PKG's Quality Score rose 1 point on Wed, Nov 4, to 15.
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Up 34% in a year while the S&P 500 rose 12%.
“The higher earnings in the legacy business were driven by favorable price and mix in the Packaging segment $.79”
| Outperforming | Up 32% in a year vs the S&P's +12% |
| Latest filing | 8-K, Oct 22 |
After its last 4 reports it closed +2.2% on average, higher 3 of 4 times.
Excellentfor quality, not price, 6 of 14 chart checks firingWhat the Quality Score means
PKG is #1 of 4 by Quality Score among Paperboard Containers & Boxes.
Expected to report Tue Jan 26, after the close (in 83 days). Expected.
What an earnings report is: every 3 months, a company tells everyone how much it sold and earned. We read the figures, the outlook, and how the stock moved after.
Sales of $2.6B, 12% more than a year ago; a profit of $2.93 a share.
“The higher earnings in the legacy business were driven by favorable price and mix in the Packaging segment $.79, favorable production and sales volume in the Packaging segment, including the benefit of a higher volume of containerboard supplied by the legacy mills to the acquired Greif operations $.12, favorable price and mix in the Paper segment $.05 and a lower share count $.02.”
PKG's results filing gives no sales by line in a table we read.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diluted EPS excluding special items | $2.81 |
“Shipments per day are expected to be at or around last year’s fourth quarter level with two fewer shipping days than the third quarter and total shipments are expected to be higher than the third quarter.”
From its results filing (SEC filing · Oct 21)
Sales grew 6.2% a year over 5 years, fiscal 2020 to 2025.
Pays $6.00 a share a year.
| Reported | Gap | Reaction | 5 sessions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21, 2026 | +1.0% | +4.2% | +4.0% |
| Jul 22, 2026 | +1.2% | +2.5% | +9.3% |
| Apr 22, 2026 | +3.8% | +4.8% | +5.3% |
Sales grew in four of the last seven years, to $9B in 2025. It made a profit in each of the eight years.
Its dividends come to 72% of its free cash flow.
| Dividend | $6.00 a share a year |
| Paid out | About $535M a year |
| Free cash flow | $742M |
| Record | Raised in the last year |
3 insiders sold $12.2M across 5 filings in the last 6 months. No open-market buys on record. The newest:
5 trades disclosed in the last six months. The newest:
Officers and directors with a Form 4 in the last 12 months.
In ETFs: PKG is under 0.1% of VYM, under 0.1% of IVV, and under 0.1% of SPY, the most of the 24 funds Breakaway covers, by each fund's latest filing, Jun 30 to Jul 31, 2026 (SPY's as filed by IVV).
Packaging Corp. of America is the third-largest containerboard and corrugated packaging manufacturer in the United States. It produces over 5 million tons of containerboard annually. The company's share of the domestic containerboard market is roughly 10%. PCA differentiates itself from larger competitors by focusing on smaller customers and operating with a high degree of flexibility.
“The primary basis for competition for most of our packaging products includes quality, service, price, product design, and innovation.”
PKG scores 15 today, which Breakaway calls Excellent. It is #1 of 4 in Paperboard Containers & Boxes by Quality Score, with 6 of 14 chart checks firing. Up 34% in a year while the S&P 500 rose 12%. Breakaway does not say whether to buy any stock: the score does not know your situation, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Please do your own research.
PKG scores 15 today, which Breakaway calls Excellent (15 to 19). That is #1 of 4 in Paperboard Containers & Boxes by Quality Score. The score adds up the chart checks, the trend, the company's filed sales, its profits, the news, insider trades, and Congress trades. The section above lists the lines behind PKG's 15.
3 insiders sold $12.2M across 5 filings in the last 6 months. No open-market buys on record. The newest is Donald R. Shirley, Exec. VP, who sold $3M on Aug 20. Every filing, with the scored weight, for Pro members.
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