Company Overview
Clearwater Paper Corporation operates within the Basic Materials sector, specifically focusing on the Paper & Paper Products industry, where it manufactures and supplies solid bleached sulfate paperboard packaging. The company's primary business involves producing SBS paperboard for folding cartons, food service applications, and commercial printing items for both domestic and international markets. This operational scale is reflected in a total market capitalization of $228.23M and an annual revenue of $1.56B generated over the trailing twelve months. The organization employs approximately 1,900 individuals to support these manufacturing and supply chain operations. The market capitalization of $228.23M indicates a mid-cap positioning relative to the broader materials industry, suggesting the company is a significant but not dominant player in the global packaging supply chain. The revenue figure of $1.56B demonstrates a substantial top-line operation that generates significant volume, while the employee count of 1,900 highlights a workforce size that supports a diversified product line across multiple geographic regions.
Financial Health
The company reported a trailing twelve-month revenue of $1.56B, yet it posted a net income of -$53,000,000 and an EBITDA of $110.00M, revealing a significant gap between operational earnings and final profitability. This disparity between the $110.00M EBITDA and the -$53,000,000 net income underscores a substantial impact from interest expenses, taxes, and other non-operating costs that erode the bottom line. The free cash flow stands at -$125,925,000, indicating that the company is currently consuming cash rather than generating it from its core operations, which limits immediate financial flexibility for capital expenditures or acquisitions. Margin analysis shows a gross margin of 7.5%, an operating margin of 2.6%, and a negative profit margin of -1.2%, highlighting the challenges in converting sales revenue into net earnings. On the liability side, the company holds $30.70M in cash against $390.10M in total debt, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.27, which characterizes the balance sheet as significantly leveraged rather than conservative. Liquidity is supported by a current ratio of 2.43, suggesting that the company possesses more than twice the current assets necessary to cover its short-term obligations. Return on equity is recorded at -6.3% and return on assets at 0.7%, metrics that reveal management is currently struggling to generate positive returns on the capital invested by shareholders and deployed in assets.
Valuation Assessment
Valuation metrics for Clearwater Paper present a complex picture given the earnings volatility, with a trailing P/E ratio of N/A and a forward P/E of -11.83. The negative forward P/E of -11.83 implies that the market is currently pricing in continued earnings contraction rather than expecting an immediate recovery in profitability. The price-to-book ratio is 0.28, indicating that the stock is trading at a significant discount to its tangible book value, which often occurs in cyclical industries facing temporary headwinds. Alternative valuation measures such as the price-to-sales ratio of 0.15 and an EV/EBITDA of 5.34 suggest the market is assigning a low multiple to the company's sales and earnings power. The stock has traded between a 52-week high of $30.96 and a 52-week low of $12.44, placing the current valuation deep within the lower end of this historical range. The beta value of 0.21 indicates that the stock price is significantly less volatile than the broader market, moving with much lower sensitivity to general market fluctuations.
Growth & Income
Growth metrics for the trailing twelve months show revenue growth of N/A and earnings growth of N/A, reflecting the cyclical nature of the paper industry or recent year-over-year comparability issues. In the absence of positive earnings growth, the company does not distribute a dividend, evidenced by a dividend yield of N/A and a payout ratio of 0.0%. Consequently, the company currently reinvests all available earnings back into the business or utilizes cash reserves rather than returning capital to shareholders through dividends. The overall growth and income profile is defined by a lack of current earnings expansion and the absence of dividend income, relying instead on potential operational recovery and asset stability.