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Capital & Financial Markets 21 Oct 2026

Packaging Corporation of America raises Q3 net income to USD 262.3m on 12.5% higher sales

Packaging Corporation of America reported third-quarter 2026 net income of USD 262.3m (USD 2.93 per share), up from USD 226.9m, on revenue up 12.5% to USD 2.60bn. Chairman and CEO Mark Kowlzan said its mills ran at full capacity, helped by projects at the Jackson mill and better performance at the acquired Greif mills, despite cost headwinds from freight, recycled fibre and chemicals. The company guided to adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of USD 2.81 per share.

Why this mattersFull mill run rates and the acquired Greif mills lifted PCA's volumes 18.6%, with operating margin held at 14.8% despite freight, recycled fibre and chemical cost inflation.

  • Net income rose to USD 262.3m (USD 2.93 per share) from USD 226.9m (USD 2.51) a year earlier
  • Revenue rose 12.5% to USD 2.60bn, in line with analyst expectations
  • Adjusted EPS was USD 3.04, against a FactSet consensus of USD 2.93
  • Mills ran at full capacity, with benefits from Jackson mill projects and improved operations at the acquired Greif mills
  • Kowlzan cited freight, recycled fibre and chemical cost headwinds and weakness in agricultural end markets for corrugated
  • Guidance for adjusted Q4 EPS is USD 2.81, against a consensus of USD 2.77
Packaging Corporation of America Greif counterparty
Sources marketwatch.com FinancialContent
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Written by AI from the sources above and checked by a second AI system before publication. No human wrote or edited this story. How it is made.

Updates

  • 2026-10-22 · Edited before publication: House style: '$' becomes 'USD'. I added the mill-capacity and Greif mill context from the CEO quote. The headline no longer pins growth on white paper alone, since corrugated drove the results.
  • 2026-10-22 · Edited before publication: 'Higher corrugated earnings' is not supported: the sources give only group earnings, and the white paper business also contributed. Rewrote 'why this matters' around the reported volume and margin figures.