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what it is
Sonoco makes the cans, tubes, paperboard, reels, and protective packaging that keep other companies' products moving.
how it gets paid
Last year Sonoco Products made $7.5B in revenue. Metal packaging was the main engine at $2.30B, or 31% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 41.7% last year. The 66.67% EPS surprise matters because it says analysts were still modeling the old Sonoco while the new one was already showing up in results.
what just happened
Sonoco's last report was about one thing: $1.05 EPS versus a $0.63 estimate.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
55/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
9.9x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
3.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 71/100 — average
What they do
Sonoco makes the cans, tubes, paperboard, reels, and protective packaging that keep other companies' products moving.
Packaging sounds generic until you try replacing it across 265 facilities in 37 countries. Sonoco sells into food, paper, textile, and consumer goods, and 52% of 2025 sales came from outside the U.S., which means your customer relationships are wide and sticky. Switching costs (changing suppliers is painful and risky) matter here, because a bad package can shut down your line.
How they make money
$7.5B
annual revenue · their business grew +41.7% last year
Metal packaging
$2.30B
Consumer packaging
$1.70B
Industrial paper packaging
$1.50B
Protective solutions
$1.00B
Healthcare and other packaging
$1.02B
The products that matter
industrial packaging manufacturing
paper tubes and cores
inside a $7.5B revenue base
this is one of the core businesses inside Sonoco's $7.5B operation. the snapshot does not break out segment revenue, which means you are underwriting the whole platform, not a single star segment.
core demand
consumer packaging
composite cans and rigid paper containers
8.6% net margin business
these products matter because packaging mix drives profit. when net margin is 8.6%, product mix and pricing discipline do more work than headline revenue growth.
margin matters
protective packaging and displays
protective packaging
fy2026 revenue est $7B
this is part of the reason the next year matters more than the last one. if the business holds near $7.5B instead of slipping toward the $7B estimate, the current 9.9x multiple starts to look cheap.
execution watch
Key numbers
$7.5B
annual revenue
Sales jumped 41.7% vs. prior year to a record, which tells you the company you own is much bigger than it was a year ago.
9.9x
trailing p/e
That is a cheap multiple for a business with projected 7.5% earnings growth, which means the market still doubts the new earnings base.
3.9%
dividend yield
You are getting paid while management integrates acquisitions, and that matters more when the stock is not getting a hype premium.
17.0%
operating margin
Operating margin means profit before interest and taxes, plain English the core business keeps 17 cents of every sales dollar, so what the packaging model is sturdier than it looks.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 90 / 100
- long-term debt $3.8B (40% of capital)
- net profit margin 7.2% — keeps 7 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 16% — $0.16 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — risk rank looks solid but long-term debt needs watching.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in SON 3 years ago → it's now worth $10,670.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Sonoco's last report was about one thing: $1.05 EPS versus a $0.63 estimate.
Full-year 2025 sales hit a record $7.519B after two years of decline. EPS climbed to $5.71 from $1.65 in 2024, showing the portfolio reshaping did real work.
$5.8B
revenue
$1.05
eps
21.3%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 66.67% EPS surprise matters because it says analysts were still modeling the old Sonoco while the new one was already showing up in results.
-
sonoco products recently concluded a productive 2025.
-
sales rebounded sharply in the latest year ended, to a company-record $7.519 billion, after declining for two straight years.leadership's efforts to streamline and refocus operations (discussed below) caused results to be somewhat choppy over the last few years, but should bear fruit down the road. adjusted earnings totaled $5.71 per share in 2025, and we expect margins to hold up reasonably well over the next two years.
-
the composition of the company has changed considerably over the last several years.in november, sonoco completed the sale of the thermosafe business, a maker of temperature-controlled packaging solutions, to private-equity firm arsenal. the divestiture generated net proceeds of $656 million, and substantially concluded sonoco's multi-year transformation plan to streamline operations. other deals included the sale of the protexic unit in april of 2024; the sale of the tfp segment in april of 2025; and the $3.8 billion acquisition of eviosys (a leading food can maker) in december of 2024. although the transactions haven't yielded tangible results thus far, we think sonoco is better positioned for the long haul.
-
finances have strengthened.
-
the debt load was reduced 24% in the recent fourth quarter, from the end of 2024, declining to $3.789 billion.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk is packaging demand normalizing after last year's 41.7% revenue jump.
high
revenue normalization
Last year revenue reached $7.5B. The fy2026 estimate is $7B. If that step down happens, the cheap multiple may be the market getting the story right.
exposes the full revenue base — this is the main debate in the stock
med
thin margin, fast pain
Net margin is 8.6%. That is enough to be profitable, but not enough to shrug off cost inflation, tariffs, or weak pricing.
small cost misses matter more when you keep about 9 cents on the dollar
med
debt reduces flexibility
Long-term debt is $3.8B, equal to 40% of capital. That is manageable in a stable business, but it matters more if volumes soften or input costs rise.
the balance sheet is solid enough — just not loose enough to ignore
med
earnings are less predictable than the chart looks
A 90 / 100 price stability score makes SON look calm. A 55 / 100 predictability score says the income statement is less cooperative.
if results swing, a stable chart can still rerate lower
With 8.6% net margin on $7.5B of revenue, SON does not need a dramatic downturn to disappoint you. A modest volume miss or cost spike can do plenty.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
whether revenue holds closer to $7.5B than $7B
that is the whole argument. if revenue stabilizes above the fy2026 estimate, the 9.9x multiple probably looks too low.
risk
margin pressure from costs and tariffs
8.6% net margin leaves less room for error than the stock's calm chart suggests.
calendar
the next earnings report
you want to see whether the $5.71 full-year EPS rebound turns into steady follow-through or a one-good-year story.
trend
institutional conviction
152 buyers versus 205 sellers is not a disaster, but it is not accumulation either. watch whether that gap narrows next filing season.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
top 20%
momentum score 2 — analysts expect above-average price performance in the year ahead. in human-speak, they think the near-term setup is decent.
stability
safer than most
stability score 2 — historically steadier than roughly 80% of stocks.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — the tape still needs to prove itself from here.
earnings predictability
55 / 100
the business looks stable from the outside. the earnings line is less obedient.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
152 buyers vs. 205 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 87.1M shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$46
$80
$56
current price
$63
target midpoint · +12% from current · 3-5yr high: $120 (+115% · 23% ann'l return)
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