International Paper Company · IP · FY2025 Q4 · Calendar Q1 2026

International Paper pairs regional separation with continued cost focus

The supplied analysis supports a constructive operating thesis based on cost-out execution, commercial gains, and regional focus, but the case depends on delivering the spin-off and managing transformation, reliability, demand, and cash-flow risks.

Reported Before market openNYSEBasic Materials $17.64B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $-0.08 Consensus $0.28
EPS surprise -128.6% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $6.01B Consensus $5.91B
Revenue surprise +1.6% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move -6.0% Event window
SPY move -0.2% Same window
Abnormal move -5.8% Stock minus SPY
Volume 3.1× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +11.7% Up to 20 sessions
IPSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

The main change is the announced regional separation: International Paper plans to create distinct North America and EMEA packaging businesses. The current analysis also emphasizes 2026 guidance, a $400 million EMEA investment, and additional cost-out actions.

Guidance delta

Guidance sentiment was maintained. The current analysis highlights 2026 sales of $24.1-$24.9 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $3.5-$3.7 billion, and free cash flow of $300-$500 million.

Key takeaways

  • Management is pursuing a split into North America and EMEA packaging businesses.
  • The 8020 transformation, cost reductions, commercial wins, and sustainability are central to the operating plan.
  • Capital priorities include EMEA transformation, reliability, capacity, the Riverdale conversion, and lighthouse-model expansion.

Management priorities

  • Complete the EMEA packaging spin-off within 12-15 months.
  • Deploy $400 million in EMEA transformation investment during 2026.
  • Continue cost-out actions, reliability and capacity investment, and selective growth initiatives.

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
IP REVENUE earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 3 future estimate-only quarters. Q1 '24 estimate $5B Q1 '24 actual $5B, beat Q2 '24 estimate $5B Q2 '24 actual $5B, beat Q3 '24 estimate $5B Q3 '24 actual $5B, miss Q2 '25 estimate $7B Q2 '25 actual $7B, beat Q3 '25 estimate $7B Q3 '25 actual $6B, miss Q4 '25 estimate $6B Q4 '25 actual $6B, beat Q1 '26 estimate $6B Q1 '26 actual $6B, miss Q2 '26 estimate $6B Q2 '26 actual $6B, miss Q3 '26 estimate $6B Q4 '26 estimate $6B Q1 '27 estimate $6B
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold28 ratings
Bullish1657.2%
Neutral621.4%
Bearish621.4%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$33.32Previous close
$40Low
$53.54Average
$80High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 30, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Argus Research Buy BuyMaintainSep 24, 2026
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainSep 23, 2026
Wells Fargo Overweight OverweightMaintainJul 31, 2026
UBS Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 31, 2026
Truist Securities Buy BuyMaintainJul 31, 2026
Show 23 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $33.32. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Seaport GlobalAnalyst unavailable$46$41.32 +38.1%Aug 12, 2026
RBC CapitalMatthew McKellar$52$41.25 +56.1%Jul 31, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$47$42.29 +41.1%Jul 31, 2026
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$46$43.15 +38.1%Jul 31, 2026
Truist FinancialMichael Roxland$49$43.15 +47.1%Jul 31, 2026
See 46 more

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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

International Paper Company, established in 1898 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, functions as a leading global packaging enterprise. Its extensive operational footprint spans the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific Rim, Asia, and various other regions across the Americas. The company's business activities are structured into two principal divisions: Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The Industrial Packaging segment is dedicated to producing a diverse range of containerboards, which encompass linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium, and saturating kraft.…

Historical context

All IP earnings

Basic Materials peers this season

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Latest beats and misses

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-30T09:46:16.527653+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-30T09:46:16.524760+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-30. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.