PKG vs IP Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
PKG is widely viewed as the best-operated pure-play containerboard company with disciplined capital allocation, while IP offers larger global scale but a longer history of operational inconsistency, now compounded by integration risk from its DS Smith acquisition.
PKG vs IP contrasts a smaller, highly efficient containerboard operator against a larger, globally diversified packaging company working through a major acquisition integration.
PKG holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. PKG has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+22.90% vs -19.83%), though IP trades at the lower forward P/E (13.84x vs 18.69x). On fundamentals, IP is growing revenue faster (13.40%), while PKG maintains the higher operating margin (13.45%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for IP (+6.91%) than for PKG (+3.00%).
- →Want exposure to the best-operated U.S. containerboard producer
- →Value consistent capital allocation and shareholder returns
- →Prefer a focused business model over global diversification
- →Want larger scale and global packaging exposure
- →Believe DS Smith integration will unlock margin improvement
- →Are comfortable with turnaround and integration execution risk
| Metric | PKG | IP |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 48.9 | 37.2 |
| AI rank | #534 | #1434 |
| Latest close | $229.02 | $36.82 |
| 1M return | +12.72% | +25.32% |
| 6M return | +13.19% | -4.83% |
| 1Y return | +22.90% | -19.83% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PKG | IP |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.3K (+23.0%) started 2025-06-18 | $7.98K (-20.2%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $21.5K (+115.0%) started 2021-06-21 | $8.98K (-10.2%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $59.05K (+490.5%) started 2016-06-20 | $20.75K (+107.5%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PKG | IP |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $20.41B | $19.5B |
| Trailing P/E | 27.86 | 39.95 |
| Forward P/E | 18.69 | 13.84 |
| Price/Sales | 2.07 | 1.26 |
| EV/Revenue | 2.62 | 1.15 |
| Analyst target | $235.90 | $39.36 |
| Target upside | +3.00% | +6.91% |
| Metric | PKG | IP |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 10.60% | 13.40% |
| Earnings growth | -15.50% | -90.10% |
| EPS growth | -15.50% | -90.10% |
| FCF margin | +4.25% | +7.03% |
| Operating margin | 13.45% | 3.72% |
| Profit margin | 8.04% | -13.77% |
| ROIC proxy | 16.31% | -16.04% |
| Return on equity | 16.31% | -16.04% |
| Dividend yield | 2.62% | 5.02% |
| Beta | 0.83 | 0.93 |
| Debt/equity | 95.19 | 65.90 |
| Current ratio | 3.07 | 1.21 |
| Quick ratio | 1.79 | 0.77 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | PKG | IP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +22.98% | -20.16% |
| CAGR | +23.01% | -20.19% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.73 | -0.42 | |
| Max drawdown | 17.69% | 47.23% | |
| Max daily drop | 5.26% | 12.85% | |
| Max wkly drop | 8.43% | 23.37% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +90.15% | -24.81% |
| CAGR | +13.74% | -5.55% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.46 | -0.15 | |
| Max drawdown | 31.78% | 50.70% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.01% | 12.85% | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.41% | 23.37% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +339.44% | +32.61% |
| CAGR | +15.96% | +2.86% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.51 | 0.11 | |
| Max drawdown | 38.18% | 55.27% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.25% | 12.85% | |
| Max wkly drop | 17.23% | 23.37% |
| Category | PKG | IP |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Packaging Corporation of America | International Paper Company |
| Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
| Industry | Packaging & Containers | Packaging & Containers |
| Core business | Packaging Corporation of America is a leading manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the U.S., serving e-commerce, food, and industrial customers. | International Paper is one of the world's largest paper and packaging companies, producing containerboard, corrugated packaging, and pulp products globally, including through its DS Smith combination. |
| Investor focus | Investors track containerboard pricing, e-commerce-driven box demand, mill operating rates, and PKG's disciplined capital allocation history. | Investors track global containerboard demand, pulp pricing, restructuring and footprint optimization efforts, and integration of recent acquisitions. |
- →Focused, efficient operating model with strong mill performance
- →Direct beneficiary of e-commerce-driven packaging demand growth
- →Track record of disciplined capital allocation and shareholder returns
- →Global scale with extensive manufacturing footprint
- →Diversified product mix across containerboard, pulp, and packaging
- →Expanded European exposure through the DS Smith acquisition
- →Containerboard pricing is cyclical and tied to industrial demand
- →Input cost inflation in fiber, energy, and chemicals
- →Smaller scale than International Paper limits some cost advantages
- →History of operational underperformance relative to peers like PKG
- →Integration risk and costs from the DS Smith combination
- →Legacy paper business secular decline pressures overall results
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