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what it is
Clearwater Paper makes the paperboard and tissue products behind cartons, cups, paper towels, and toilet paper.
how it gets paid
Last year Clearwater Paper made $1.6B in revenue. bath tissue was the main engine at $0.48B, or 30% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 12.4% last year. Latest-quarter EPS was -$3.51, and trailing EPS sits at -$13.2.
what just happened
The quarter was about one ugly number: 0.9% gross margin left almost no profit cushion.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
5/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
10.8% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$3.28 fy2025 eps est
$2B fy2026 rev est
xvary composite: 32/100 — weak
What they do
Clearwater Paper makes the paperboard and tissue products behind cartons, cups, paper towels, and toilet paper.
You keep buying paper goods even when your budget is tight. Clearwater sells private-label tissue and packaging inputs that retailers and converters need every week. That is why revenue still hit $1.6B, and still sees $2.0B in 2026 sales, even after FY2024 EPS fell to -$4.41.
How they make money
$1.6B
annual revenue · their business grew +12.4% last year
bath tissue
$0.48B
paper towels
$0.32B
facial tissue and napkins
$0.24B
solid bleached sulfate paperboard
$0.40B
pulp and converting services
$0.16B
The products that matter
retail tissue products
Consumer Products
$1.0B · +12% growth
this is the larger business at $1.0B in revenue. It should be the stabilizer. Q4 showed it can still wobble fast when tissue volumes soften.
largest segment
packaging paperboard materials
Pulp & Paperboard
$0.6B · +13% growth
this $0.6B segment grew slightly faster, but faster growth inside a commodity business does not automatically mean better economics. Cost position still decides who keeps the profit.
commodity exposure
Key numbers
$346M
long-term debt
That debt load is bigger than the roughly $210M market cap, which tells you leverage is driving the risk here.
0.9%
gross margin
Gross margin → money left after production costs → so what: less than 1% leaves almost no room for error.
$1.6B
annual revenue
The sales base is large for a $210M company, which is why even a modest margin fix would change the story fast.
$4.41
FY2024 EPS
Profit per share went deeply negative after a $6.30 profit in 2023, so you are underwriting a turnaround, not stability.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $346M (62% of capital)
C++ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CLW right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The quarter was about one ugly number: 0.9% gross margin left almost no profit cushion.
Latest-quarter EPS was -$3.51, and trailing EPS sits at -$13.2. Gross margin → money left after making the product → so what: costs are eating the business alive.
$400M
revenue
$3.51
eps
0.9%
gross margin
the number that mattered
Gross margin at 0.9% matters most because every 1 point of margin on $1.6B of sales is about $16M.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
CLW already showed you the failure mode: weaker tissue volume plus higher input costs. With only a 6.3% operating margin and $346M of debt, the room for a second mistake is small.
high
pulp, fiber, freight, and energy costs stay elevated
management does not have much buffer here. A 10% sustained rise in input costs could erase a 6.3% operating margin and turn a difficult year into a balance-sheet year.
management does not have much buffer here. A 10% sustained rise in input costs could erase a 6.3% operating margin and turn a difficult year into a balance-sheet year.
high
debt keeps mattering more than the equity story
long-term debt is $346M, or 62% of capital, against a $210M market cap. That means even modest operating misses hit common shareholders harder because more of the enterprise value already belongs elsewhere.
long-term debt is $346M, or 62% of capital, against a $210M market cap. That means even modest operating misses hit common shareholders harder because more of the enterprise value already belongs elsewhere.
med
consumer tissue volume weakness becomes a pattern
Q4 already showed softer consumer tissue volumes. If that continues in the $1.0B segment, Clearwater loses the cleanest path it has to absorb fixed manufacturing costs.
Q4 already showed softer consumer tissue volumes. If that continues in the $1.0B segment, Clearwater loses the cleanest path it has to absorb fixed manufacturing costs.
med
commodity pricing stays hostile
this company sells paperboard and private-label tissue, not branded luxury goods. If peers push price and buyers push back, Clearwater has limited room to defend margin without sacrificing volume.
this company sells paperboard and private-label tissue, not branded luxury goods. If peers push price and buyers push back, Clearwater has limited room to defend margin without sacrificing volume.
here is the clean version: if costs rise and volume does not recover, a 6.3% operating margin can disappear fast, and $346M of debt means the pain does not stop at the income statement.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
does 6.3% operating margin hold
this is the number that matters most. If operating margin slips again, debt becomes the main story and the equity stops getting the benefit of the doubt.
calendar
Q1 2026 earnings release
the next print is where you check whether weaker tissue volumes were a one-quarter problem or the start of a trend. The current snapshot points to late April 2026.
balance sheet
debt versus equity value
$346M of debt against a $210M market cap is not background detail. You want to see debt move lower, not just hear management say it is under control.
demand
consumer tissue volume trend
the Q4 miss was tied to lower sales volumes in consumer tissue. If that keeps showing up, the largest segment becomes the thing you worry about instead of the thing that protects you.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
5 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust this business to produce smooth earnings from quarter to quarter.
risk rank
4
safer than 20% of stocks. Put differently: 80% of the market screens as safer than this.
price stability
25 / 100
this stock does not trade like a steady staples name. If you own it, you should expect movement and demand a reason for taking it.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CLW is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$14
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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