Packaging Corporation of America · PKG · FY2025 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2025

PCA: Pricing and capacity gains meet persistent cost risks

The supplied analysis supports a constructive but qualified view: pricing, demand, capacity additions and efficiency initiatives can support performance, while cost inflation, tariffs and outages remain material offsets.

Reported After market closeNYSEConsumer Cyclical $20.64B market cap
80quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS — Consensus $2.22
EPS surprise — Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue — Consensus $2.12B
Revenue surprise — Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move -0.9% Event window
SPY move +1.5% Same window
Abnormal move -2.5% Stock minus SPY
Volume 1.8× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +3.3% Up to 20 sessions
PKGSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

Relative to the prior-quarter analysis, the Glendale plant had launched ahead of schedule and under budget, Packaging margins improved, and management continued to emphasize price increases, capacity expansion and operational efficiency. The tone became more cautious as tariff, inflation, freight and outage risks remained prominent.

Guidance delta

Management maintained guidance and set second-quarter earnings guidance at $2.41 per share, according to the supplied transcript analysis.

Key takeaways

  • Packaging pricing, mix and volume supported the quarter and improved the Packaging EBITDA margin versus a year ago.
  • The Glendale, Arizona box plant started ahead of schedule and under budget, adding capacity and productivity potential.
  • Management highlighted continued tariff, inflation and freight uncertainty while maintaining guidance.

Management priorities

  • Complete the Paper segment price-increase rollout.
  • Ramp production at the Glendale, Arizona box plant.
  • Advance maintenance timing and capital projects, including the Ohio plant and East Coast upgrades.

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
PKG EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q1 '24 estimate $1.68 Q1 '24 actual $1.72, beat Q2 '24 estimate $2.14 Q2 '24 actual $2.20, beat Q3 '24 estimate $2.50 Q3 '24 actual $2.65, beat Q2 '25 estimate $2.44 Q2 '25 actual $2.48, beat Q3 '25 estimate $2.82 Q3 '25 actual $2.73, miss Q4 '25 estimate $2.41 Q4 '25 actual $2.32, miss Q1 '26 estimate $2.14 Q1 '26 actual $2.40, beat Q2 '26 estimate $2.31 Q2 '26 actual $2.35, beat Q3 '26 estimate $2.93 Q4 '26 estimate $2.80 Q1 '27 estimate $2.94 Q2 '27 estimate $3.34
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold24 ratings
Bullish937.5%
Neutral1354.2%
Bearish28.3%

1 unmapped firm rating excluded from the percentages.

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$228.81Current
$147Low
$248.13Average
$312High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 14, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

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

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Truist Securities Buy BuyMaintainOct 12, 2026
Wells Fargo Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainOct 7, 2026
UBS Buy BuyMaintainOct 5, 2026
Citigroup Neutral NeutralMaintainOct 2, 2026
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainSep 23, 2026
B of A Securities Buy BuyMaintainSep 11, 2026
Deutsche Bank Buy HoldUpgradeMay 4, 2026
Seaport Global Buy BuyMaintainOct 6, 2025
Jefferies Hold BuyDowngradeJun 16, 2025
Morgan Stanley Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainApr 29, 2021
BMO Capital Market Perform OutperformDowngradeJan 12, 2021
KeyBanc Sector Weight UnderweightUpgradeDec 7, 2020
Argus Research Hold BuyDowngradeApr 20, 2020
Goldman Sachs Sell NeutralDowngradeDec 10, 2019
Exane BNP Paribas Neutral NeutralMaintainDec 2, 2019
Vertical Research Hold BuyDowngradeNov 26, 2019
Stephens & Co. Equal Weight OverweightDowngradeApr 26, 2019
Bank of America Neutral BuyDowngradeApr 16, 2019
Barclays Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainOct 29, 2018
Argus Buy BuyMaintainOct 26, 2018
DA Davidson Buy NeutralUpgradeFeb 12, 2018
CLSA Buy BuyMaintainSep 6, 2016
Buckingham Research Neutral BuyDowngradeJul 18, 2016
Dundee Neutral BuyDowngradeApr 11, 2016
Macquarie Underperform UnderperformMaintainJan 27, 2016
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Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $228.8. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
UBSAnojja Shah$289$228.54 +26.3%Oct 5, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$292$256.31 +27.6%Aug 13, 2026
Seaport GlobalAnalyst unavailable$272$257.9 +18.9%Aug 12, 2026
Argus ResearchAnalyst unavailable$274$249.92 +19.8%Jul 29, 2026
Loop Capital MarketsAnalyst unavailable$312$256.43 +36.4%Jul 28, 2026
UBSAnojja Shah$271$238.36 +18.4%Jul 24, 2026
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$246$224.46 +7.5%Jul 9, 2026
Argus ResearchDavid Coleman$251$217.99 +9.7%May 28, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$248$203.17 +8.4%May 20, 2026
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$256$218.06 +11.9%May 4, 2026
UBSAnojja Shah$232$212.08 +1.4%Apr 28, 2026
Wells FargoGabe Hajde$245$212.87 +7.1%Apr 27, 2026
Truist FinancialMichael Roxland$258$212.87 +12.8%Apr 24, 2026
Truist FinancialAnalyst unavailable$260$213.41 +13.6%Apr 20, 2026
Truist FinancialAnalyst unavailable$267$207.72 +16.7%Apr 15, 2026
Truist FinancialAnalyst unavailable$270$220.02 +18.0%Jan 29, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$235$216.65 +2.7%Jan 12, 2026
Truist FinancialAnalyst unavailable$273$211.13 +19.3%Jan 6, 2026
Wells FargoGabe Hajde$233$211.13 +1.8%Jan 6, 2026
UBSAnojja Shah$230$213.26 +0.5%Oct 24, 2025
UBSAnalyst unavailable$225$209.65 -1.7%Oct 16, 2025
Truist FinancialMichael Roxland$264$209.02 +15.4%Oct 13, 2025
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$222$212.93 -3.0%Oct 7, 2025
UBSAnalyst unavailable$226$213.2 -1.2%Oct 6, 2025
Truist FinancialAnalyst unavailable$262$212.08 +14.5%Sep 17, 2025
JefferiesPhilip Ng$280$229.22 +22.4%Dec 18, 2024
Truist FinancialMichael Roxland$252$228.65 +10.1%Oct 24, 2024
Wells FargoGabe Hajde$253$228.65 +10.6%Oct 24, 2024
Wells FargoGabe Hajde$235$213.37 +2.7%Oct 7, 2024
Wells FargoGabe Hajde$191$173.42 -16.5%Apr 24, 2024
BNP ParibasCharlie Muir-Sands$182$186.28 -20.5%Apr 12, 2024
Wells FargoGabe Hajde$125$136.77 -45.4%Feb 28, 2023
Truist FinancialAnalyst unavailable$152$112.88 -33.6%Sep 29, 2022
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$143$139.33 -37.5%Jul 27, 2022
CitigroupAnalyst unavailable$147$136.93 -35.8%Jul 27, 2022
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$154$136.71 -32.7%Jul 18, 2022
CitigroupAnalyst unavailable$144$139.68 -37.1%Jun 21, 2022
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$162$162.62 -29.2%Apr 28, 2022
Deutsche BankKyle White$158$162.29 -30.9%Apr 26, 2022
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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) is a U.S.-based enterprise specializing in the production and sale of containerboard and corrugated packaging materials. Its operations are organized into two primary divisions: Packaging and Paper. The Packaging division offers an extensive array of containerboard and corrugated solutions. These encompass conventional shipping containers designed for safeguarding and transporting manufactured goods, vibrant multi-color boxes and point-of-sale displays aimed at enhancing product merchandising in retail environments, and honeycomb protective packaging.…

Historical context

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2025-04-08T00:00:45.761361+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-14T14:20:43.522499+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-14T14:20:43.519709+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 2026-10-14. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.