Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Key Points

• Q1 EPS of $0.33 missed consensus by $0.11 even as revenue was $7.71B (+0.7% YoY); the company reported a strong adjusted EBITDA of $1,076 million (14% margin) and reaffirmed Q2 EBITDA guidance of $1.1–1.2B and full‑year 2026 guidance of $5.0–5.3B.
• Management declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share (annualized $1.81, ~4.7% yield), but the payout ratio is elevated at ~136%, which may raise sustainability questions despite positive cash flow.
• Management reiterated a medium‑term target of $7 billion adjusted EBITDA and a 19% margin by 2030 and launched a review of its London Stock Exchange listing that could lead to delisting to simplify the corporate structure and cut costs.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.11), FiscalAI reports. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%.The company had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Smurfit Westrock's conference call:

• Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $1,076 million (14% margin) was essentially in line with plan despite roughly $65 million of weather-related costs, and management reaffirmed Q2 EBITDA guidance of $1.1–1.2 billion and full‑year 2026 guidance of $5.0–5.3 billion.
• North America delivered $597 million of adjusted EBITDA (13.3% margin) but faced ~ $55 million weather impact and $74 million of downtime; demand and order books improved in April, the company announced containerboard price increases, and it added ~600 new corrugated customers supporting a recovery trajectory.
• EMEA & APAC outperformed with $421 million of adjusted EBITDA (15.2% margin) driven by its innovation centers and recent price actions (e.g., EUR100/ton recycled paper), but management announced consultations to close four small converting sites and a ~200k tpa U.K. paper mill and expects energy cost pressures in coming quarters.
• Latin America again posted strong results with $109 million of adjusted EBITDA (20%+ margin), completed a corrugated plant acquisition in Ecuador, and saw tightening markets and improved pricing in Brazil and Colombia.
• Management reiterated its medium‑term plan targeting $7 billion of adjusted EBITDA and a 19% margin by 2030 (and $14 billion of discretionary FCF over the plan) while launching a review of its London Stock Exchange listing that could lead to delisting to simplify structure and cut ongoing costs.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:SW traded down $1.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.50. 12,401,118 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,488,653. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.56. Smurfit Westrock has a 52-week low of $32.73 and a 52-week high of $52.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 1.06.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is presently 136.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SW shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $54.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.91.

Key Smurfit Westrock News

Here are the key news stories impacting Smurfit Westrock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.4523 per share (annualized yield ~4.7%); record/ex-dividend timing set for mid-May with payment in June — supports income-focused investors and signals confidence in cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Company reported strong adjusted EBITDA of $1,076 million (14.0% margin) and positive operating cash flow of $204 million, which helps cushion the hit to net income and supports the dividend and balance-sheet stability. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue was $7.712 billion, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.7%); net income was $63 million (0.8% margin). These are factual results investors should weigh alongside margins and cash metrics. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.33 missed Street expectations (consensus ~$0.36–$0.44) and fell sharply versus last year ($0.73), driven by lower profits; analysts and coverage note weather impacts and weak North American volumes as key headwinds—main driver of the negative share reaction. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors can review the Q1 earnings call transcript for management commentary on volume trends, pricing, and regional performance to assess whether headwinds are temporary. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bullish coverage argues SW remains an attractive pick based on industry positioning and cash-generative operations — relevant for buy-and-hold investors weighing the near-term miss versus longer-term potential. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $2,061,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,610 shares in the company, valued at $84,660,119.40. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total transaction of $512,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 151,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,773,271.44. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 4,585.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 937 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

Smurfit Westrock Plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells containerboard, corrugated containers, and other paper-based packaging products in Ireland and internationally. The company produces containerboard that it converts into corrugated containers or sells to third parties, as well as produces other types of paper, such as consumer packaging board, sack paper, graphic paper, solid board and graphic board, and other paper-based packaging products, such as consumer packaging, solid board packaging, paper sacks, and other packaging products, including bag-in-box.

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