Q2 EPS Forecast for International Paper Lowered by Analyst

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for shares of International Paper in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the basic materials company will earn $0.01 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.27. Zacks Research has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for International Paper’s current full-year earnings is $1.43 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for International Paper’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.61 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.28 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.67 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $0.77 EPS.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of International Paper from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.73.

International Paper Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of IP stock opened at $30.42 on Tuesday. International Paper has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $56.13. The stock has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.78 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.98 and a 200-day moving average of $38.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IP. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 452.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in International Paper during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in International Paper during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $37.83 per share, with a total value of $499,999.11. Following the acquisition, the director owned 26,092 shares in the company, valued at $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Scott Tozier bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $313,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at $313,782.50. The trade was a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 36,092 shares of company stock worth $1,313,064. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -29.09%.

About International Paper

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.