International Paper Company (IP) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: International Paper Company

Updated on October 2, 2026 · accounts published on July 30, 2026

Reading of October 2, 2026: A growing business that has slipped into losses and is burning cash

International Paper trades at 1.2× book value, 31 % below its 52-week high, with an operating margin of −11.5 % over the last 12 months.

• Is International Paper expensive or cheap? International Paper trades 31 % below its 52-week high at 1.2× book, under the 2.0× level seen as reasonable in basic materials.
• How is the business doing? Revenue grew 34 % over the last 12 months, yet the operating margin fell to −11.5 %, against a 7.2 % average for 2014-2025.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt was $19.00 per share in fiscal 2025, equal to 58 % of the current share price, with an Altman Z of 1.2.
• Can the balance sheet hold through the bottom of the cycle? Free cash flow covered the dividend −0.2× in fiscal 2025, against the 1.3× considered healthy in basic materials.
• What to expect from the next earnings? International Paper reports on October 28, 2026; analysts expect EPS of $0.32, and the 2026 EPS consensus slipped 1.4 % in 17 days.

Is International Paper expensive or cheap?

At 1.2× book value over the last 12 months, International Paper sits well under the 2.0× level considered reasonable for basic materials. The shares have lost 26 % in a year, trading between $29.38 and $49.19 over 52 weeks. Book value is the useful anchor here because earnings are negative, so a P/E tells you little. A low multiple of book only means something if that book earns a return. ROE was −22.4 % over the last 12 months, so the equity base is shrinking instead of compounding. The discount has a visible reason behind it.

How is the business doing?

Sales are growing fast, up 34 % year on year over the last 12 months, but profits went the other way: EPS fell 527 % and the net margin stands at −14.2 %. The fiscal 2025 operating margin of −11.3 % was the lowest of the last 12 fiscal years, far below the 7.2 % average for 2014-2025. Returns on capital tell the same story. ROIC was −7.7 % over the last 12 months, 16.3 points below the 8.6 % median of 257 companies in its sector, and it has not topped 10 % in any of the last ten fiscal years.

How strong is the balance sheet?

The headline ratios look moderate: debt to equity of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.10 over the last 12 months. The detail is less comfortable. Net debt of $19.00 per share in fiscal 2025 equals 58 % of today's price, so lenders have a claim on a large share of what a buyer pays for. The Altman Z score of 1.2 over the last 12 months is below the 1.81 danger line, and the Piotroski score of 4 out of 9 is a middling reading. The 5.7 % dividend yield is high, which makes the way it is funded the key question.

Can the balance sheet hold through the bottom of the cycle?

In basic materials, profits follow the commodity cycle, so a plain P/E misleads. The tests that matter are cost position and whether the dividend survives a trough. International Paper fails most of them. Free cash flow yield was −1.8 % over the last 12 months, against a healthy level of 8 %. Free cash flow covered the dividend −0.2× in fiscal 2025, so cash generation did not pay for it. Gross margin of 29.5 % sits right at the 30 % mark, and capex ran at 0.6× depreciation, below the 0.8× to 1.5× range. Net debt to EBITDA of −70.0× passes only because EBITDA was negative.

What to expect from the next earnings?

For the report on October 28, 2026, analysts expect quarterly EPS of $0.32, well above the $0.04 delivered on July 30, 2026, when the forecast was −$0.03. That beat was the largest surprise of the last eight quarters in absolute terms, although the company has beaten EPS estimates in only 3 of those 8. Estimates are edging lower: the 2026 EPS consensus fell from $1.36 to $1.34 over the last 17 days across 8 analysts, while revenue forecasts barely moved. Of 29 analysts, 16 rate the stock a buy, 6 a hold and 7 a sell, a divided view.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.