undamentalytics Newsletter

International Paper key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, International Paper had return on equity of -30.6% and a net margin of -14.9%. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

International Paper: financial ratios, annual
Fiscal year2009Dec 20092010Dec 20102011Dec 20112012Dec 20122013Dec 20132014Dec 20142015Dec 20152016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMJun 2026
Net margin2.8%2.7%5.1%3.6%5.9%2.4%4.5%4.6%9.9%8.6%6.7%2.7%9.0%7.1%1.8%3.5%−14.9%−14.2%
Return on equity11.0%10.5%19.2%12.3%19.4%8.4%20.8%22.0%39.5%29.0%16.3%6.2%20.7%17.1%3.4%6.7%−30.6%−23.5%
Return on assets2.6%2.7%5.0%2.7%4.4%1.8%3.2%2.8%6.4%6.0%3.7%1.5%6.2%6.1%1.2%2.4%−11.6%−9.2%
Effective tax rate39.1%26.9%21.3%31.6%−40.6%14.1%36.8%24.3%—25.0%51.8%53.5%18.8%−15.6%16.9%———
SG&A as % of revenue8.7%7.7%7.2%7.7%7.6%7.6%7.4%7.5%7.5%7.4%7.9%7.7%7.2%6.1%7.8%10.8%8.7%8.7%
Dividends ÷ net income21.1%25.3%32.3%59.9%39.7%111.7%73.0%81.1%35.9%39.2%65.0%167.2%44.5%44.7%222.9%115.4%——

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

2 of 5 checks passed · June 30, 2026
What it owns · $36.5bn
Short-term assets $8.2bnLonger-term assets $28.3bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $22.0bn
Short-term liabilities $7.5bnShareholders' equity $14.5bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $8.2bn of assets due within a year against $7.5bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities Not assessable from the reported split. Not assessable.
  • More cash than debt $726m of cash against $9.2bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 64% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 59% to 64% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $2.6bn of operating cash flow against $9.2bn of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From International Paper's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

60 /100

Moderate moat

How hard International Paper's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 20 / 20

    Cash operating profit has been a median 18.1% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Pricing power 7 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 29.8%, moving by 5.7 percentage points (standard deviation) across 10 years.

  • Durability 12 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 8.8%; its worst year was 7.4%.

  • Cash conversion 12 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 9 of 10 years, at a median 5.3% of revenue.

  • Discipline 10 / 20

    The diluted share count rose 33.1% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.6% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Low. In this industry, the business rests on physical assets, regulated networks or products AI itself depends on.

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

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Figures from International Paper's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 20, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to International Paper.