profit from every $100 of sales.
$0$100
Packaging Corporation of America
$251.02+0.18% today
+26.1% in 1 year
1-year low $191.681-year high $259.17
Trading close to its highest price of the past year.
The essentials
Four questions every investor asks, answered in one line each.
more sales each year, on average, 2020 to 2025.
0%20% a year
You pay $28.89 for every $1 of profit it makes in a year.
CheapExpensive
of earnings would pay off all its debt.
No debt5 years
Money in, money out
What Packaging Corporation of America sold, what it kept, and what it did with the cash.
Sales went from $8.48 billion in 2022 to $8.99 billion in 2025, with $774 million of profit last year.
SalesProfit
Packaging Corporation of America handed back 86% of the cash it generated last year.
$450M
Free cash flow 2025$729M
Bought back its own shares$177M
Paid as dividends$450M
Cash vs. debt$529M vs. $4.4B
Packaging Corporation of America vs. similar companies
Packaging Corporation of America grows in the middle of these 5 and is priced in the middle for its profits.
| Company | Profit from $100 of sales | Sales growth a year | Price per $1 of profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packaging Corporation of America | 28.9× · Fair price | ||
 Smurfit Westrock | 31.8× · Expensive | ||
 Amcor | 18.3× · Fair price | ||
 International Paper | No profit yet | ||
 Ball | 18.7× · Fair price |
Compare Packaging Corporation of America with Sonoco Products · Smurfit Westrock
AI analysis
An AI analyst reads Packaging Corporation of America's last five years, its segments, earnings, insiders and peers, and writes the bull case, the bear case and what the price expects.
Run the AI analysisFull statementsIncome, balance sheet and cash flow, year by year
Income statement
| In millions of USD | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,658 | 7,730 | 8,478 | 7,802 | 8,383 | 8,989 | |
| 1,369 | 1,873 | 2,091 | 1,699 | 1,783 | 1,890 | |
| – | – | 1,482 | 1,118 | 1,173 | 1,255 | |
| 1,134 | 1,659 | 1,892 | 1,585 | 1,631 | 1,760 | |
| 461 | 841 | 1,030 | 765 | 805 | 774 | |
| 4.84 | 8.83 | 11.03 | 8.48 | 8.93 | 8.58 | |
| 20.6% | 24.2% | 24.7% | 21.8% | 21.3% | 21.0% | |
| – | – | 17.5% | 14.3% | 14.0% | 14.0% | |
| 6.9% | 10.9% | 12.1% | 9.8% | 9.6% | 8.6% |
Balance sheet
| In millions of USD | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | 7,433 | 7,837 | 8,004 | 8,681 | 8,833 | 10,726 |
| Cash | 975 | 619 | 320 | 648 | 685 | 529 |
| Total debt | 2,736 | 2,737 | 2,793 | 3,173 | 2,772 | 4,365 |
| Total liabilities | – | – | 4,337 | 4,684 | 4,429 | 6,128 |
| 3,246 | 3,607 | 3,667 | 3,997 | 4,404 | 4,598 | |
| 94 | 95 | 93 | 90 | 90 | 90 | |
| 9.6% | 15.5% | 17.6% | 11.8% | 12.2% | 9.8% | |
| 14.2% | 23.3% | 28.1% | 19.1% | 18.3% | 16.8% |
Cash flow
| In millions of USD | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,033 | 1,094 | 1,495 | 1,315 | 1,191 | 1,558 | |
| 421 | 605 | 824 | 470 | 670 | 829 | |
| 612 | 489 | 671 | 845 | 522 | 729 | |
| Dividends paid | 300 | 380 | 420 | 449 | 449 | 450 |
| – | – | 538 | 57 | 26 | 177 | |
| 30 | 36 | 36 | 40 | 49 | 45 |
Valuation
- 28.9×
- 24.4×
- 2.38
- 4.1×
- 2.5×
- 30.7×
- 14.9×
- 3.3%
- 3.5%
- 2.4%
Profitability
- 21.0%
- 14.0%
- 8.6%
- 20.0%
- 9.3%
- 11.9%
- 15.9%
- 6.9%
- 12.5%
- –
Growth
- +6.2%
- +12.1%
- +39.7%
- +8.2%
- −1.1%
Financial health
- 2.2×
- 0.95
- 40.5%
- 12.3×
- 3.07
- 1.88
- 0.86
How it ranks in Consumer Discretionary
Each dot is where the company stands among every company over $300M in the sector. Further right is better.
Top 41%of 982
Top 25%of 994
Bottom 29%of 853
Bottom 43%of 993
Bottom 39%of 980
What analysts expect
- Average price target
- $247.75
- Range
- $232.00 – $258.00
- 6 analysts
These targets were collected on May 20, 2026 and our analyst feed has not updated since, so we no longer compare them with today's price.
Recent earnings
Our results feed has not updated since May 21, 2026. Results reported after that are not in this table yet.
| Date | EPS | Expected | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2026 | 2.40 | 2.17 | +10.6% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 2.32 | 2.41 | −3.7% |
| Oct 22, 2025 | 2.73 | 2.82 | −3.2% |
| Jul 23, 2025 | 2.48 | 2.44 | +1.6% |
| Apr 22, 2025 | 2.31 | 2.21 | +4.5% |
| Jan 28, 2025 | 2.47 | 2.53 | −2.4% |
| Oct 22, 2024 | 2.65 | 2.50 | +6.0% |
| Jul 23, 2024 | 2.20 | 2.14 | +2.8% |
2.4%of the share price, paid each year
On $1,000 invested$24a year at today's yield, before tax
+8.2%2020 to 2025
Raised–not every year
Paid per share, each year
$2.20 in 2015 → $5.00 in 2025
How safe it looks
58.1% of its profit
Room to growStretchedMore than it earns: 61.7%
News
Nvidia Is Reportedly Pouring Billions Into AI's Next Big Bottleneck: Advanced Chip PackagingYahoo Finance · Nov 6, 2026Graphic Packaging beats Q3 street viewsSeeking Alpha · Nov 3, 2026International Paper projects Q4 Packaging Solutions North America adjusted EBITDA of $700M-$740M as EMEA separation work advancesSeeking Alpha · Oct 28, 2026Amkor Technology (AMKR) Stock May Be Undervalued Despite Its $3b AI Packaging DealYahoo Finance · Oct 27, 2026Nvidia, Chipmakers Face Higher Costs? TSMC Reportedly Plans Up To 20% Price Hike For Advanced Chip PackagingYahoo Finance · Oct 27, 2026Insider trades
Our insider feed has not updated since May 26, 2026. Trades filed after that are not listed yet.
No insider trades on file.
The seven classic investing rulebooks
0/7Passes 0 of 7. Each bar is how well the company fits that investor's published rules, from 0 to 100; 60 or more counts as a pass.
Warren Buffett
50No pass
Benjamin Graham
50No pass
Philip Fisher
50No pass
Peter Lynch
37No pass
Joel Greenblatt
19No pass
Charlie Munger
41No pass
Terry Smith
40No pass
Questions about Packaging Corporation of America
Is Packaging Corporation of America a good stock to buy?
A solid business at a fair price. 0 of the 7 famous investors' published rulebooks we apply pass it. Whether it suits you depends on your goals and the price you pay; invest-like never tells anyone to buy or sell. The AI analysis lays out the case for and against. Read the Packaging Corporation of America AI analysis
What does Packaging Corporation of America do?
Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through Packaging and Paper segments. It is in Packaging & Containers, based in Lake Forest, IL, United States, with 16,800 employees.
Does Packaging Corporation of America pay a dividend?
Yes. At today's price the dividend is 2.4% a year, about 58% of its yearly profit. In 2025 it paid out $450 million in dividends.
Is Packaging Corporation of America stock halal?
Yes. Packaging Corporation of America passes our halal screen: its business is permitted and its debt is 20% of its market value, under the 30% limit. How we check
How has Packaging Corporation of America stock done over the past year?
Up 26.1% over the past twelve months, to $251.02. It traded between $191.68 and $259.17 and is 3.1% below its high.
Who are Packaging Corporation of America's competitors?
The largest listed companies in the same industry are Smurfit Westrock, Amcor, International Paper and Ball. The peers table on this page compares their profit, growth and price with Packaging Corporation of America's.
Prices: daily closes to Nov 13, 2026. Fundamentals: company reports via invest-like data.