COMPARE · Reviewed August 3, 2026
IP vs SON
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. IP scored 56.3, SON scored 70.6 — SON leads.
Compare another set
IP
International Paper Company
56.3
$41.45 · $21.9B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
14.3
SON leads
SON
Sonoco Products Company
70.6
$56.42 · $5.6B
fundamentals as of
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
IP
stronger →← stronger
SON
52
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
64
82
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
67
42
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
83
SON is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
IP
SON
$553mC+
FCF
$217mC
+41.6%A
Rev
+31.2%A
0.67B+
D/E
1.32B
0.9xB+
P/S
—
1.58C+
PEG
0.21A
—
P/E
8.7xA
Winner per row is the stronger grade in our model; a tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
IP
SON
55% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
53% above
~26%/yr
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~17%/yr
-51%
1-yr DCF upside
-40%
-35%
5-yr DCF upside
-35%
-3%
10-yr DCF upside
-27%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
The companies
IPInternational Paper Company
Why now
Packaging & Containers · market cap $21.9b. 18% off the 52-week high of $50.25. Revenue growing +42% — in hypergrowth territory. 11 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $47.45 (implying +14% upside).
Moat
Turnaround / out-of-favor name — GAAP-unprofitable for now, so the durability case is forward-looking: it rests on a recovery (margin normalization, a cyclical upturn or restructuring) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than on current reported results.
Risk
Currently unprofitable (margin -13.8%) — path to GAAP profitability is the core thesis risk. Dividend payout 158% of earnings on a 4.5% yield — distribution coverage is thin; one earnings stumble could force a dividend cut. ROE -23% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
SONSonoco Products Company
Why now
Packaging & Containers · market cap $5.6b. 7% off the 52-week high of $60.67. Revenue growing +31% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.21 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 9 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $63.78 (implying +13% upside).
Moat
Net margin 14% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 28% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
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