At a glance
Sonoco Products Company is worth $4.82B, about 5 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 41.7% to $7.52B in fiscal 2025, with 13.3% kept as profit; over 3 years it has grown 8.7% a year. It pays a 4.39% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $1.23B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +26.6% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +0.2% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 33.1% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 22.0% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 8 months and 2 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Sonoco Products, founded in 1899 in Hartsville, South Carolina, makes packaging for other companies. Its main customers make food, drinks, household goods, personal care products and medicines, while industrial firms buy its paper tubes and cores. It sells directly through its own sales teams. As of December 31, 2025, it had about 265 locations in 37 countries.
Consumer Packaging, which makes rigid paper, metal and plastic containers, brought in about 65% of 2025 sales of $7.52 billion. Metal cans were the largest product group, at about 45% of sales, after Sonoco bought Eviosys, a large European maker of food cans, can ends and closures, for about $3.8 billion in December 2024. Rigid paper containers for snacks, baked goods and powdered drinks added about 20%. Metal packaging sales peak in the second and third quarters, the busiest food packaging season.
Industrial Paper Packaging, about 30% of sales, turns recycled fiber into tubes, cores, cones and paperboard. Tubes and cores were about 16% of sales. Sonoco runs 19 paper mills, uses about 56% of the paper it makes and sells the rest. Europe, the Middle East and Africa supplied about 43% of sales and the US about 48%. After selling its TFP business for about $1.8 billion and ThermoSafe for $656 million in 2025, Sonoco is focused on these two segments.
Price history
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SON +26.6% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Consumer Packaging | $4.87B | 64.8% |
| Industrial Paper Packaging | $2.30B | 30.6% |
By geography
| United States | $3.61B | 48.1% |
| EMEA | $3.21B | 42.7% |
| Other | $342.4M | 4.6% |
| APAC | $249.6M | 3.3% |
| CANADA | $104.4M | 1.4% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 27, 2026), revenue was $2.04B, down 4.2% from a year earlier, and net income was $-732.1M (-695.6%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $7.52B (+41.7% year over year; +8.7% a year from FY2022 to FY2025) with a 13.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2022–FY2025) | +8.7% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 13.5% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 4.6% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 27.8% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 9% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-4.11B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $5.35B | $207.5M | $511.5M |
| FY2021 | $5.72B | $-85.5M | $42.7M |
| FY2022 | $5.86B | $466.4M | $180.3M |
| FY2023 | $5.44B | $475.0M | $519.8M |
| FY2024 | $5.31B | $163.9M | $440.6M |
| FY2025 | $7.52B | $1.00B | $345.8M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $4.82B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 4.8 |
| Dividend yield | 4.39% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Sonoco Products’s market value went from $5.26B at the end of 2016 to $4.82B on Oct 28, 2026, down 8%; since the end of 2025 it is up 12%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $4.82B | +12.0% |
| 2025 | $4.30B | -10.3% |
| 2024 | $4.80B | -12.3% |
| 2023 | $5.47B | -7.6% |
| 2022 | $5.92B | +4.0% |
| 2021 | $5.69B | -4.3% |
| 2020 | $5.95B | -3.7% |
| 2019 | $6.18B | +16.5% |
| 2018 | $5.30B | +0.4% |
| 2017 | $5.28B | +0.4% |
| 2016 | $5.26B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SON price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +15.0% | +26.6% | +2.9% | +0.2% | +3.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +15.0% |
| 2025 | -6.3% |
| 2024 | -9.1% |
| 2023 | -4.7% |
| 2022 | +8.3% |
| 2021 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | -0.8% |
| 2019 | +19.5% |
| 2018 | +3.1% |
| 2017 | +3.9% |
| 2016 | +32.9% |
| 2015 | -2.7% |
| 2014 | +8.0% |
| 2013 | +45.2% |
| 2012 | -6.3% |
| 2011 | +1.4% |
| 2010 | +19.2% |
| 2009 | +32.3% |
| 2008 | -26.4% |
| 2007 | -11.7% |
| 2006 | +33.2% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 42.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 51.1%, back to its old high 13.4 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 32.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 33.1%, back to its old high 7.6 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 4.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 22%, back to its old high 2 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 0 sales ($0.00).
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, Inc. | 5.98% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 5.4% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.27% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in SON
| DIVY Sound Equity Dividend Income ETF | 3.42% |
| WBIY WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF | 3.23% |
| CUT Invesco MSCI Global Timber ETF | 2.73% |
| CSB VictoryShares US Small Cap High Dividend Volatility Wtd ETF | 1.48% |
| HEJD VictoryShares Hedged Equity Income ETF | 1.26% |
| HSMV First Trust Horizon Managed Volatility Small/Mid ETF | 1.21% |
| RFV Invesco S&P MidCap 400® Pure Value ETF | 0.7% |
| PAMC Pacer Lunt MidCap Multi-Factor Alternator ETF | 0.64% |
What could go wrong
- A big bet on European food cans. Buying Eviosys for about $3.8 billion, Sonoco's largest deal ever, made metal cans about 45% of 2025 sales. Weak demand or operating trouble in this business, much of it in Europe, would weigh heavily on results.
- A heavy debt load. As of September 27, 2026, Sonoco had about $4.29 billion of debt and $183 million of cash. Interest and repayments compete with dividends and investment, and limit room to absorb a downturn.
- Reported profits swing widely. Earnings per share jumped from $1.65 in 2024 to $10.07 in 2025, then the quarter ended September 27, 2026 brought a $732 million net loss. So a 4.8 price-to-earnings ratio, based on 2025, can mislead.
- A few big customers matter a lot. In 2025, the five largest customers made up about 23% of Consumer Packaging sales and 11% of Industrial Paper Packaging sales. Losing a major customer or cutting prices to keep one would hurt.
- Raw material costs and supply. Sonoco buys recovered paper, paperboard, steel and aluminum from outside suppliers. Global supply problems hit in the past several years; price spikes or shortages can squeeze profits if costs can't be passed on.
- More than half of sales come from abroad. About 52% of 2025 sales came from outside the US. Currency swings, tariffs, tax changes, costly foreign labor rules and conflicts such as Russia-Ukraine can raise costs or shrink the dollar value of profits.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Sonoco has raised its dividend for at least 9 straight years through 2025, and the streak may be longer. Dividends per share rose from $1.72 in 2020 to $2.11 in 2025, about 4.2% a year. In 2025 the dividend took 20.7% of earnings but 60.2% of free cash flow (cash from operations minus capital spending). Earnings in 2025 were far above earlier years; in 2024, earnings of $1.65 a share fell short of the $2.07 dividend. The yield was 4.39% as of October 28, 2026. Buybacks were small, about $253 million over 2021–2025, and the share count rose 0.6% in five years.
In the 2008 crisis the shares fell 51% from their peak and recovered about 13 months after the low. In the 2020 COVID crash they fell 33%, recovering by November 2020. In 2022 they dropped 22% from April to June, then recovered in about two months. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Sonoco make money?
Sonoco makes money by manufacturing packaging and selling it to other companies. In 2025, Consumer Packaging, which makes metal cans and rigid paper and plastic containers for food, drink, household and personal care brands, brought in about 65% of $7.52 billion in sales. Industrial Paper Packaging, which makes recycled-paper tubes, cores and paperboard, added about 30%. Metal cans alone were about 45% of sales, and about 52% of sales came from outside the US.
Does Sonoco raise its dividend every year?
Yes, for at least 9 straight years through 2025, and the streak may be longer. Dividends per share grew from $1.72 in 2020 to $2.11 in 2025, about 4.2% a year. The yield was 4.39% as of October 28, 2026. The 2025 dividend used 60.2% of free cash flow. Past raises don't guarantee future ones, and the company carried about $4.29 billion of debt as of September 27, 2026.
Why is Sonoco's P/E ratio so low?
Mostly because it uses 2025 earnings, which were far above earlier years. As of October 28, 2026, the price-to-earnings ratio (share price divided by yearly profit per share) was 4.8, based on 2025 earnings of $10.07 a share. That compares with $1.65 in 2024 and $4.80 in 2023. The quarter ended September 27, 2026 then showed a net loss of about $732 million, so the ratio may make the stock look cheaper than profits in other years suggest.
How much debt does Sonoco have?
Sonoco had about $4.29 billion of debt as of September 27, 2026, against $183 million of cash and investments, or net debt (debt minus cash) of about $4.11 billion. For scale, its stock market value was about $4.82 billion as of October 28, 2026. It reported new debt or financial obligations in filings on March 23 and September 30, 2026. Interest costs and repayments compete with dividends and give the company less room in a downturn.
How has Sonoco stock performed over time?
Unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, the price-based return was 26.6% over one year but only about 0.2% a year over five years and 3.2% a year over ten. The stock fell 4.7% in 2023, 9.1% in 2024 and 6.3% in 2025, then rose 15% in 2026 through October 28. Over the year to that date, its deepest drop from a high was 20.4%. In the 2008 crisis it fell 51% from its peak.