | Paper & Packaging | Paper & Packaging |
| Stage | Growth | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -4.7% | +13.9% |
| P/E | 5.5 | 61.4 |
| P/B | 1.55 | 1.29 |
| P/S | 0.74 | 0.74 |
| EV/EBITDA | 8.8 | 5.8 |
| Revenue growth | +33.6% | +43.3% |
| Gross margin | 20.6% | 16.4% |
| Operating margin | 7.6% | 3.3% |
| Net margin | 13.6% | 1.2% |
| Return on equity | 28.3% | 2.1% |
| Return on assets | 9.2% | 0.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.7% | 5.6% |
| FCF yield | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| Dividend yield | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| Debt / equity | 1.31 | 0.05 |
| Current ratio | 0.96 | 1.44 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.58 | 1.39 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 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.