Packaging Corporation of America Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results

LAKE FOREST, Ill., October 21, 2026--Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) today reported third quarter 2026 net income of $262 million, or $2.93 per share, and net income of $272 million, or $3.04 per share, excluding special items. Third quarter net sales were $2.6 billion in 2026 and $2.3 billion in 2025.

Diluted earnings per share attributable to Packaging Corporation of America shareholders
		Three Months Ended
		September 30,
		2026		2025		Change
Reported Diluted EPS		$	2.93		$	2.51		$	0.42
Special Items Expense (1)			0.11			0.22			(0.11	)
Diluted EPS excluding Special Items (2)		$	3.04		$	2.73		$	0.31
(1) For descriptions and amounts of our special items, see the schedules with this release.
(2) Diluted EPS excluding Special Items is a non-GAAP financial measure. For information regarding our use of non-GAAP financial measures and descriptions and amounts of our special items, see the schedules with this release.

Reported earnings in the third quarter of 2026 include special items primarily for facility closure costs, acquisition and integration-related costs, the impact of a fire at a corrugated products facility, and restructuring charges relating to the Wallula, WA containerboard mill. Reported earnings in the third quarter of 2025 included special items for costs and charges related to the Greif containerboard business acquisition and closures of corrugated products facilities. Excluding special items, the $.31 per share increase in third quarter 2026 earnings compared to the third quarter of 2025 resulted from $.24 higher earnings from the acquired Greif operations and $.07 higher earnings in the legacy business. The acquired Greif operations generated earnings of $.13 in the third quarter of 2026 compared to a loss of ($.11) in the third quarter of 2025. The higher earnings in the legacy business were driven by favorable price and mix in the Packaging segment $.79, favorable production and sales volume in the Packaging segment, including the benefit of a higher volume of containerboard supplied by the legacy mills to the acquired Greif operations $.12, favorable price and mix in the Paper segment $.05 and a lower share count $.02. These items were partially offset by higher labor and operating expense ($.28), higher freight expense ($.26), higher corporate and other expense ($.13), higher fiber costs ($.12), higher depreciation and amortization expense ($.06), higher maintenance outage expense in the Paper segment ($.04), lower volume in the Paper segment ($.01), and higher interest expense, excluding Greif acquisition indebtedness ($.01).