Sonoco Products (SON)
NYSE:SON
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Sonoco Products
(NYSE:SON)
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Rating:67Neutral
Price Target:
$55.00
▲(1.51% Upside)
Action:DowngradedDate:03/24/26
The score is driven primarily by improved fundamentals (2025 earnings rebound and better leverage) and supportive valuation (low P/E and strong dividend). Offsetting this is weak near-term technical momentum (below key moving averages with oversold signals), while guidance and multi-year targets from the earnings call provide a constructive outlook despite noted volume and tax-rate headwinds.
Positive Factors
Material revenue rebound and focused portfolio
A 42% revenue step-up in 2025 alongside portfolio simplification into two core segments strengthens scale and strategic focus. That structural shift concentrates management attention and capital, increasing the odds of durable market-share gains and sustained operating-leverage benefits over the medium term.
Negative Factors
Residual elevated leverage
Although leverage improved sharply, the balance sheet still carries a meaningful debt load that constrains flexibility. Elevated leverage increases sensitivity to weaker operating cash flow or rising rates, which could force tighter capital allocation and delay share-repurchase expansion or strategic investments.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Material revenue rebound and focused portfolio
A 42% revenue step-up in 2025 alongside portfolio simplification into two core segments strengthens scale and strategic focus. That structural shift concentrates management attention and capital, increasing the odds of durable market-share gains and sustained operating-leverage benefits over the medium term.
Read all positive factors
Sonoco Products (SON) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$5.36B
Dividend Yield4.33%
Average Volume (3M)902.18K
Price to Earnings (P/E)11.0
Beta (1Y)0.63
Revenue Growth8.31%
EPS Growth-99.39%
CountryUS
Employees23,400
SectorConsumer Cyclical
Sector Strength84
IndustryPackaging & Containers
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.05
Shares Outstanding98,871,590
10 Day Avg. Volume952,630
30 Day Avg. Volume902,182
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.08
Price to Book (P/B)1.20
Price to Sales (P/S)0.58
P/FCF Ratio11.06
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.83
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.31
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit6.24
Enterprise Value/Ebitda6.46
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$64.38Price Target Upside18.83% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering8
EPS Forecast (FY)5.94
Revenue Forecast (FY)$7.46B
Sonoco Products Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells industrial and consumer packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates through two segments: Consumer Packaging and I...
How the Company Makes Money
Sonoco primarily makes money by manufacturing and selling packaging products and related services to consumer packaged goods companies and industrial customers. Key revenue streams generally include: (1) Consumer-oriented packaging sales, where So...
Sonoco Products Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Sonoco Products Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 16, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 21, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized strong financial and operational progress: substantial YoY revenue, EBITDA and EPS growth, normalized operating cash flow near $906M, major debt reduction and completion of a portfolio transformation that positions the company for margin expansion and consistent earnings growth. Management provided concrete 2026 guidance and multi-year targets (including $150M–$200M of margin improvement and $2.5B cumulative operating cash flow through 2028). Offsetting items included modest volume softness, one-time tax impacts that depressed reported cash flow, lost earnings from divestitures, a short-term operational downtime event, and expected increases in the effective tax rate and some interest expense. Overall, the positives — record segment performance, strong cash generation, rapid deleveraging, and a clear, actionable margin/cash plan — outweigh the transitory and manageable negatives.Positive Updates
Strong Top-Line Growth (Q4 & Full Year 2025)
Q4 2025 net sales for continued operations increased 30% to $1.8B. Full-year 2025 net sales increased 42% to $7.5B, driven by the metal packaging EMEA acquisition, favorable pricing and FX.
Negative Updates
Volume and Mix Softness
Overall volume and mix declined just under 2% in Q4. Full-year results were partially offset by volume softness, primarily in converting and Consumer businesses.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Top-Line Growth (Q4 & Full Year 2025)
Q4 2025 net sales for continued operations increased 30% to $1.8B. Full-year 2025 net sales increased 42% to $7.5B, driven by the metal packaging EMEA acquisition, favorable pricing and FX.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Sunoco’s 2026 guidance calls for net sales of $7.25–7.75 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $1.25–1.35 billion, adjusted EPS of $5.80–6.20 and operating cash flow of $700–800 million (which includes roughly $100 million of taxes on 2025 divestiture gains). Relative to 2025 pro forma sales of ~$7.3 billion and pro forma EPS of $4.97, management expects low‑ to mid‑single‑digit sales growth and ≈20% EPS growth versus pro forma 2025, despite an expected 150–200 basis‑point increase in the effective tax rate. Medium‑term targets include ~200 bps of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion by end‑2028 (estimated $150–200 million of incremental EBITDA), cumulative three‑year operating cash flow of $2.5 billion through 2026–28, a path to roughly $1.5 billion in EBITDA by 2028, and a long‑term net leverage goal below ~2.5x (net leverage was ~3x at year‑end 2025); management also cited normalized 2025 operating cash flow of ~$906 million, capex steady at ~4% of sales, liquidity of ~$1.6 billion and a total cost of debt near 3.6%.Sonoco Products Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
72
Positive
Balance Sheet
60
Neutral
Cash Flow
64
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 7.52B | 5.31B | 5.44B | 5.86B | 5.59B |
| Gross Profit | 1.57B | 1.14B | 1.20B | 1.23B | 1.06B |
| EBITDA | 1.53B | 610.97M | 965.41M | 869.63M | 148.19M |
| Net Income | 396.38M | 163.95M | 474.96M | 466.44M | -85.48M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 11.16B | 12.51B | 7.19B | 7.05B | 5.07B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 378.40M | 431.01M | 138.90M | 227.44M | 170.98M |
| Total Debt | 4.85B | 7.30B | 3.23B | 3.53B | 1.84B |
| Total Liabilities | 7.53B | 10.22B | 4.76B | 4.98B | 3.22B |
| Stockholders Equity | 3.61B | 2.27B | 2.42B | 2.07B | 1.84B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 392.73M | 440.61M | 519.84M | 180.28M | 42.65M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 689.78M | 833.85M | 882.92M | 509.05M | 298.67M |
| Investing Cash Flow | 2.20B | -4.11B | -619.34M | -1.74B | -165.90M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -2.99B | 3.67B | -351.99M | 1.29B | -513.54M |
Sonoco Products Technical Analysis
Positive
54.18
Price Trends
52.54
Positive
47.69
Positive
45.51
Positive
Market Momentum
0.40
Negative
60.09
Neutral
88.09
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For SON, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 54.18 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 53.16, above the 50-day MA of 52.54, and above the 200-day MA of 45.51, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.40 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 60.09 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 88.09 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for SON.
Sonoco Products Risk Analysis
Sonoco Products disclosed 1 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Sonoco Products reported the most risks in the "Legal & Regulatory" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Sonoco Products Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 Neutral | $5.36B | 10.96 | 32.44% | 4.33% | 8.31% | -99.39% | |
63 Neutral | $4.16B | 14.78 | 13.03% | 1.97% | 11.10% | 6.54% | |
62 Neutral | $6.20B | 12.04 | 48.39% | 1.94% | -1.22% | -0.76% | |
61 Neutral | $18.38B | 12.79 | -2.54% | 3.03% | 1.52% | -15.83% | |
60 Neutral | $4.50B | 16.01 | 13.83% | 3.97% | 0.76% | -17.69% | |
57 Neutral | $2.41B | -38.25 | -2.78% | 9.90% | 10.34% | 87.86% | |
56 Neutral | $2.84B | 15.73 | 13.67% | 2.91% | -3.93% | -27.37% |
* Consumer Cyclical Sector Average
SON
Sonoco Products
54.18
14.26
35.70%
GPK
Graphic Packaging
9.60
-14.04
-59.39%
SEE
Sealed Air
42.10
18.48
78.22%
SLGN
Silgan Holdings
39.45
-5.73
-12.68%
REYN
Reynolds Consumer Products
21.36
-0.75
-3.37%
AMBP
Ardagh Metal Packaging
4.03
1.58
64.69%
Sonoco Products Corporate Events
Private Placements and Financing
Sonoco Products Secures New $300 Million Term Loan
Positive
Mar 23, 2026
On March 23, 2026, Sonoco Products Company entered into a new unsecured delayed draw term loan facility of up to $300 million with a syndicate of lenders and Wells Fargo Bank as administrative agent, which can be drawn through September 13, 2026 a...
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Sonoco Outlines 2026–2028 Strategy at Investor Day
Positive
Feb 17, 2026
On February 17, 2026, Sonoco Products hosted its 2026 Investor Day, where President and CEO Howard Coker and senior leaders outlined an updated value creation strategy centered on sustainable growth, margin improvement and disciplined capital allo...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Sonoco Products Adds Veteran Finance Executive to Board
Positive
Feb 12, 2026
On February 10, 2026, Sonoco Products appointed Craig L. Nix, the chief financial officer of First Citizens BancShares, Inc., to its Board of Directors as an independent member, assigning him to the Audit and Financial Policy committees, with plan...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Sonoco Products announces COO retirement and leadership changes
Neutral
Jan 20, 2026
On January 20, 2026, Sonoco announced that Chief Operating Officer Rodger Fuller will retire on February 28, 2026, concluding a 40-year career with the packaging company that included leadership of global consumer and industrial operations and a r...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.