Latest news with #containerboard
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Do Wall Street Analysts Like Smurfit Westrock Stock?
Smurfit Westrock Plc (SW), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, manufactures, distributes, and sells containerboard, corrugated containers, and other paper-based packaging products. Valued at $23.1 billion by market cap, the company operates in 40 countries and taps into the expertise of over 100,000 people, providing its customers with the most diverse, innovative, and sustainable range of renewable and recyclable packaging solutions. Shares of this packaging giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. SW has gained 11.8% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 19%. In 2025, SW stock is down 16.2%, compared to the SPX's 10% rise on a YTD basis. More News from Barchart Why This Cannabis Penny Stock Could Be Wall Street's Next Meme Trade Breakout Apple Stock Is Gaining Momentum, Is AAPL Stock a Buy? Peter Thiel-Backed Bullish Is About to IPO. Should You Buy BLSH Stock? Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. Narrowing the focus, SW's underperformance is also apparent compared to the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 29.1% over the past year. Moreover, the ETF's 2.5% returns on a YTD basis outshine the stock's double-digit losses over the same time frame. On Jul. 30, SW reported its Q2 results, and its shares closed down more than 6% in the following trading session. Its revenue totaled $7.9 billion, up 167.4% year over year. The company's loss per share came in at $0.05, down from $0.51 in the year-ago quarter. For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect SW's EPS to grow 16.8% to $2.43 on a diluted basis. The company's earnings surprise history is disappointing. It missed the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters while beating the forecast on another occasion. Among the 14 analysts covering SW stock, the consensus is a 'Strong Buy.' That's based on 10 'Strong Buy' ratings, two 'Moderate Buys,' and two 'Holds.' This configuration is more bullish than two months ago, with nine analysts suggesting a 'Strong Buy.' On Aug. 4, Morgan Stanley (MS) analyst Brian Morgan maintained a 'Buy' rating on SW and set a price target of $53, implying a potential upside of 17.5% from current levels. The mean price target of $56.38 represents a 25% premium to SW's current price levels. The Street-high price target of $63 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 39.6%. On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Inicia sesión para acceder a tu portafolio Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
When Cardboard Talks: What Q2 Packaging Demand Says About Your Next Freight Market For Small Carriers
Corrugated boxes, linerboard, medium, coated boxboard—this is the packaging that everything else rides in. When mills run hotter, converters buy more rolls, warehouses stack more cartons, and the truck market usually follows. When mills cool down, that heat fades out on your trailer a few weeks later. Cardboard is the heartbeat of goods demand. The newest reads from the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) give us a clean pulse check on Q2. Here's the short version: containerboard softened, boxboard held roughly flat, operating rates ticked lower, and inventories swelled and then eased. That mix signals a goods economy that's not collapsing—but isn't charging ahead either. And because packaging sits upstream of retail freight by a few beats, these signals matter to your calendar and your wallet. Let's unpack what's inside the numbers, connect it to what's happening in ports, stores, and factories, and translate all of it into lanes and tactics you can actually use. The Packaging Read: Softer Containerboard, Flat Boxboard Two reports, same quarter, different vibes: Containerboard (think corrugated boxes): AF&PA says Q2 production was down 5% year over year, and down 3% year-to-date through June. Domestic new supply fell 1.2% YTD, while export production was the weak link—down nearly 12% YTD. Operating rates slipped 2.7 percentage points, and mill inventories rose to a 15‑month high mid‑May, before ending the quarter at 433,000 short tons. Boxboard (think cartons for food, personal care, household goods): Q2 was flat year over year, with the operating rate at 87.6%, down 1.8 points from last year. Category moves were mixed—some grades up, others down—netting to 'steady, not screaming.' What that means in plain English: corrugated—the workhorse of e‑commerce and general merchandise—cooled in Q2, while cartonboard tied to staples held the line. When corrugated slows, the broad 'everything ships' freight tide loses some lift; when boxboard holds, grocery/CPG-adjacent freight tends to cushion the blow. Both make their way in the back of a 53' trailer at some point. Why export weakness matters: U.S. containerboard sells into global markets. When exports drop ~12% YTD, that excess supply sits at home unless domestic demand absorbs it. Pair that with inventories peaking in mid‑May, and you're looking at a packaging chain that had more stock than orders for a stretch—exactly the kind of upstream wobble that shows up downstream as lighter pallets and less re‑order urgency. (Source: Industry Arc, Don't Read Cardboard in a Vacuum: Zoom Out to Total Demand Packaging tells you a lot, but the full picture comes from watching how retail, trade flows, and manufacturing are moving in the same quarter. Retail spending: June retail sales improved across most categories, a welcome sign after a choppy spring. That's not a boom, but it argues against a consumer collapse—and it's relevant because retail replenishment drives a big share of carton and corrugated pulls. Ports & tariff timing: The Port of Los Angeles just posted a record June (892,340 TEUs), with importers rushing to beat tariff deadlines. Savannah logged its second‑busiest fiscal year, but June volumes dipped ~9.6% as retailers paused and re‑timed orders. Translation: a front‑loaded import wave that likely fades from late Q3 into Q4 as tariff effects bite and holiday goods arrive earlier than usual. (New York Post, AP News) Freight cycle tone: Trade friction and tariff layers are creating soft freight to say the least—short bursts of port‑driven volume followed by air pockets. That's consistent with industry commentary you've seen: near‑term spikes masking a more fragile baseline. (Reuters) Put it together with AF&PA: containerboard softening + high inventories + tariff‑timed imports = a freight pattern that pops around ports and then cools inland unless consumers follow‑through and keep shelves turning. Boxboard's flatline suggests staples are still moving; not gangbusters, but enough to keep grocery, personal care, and household lanes from falling out of bed. The Cardboard-to-Truck Clock: How Fast Does It Hit You? Let's cut through the charts—cardboard demand is like your early warning system for freight. When the mills crank out big rolls and the converters turn them into boxes, it doesn't take months for that to hit your trailers—it's more like a couple of weeks. Boxes get made, shippers start packing orders, warehouses call for replenishment, and then your phone rings. Now here's the part a lot of folks miss: if those mills start slowing down, cutting hours, and stacking up inventory, you might not feel it today. But you will—give it a little time, and you'll notice the load volumes aren't growing as much. That's the chain reaction. Right now? Q2 containerboard is down about 5%. That means early Q3 could feel a little lighter on volume—unless retail does something unexpected and gives us all a nice surprise. Boxboard's holding steady though, which says grocery and other lanes aren't going anywhere. You might not love the rates, but they're still running. Import front-loading—shippers pulling orders forward before tariffs hit—has near-port guys running a little hotter on drayage and short-haul replenishment. But here's the kicker: that doesn't mean long-haul's popping unless buyers keep moving product inland. What to Watch Next (and Why It Pays) If you're going to 'highlight and execute,' make these your dashboard items for the next 6–12 weeks: AF&PA operating rates and inventories (monthly cadence): = margin pressure at mills → softer box orders → inland freight cools. = real demand is back, not just timing noise. Port TEUs vs. inland replenishment: Record TEUs can be tariff timing rather than fresh demand. The tell is whether those container peaks translate into DC re‑orders or sit in coastal warehouses. Watch LA/LB and Savannah updates and compare to your own tender flow two to three weeks later. (New York Post, AP News) Retail sales revisions: June came in better than expected. Now the question is: Can fall reports keep pace? If they do, corrugated demand might bottom out quicker than folks think. If not, get ready for a choppy ride into the holidays. Trade headlines: Tariffs and sourcing shifts (China → SE Asia) don't remove demand—they re‑route it, change timing, and sometimes change ports. That matters for which lanes you prioritize and when. (New York Post, AP News) Reading the Mixed Signals Like a Pro There's a reason this moment feels contradictory: the signals are mixed. AF&PA says corrugated is cooling off—rates are slipping, inventories are piling up. That's usually a soft-goods warning. AF&PA also says boxboard is flat—meaning your staple freight (think groceries and household items) is still steady. Retail perked up in June, which could help draw down packaging inventories in August, if the consumer holds. That means a potential uptick Ports are running hot on timing, not necessarily on sustainable demand. Front‑loads can leave you with a great week and a quiet one right behind it. (New York Post, AP News) If you're waiting for one magic headline to tell you what to do next, you'll miss what the cardboard is already telling you—this isn't a uniform boom or bust. It's a patchwork. The winners in a patchwork market don't chase averages; they specialize, shorten cycles, and plant flags in the boring freight everyone else ignores. Cardboard doesn't lie. It tells you when the warehouse is getting ready, when retail is restocking, and when converters are easing off the throttle. Right now it's saying: don't overextend, but don't sit still. Tighten your business, protect your time, and cozy up to the shippers and brokers who still move freight on consistently whether the headlines are red or green. You don't control the trade policy or the consumer. You do control your mix, your cycles, and your relationships. In a market like this, that's the edge. The post When Cardboard Talks: What Q2 Packaging Demand Says About Your Next Freight Market For Small Carriers appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cardboard cartel? Lawsuit accuses containerboard manufacturers of price fixing
This story was originally published on Packaging Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Packaging Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Containerboard producers are being hit with a class-action antitrust lawsuit accusing them of creating a 'cartel' and engaging in price collusion to boost profits at the expense of customers, as first reported by Bloomberg Law. On Tuesday, Artuso Pastry Foods Corp. filed the complaint in federal court in Illinois against entities including Cascades, Georgia-Pacific, Graphic Packaging International, Greif, International Paper, Packaging Corporation of America, Pratt Industries and Smurfit Westrock over a series of seven price increases from November 2020 to the present. Artuso Pastry is requesting that plaintiffs receive treble damages, an amount three times the damages eventually awarded by the court. It also seeks injunctive relief, in which a court orders violating parties to stop taking a particular action, and attorneys' fees. Dive Insight: This is not the first time major containerboard producers have faced a price collusion class action lawsuit. In one example, Minnesota-based cleaning products company Kleen Products in 2010 brought a suit against nearly 10 containerboard producers, also in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on accusations of conspiring to increase prices and reduce output from 2004 to 2010. That case resulted in multiple containerboard companies, including Packaging Corporation of America and International Paper, settling via multimillion-dollar payments, although Georgia-Pacific and WestRock went to court. Many of the defendants in the Kleen Products case are also named in the new lawsuit. In this week's nearly 50-page filing, Artuso Pastry said current containerboard producers and their predecessors have engaged in anticompetitive behavior and price fixing for more than 85 years. It says in the last five years, defendants engaged in 'numerous unprecedented and unjustified price increases, often implemented at the exact same time and for the exact same increase.' This 'conspiracy' resulted in customers paying higher prices for containerboard than would have existed in a competitive market, according to the filing. This lawsuit stems from Mount Vernon, New York-based Artuso Pastry purchasing containerboard products from WestRock, now Smurfit Westrock, and paying 'an artificially high price,' according to the complaint. Smurfit Westrock does not comment on pending litigation, but it is aware of the lawsuit and reviewing it, a company spokesperson told Packaging Dive on Wednesday. Georgia-Pacific also emailed a statement: 'These claims against Georgia-Pacific are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend the company.' The other companies Packaging Dive contacted Wednesday did not respond by publication time. The plaintiff claims that containerboard prices were relatively stable throughout the 2010s, but have jumped dramatically over the last five years — 33% from November 2020 to September 2022. The lawsuit alleges that no changes occurred to economic conditions such as input costs or demand 'that could plausibly account for the magnitude of the price increases' that the producers implemented. Reasons that producers have cited for the hikes include increased input costs for raw materials, transportation, energy and labor. Some industry observers have questioned the timing of containerboard price hikes during the last two years, citing weak demand and a global oversupply. Part of the problem is the amount of industry consolidation that has occurred over the last few decades, the lawsuit says, citing that just a handful of companies now control the vast majority of market share, 85%, for containerboard products. It notes numerous major M&A deals in the industry over the last 25 years, including last year's combination of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock, IP's acquisition of DS Smith in January, and the early July announcement that PCA would buy Greif's containerboard business. This type of concentration makes the market more susceptible to collusion, according to the plaintiff. Defendants took a two-year pause on major price increases but resumed in December 2023, the suit says. At that time, numerous manufacturers announced nearly identical price increases for various board grades, set to take effect in January and February. That spring, a cluster of companies announced they would again raise prices in June 2024, with analysts pointing to a leading index only partially recognizing the first increase. More announcements started late in 2024 for price bumps taking effect this year, with more than a dozen manufacturers ultimately becoming part of that movement. Although subtle differences existed in the different companies' price hikes, 'the lockstep movements further reinforced a repeated pattern of parallel pricing,' the lawsuit says. The plaintiff says containerboard producers' collusion defies economic logic and goes against their individual self interests. The plaintiff further argues that containerboard producers engaged in capacity restrictions, specifically that they used 'value over volume' strategies and facility closures to restrict volumes. It cites numerous closures by WestRock, International Paper and Greif, along with executives' repeated public references to 'value over volume' in recent years. The court docket shows Artuso Pastry's attorneys appeared in court Wednesday. Another document indicates involved parties must jointly provide the judge with a status update by Dec. 17. Recommended Reading Fiber producers see pricing upside for late 2025 amid capacity, tariff changes
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Packaging Corporation of America's Quarterly Earnings Preview: What You Need to Know
Valued at $18.2 billion by market cap, Packaging Corporation of America (PKG), based in Lake Forest, Illinois, operates as a leading U.S. producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging. Operating through its Packaging and Paper segments, PKG provides essential products like shipping containers and protective packaging to industries such as food, beverages, and industrial goods. The packaging giant is expected to announce its second-quarter results after the markets close on Wednesday, Jul. 23. Ahead of the event, analysts expect PKG to deliver an adjusted earnings of $2.43 per share, up 10.5% from $2.20 per share reported in the year-ago quarter. While the company has missed the Street's bottom-line estimates once over the past four quarters, it has surpassed the expectations on three other occasions. Michael Saylor Says 'You'll Wish You'd Bought More' Bitcoin as MicroStrategy Doubles Down Is Microsoft Stock About to Go Nuclear? Is Super Micro Computer Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold for July 2025? Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! Furthermore, for the full fiscal 2025, PKG's earnings are expected to grow to $10.35 per share, up a notable 14.5% from $9.04 per share in fiscal 2024. Moreover, its earnings are expected to further grow 9.8% year-over-year to $10.35 per share in fiscal 2026. Packaging Corp. has gained 13.8% over the past 52-week period, underperforming the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLY) 17.9% surge but slightly outpacing the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 13% gains during the same time frame. Despite reporting better-than-expected financials, PKG stock prices observed a marginal dip in the trading session after the release of its Q1 results on Apr. 22. The company's packaging sales experienced a solid boost during the quarter, leading to its net sales growing 8.2% year-over-year to $2.1 billion, surpassing the Street's expectations by a thin margin. Meanwhile, driven by a favorable pricing mix, its margins observed a significant expansion. This led to its adjusted EPS soaring 34.3% year-over-year to $2.31, exceeding the consensus estimates by 4.5%. Following the initial dip, PKG stock prices rose 2.2% in the subsequent trading session. The stock holds a consensus 'Moderate Buy' rating overall. Of the eight analysts covering the PKG stock, opinions include three 'Strong Buys' and five 'Holds.' Its mean price target of $210.22 suggests a modest 4.1% upside potential. On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Packaging Corp. of America to Acquire Greif's Containerboard Business for $1.8 Billion
Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) has agreed to buy the containerboard business of industrial packagi
