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Smurfit Westrock Plc (SW)

Consumer Cyclical Balanced

Smurfit Westrock is a global giant that turns paper and cardboard into the boxes and packaging used by almost every industry to ship goods to your door.

$45.97

Is Smurfit Westrock Plc a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Smurfit Westrock is a global giant that turns paper and cardboard into the boxes and packaging used by almost every industry to ship goods to your door.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+6.1%
Priced in USD - as a UK investor your £ return also moves with the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, on top of the share price itself.
52-week range+10% past year
$45.97
Low $32.73High $52.65
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put $1,000 into Smurfit Westrock Plc
$1,061+6%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
$24.11B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
5.58M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
$45.29 – $48.31
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
$32.73 – $52.65
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
48.9
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
3.9%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
0.94
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 0.94
Calm
Wild
Roughly in step with the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▲ +16% past week · ▲ +10% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

The company becomes the dominant global leader in sustainable packaging.

The bear case

Failure to adapt to new sustainable material technologies or heavy debt burdens.

What does Smurfit Westrock Plc do?

This company is the result of a massive merger between two packaging heavyweights, creating a business that makes everything from simple delivery boxes to complex retail displays. Selling these paper-based solutions to companies that need to protect and transport their products is the source of revenue. Watch how well they combine their operations to save costs and whether demand for shipping boxes picks up as the global economy shifts.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and momentum, and weakest on growth.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 72Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 22Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 14Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 61Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 48
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Value screens high (72/100)
  • Massive scale provides a competitive advantage in pricing and logistics.
  • Essential service as almost all physical goods require packaging.
  • Attractive dividend yield for those looking for income.
What to watch
  • Quality screens low (22/100)
  • Growth screens low (14/100)
  • Integration risks following the recent large-scale merger.
  • Fluctuating costs of raw materials like wood pulp.
  • Potential for reduced demand if consumers spend less on physical goods.

What do Smurfit Westrock Plc's numbers mean?

Forward P/E
13.0
This suggests that for every pound of expected future profit, investors are currently paying thirteen pounds for a share.
P/S
0.7
This shows the company is valued at less than its total annual sales, which is common for large, established manufacturing businesses.
Dividend yield
4.1%
This is the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, acting as a potential income stream.
Net margin
1.2%
This reveals that for every pound of sales, only a tiny fraction remains as actual profit after all expenses are paid.

How much money does Smurfit Westrock Plc make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$2.01B$4.02B$6.02B$8.03BQ2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26
Gross margin
18.2%
Net margin
1.6%
Return on equity
2.7%

Does Smurfit Westrock Plc pay a dividend?

Yes - Smurfit Westrock Plc currently pays a dividend of about 3.9% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

When does Smurfit Westrock Plc report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?

Smurfit Westrock Plc is next scheduled to report on about 2026-10-28 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.

Each quarter a company reports its results against what analysts expected. ‘Beating’ or ‘missing’ is about that expectation, not whether the business is doing well in absolute terms.

ReportedExpected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number.Actual EPSvs expected
2026-07-29$0.42$0.35Missed -17%
2026-04-30$0.40$0.33Missed -17%
2026-02-11$0.50$0.28Missed -43%
2025-10-29$0.72$0.58Missed -20%
2025-07-30$0.59$0.51Missed -14%
2025-05-01$0.67$0.83Beat +24%

Across the last 6 quarters here, Smurfit Westrock Plc came in ahead of what analysts expected 1 time. One quarter is noise, not a trend.

See who else reports over the next two weeks →

Reported vs expected earnings per share (EPS) from published results; the expectation is the analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates that can move.

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What are the scenarios for Smurfit Westrock Plc?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

$52$46$32today · $46▲ Bull · $49• Base · $46▼ Bear · $43in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Successful integration of the merger leads to immediate cost savings.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady demand for packaging remains flat as the economy stabilises.
Bear
-5% to -10%Higher raw material costs squeeze already thin profit margins.

What are the pros and cons of Smurfit Westrock Plc?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Massive scale provides a competitive advantage in pricing and logistics.
  • Essential service as almost all physical goods require packaging.
  • Attractive dividend yield for those looking for income.
The catch3
  • Very thin profit margins leave little room for error.
  • Recent earnings growth has been significantly negative.
  • The business is highly sensitive to the ups and downs of the wider economy.
Key risks3
  • Integration risks following the recent large-scale merger.
  • Fluctuating costs of raw materials like wood pulp.
  • Potential for reduced demand if consumers spend less on physical goods.
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: USD · flags: earnings_growth · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.