International Paper Co (IP) is slightly undervalued and Smurfit WestRock plc (SW) is overvalued.
Against our estimates of intrinsic value, IP trades at the wider discount: a margin of safety of +9%, against -27% for SW.
Values as of the 22 Sept 2026 close.
Discounting its cash flows at 8.2% (average of 2 methods) values the shares at $39.36; the price of $35.71 is 9% below that value, and 78% of that value comes from beyond year five.
Leak Score 27/100 on 8 of 12 signals
Discounting its cash flows at 8.1% (average of 3 methods) values the shares at $36.68; the price of $46.45 is 27% above that value, and 80% of that value comes from beyond year five.
Leak Score 0/100 on 2 of 12 signals
| Metric | IP | SW |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Slightly undervalued | Overvalued |
| Price | $35.71 | $46.45 |
| Intrinsic value | $39.36 | $36.68 |
| Margin of safety | +9% | -27% |
| Leak Score | 27/100 (8/12) | 0/100 (2/12) |
| Market cap | $18.9B | $24.3B |
| Revenue growth, 5 years | 6.1% | 26.2% |
| Operating margin | 0.9% | 5.8% |
| Net margin | -14.1% | 1.6% |
| Return on equity | -16.5% | 2.7% |
| Debt to equity | 0.83 | 0.79 |
| P/E | — | 49.4x |
| Forward P/E | 11.8x | 13.3x |
| P/B | 1.3x | 1.4x |
| Dividend yield | 5.3% | 4.0% |