PCA Q2 FY2026 revenue $2.49 billion; adjusted EPS $2.35 tops guidance
Packaging Corporation of America lifted second quarter FY2026 revenue 14.7% to $2.49 billion, but GAAP earnings fell and gross margin slipped to 20.6%. The profit came from the acquired Greif operations and record legacy corrugated shipments, not from legacy margin. Our view is Neutral: two price increases are stacking up for the third quarter, while freight and recycled fiber costs run hot.
1 · Expected vs. Actual
Free preview belowGAAP diluted EPS fell to $2.15 from $2.67, and adjusted EPS — after stripping out $23.7 million of pre-tax special items, or $0.20 per share — was $2.35 versus $2.48 last year. That adjusted figure still beat the $2.3373 consensus estimate and came in $.02 above the company's own $2.33 guidance. The mix tells the story: legacy earnings per share fell $0.27 while the acquired Greif operations added $0.14, with higher freight costs alone accounting for $0.26 of the drag.
Revenue rose 14.7% to $2.49 billion from $2.17 billion a year earlier, and the Packaging segment alone produced $2.31 billion, or 92.8% of the total. Total corrugated products shipments were up 24.3%, but in the legacy business they rose just 4.1% per day, with the same number of shipping days. So most of the headline growth was bought through the Greif acquisition, not earned organically.
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Figures on this page come from the company's original SEC filings. The analysis is generated automatically and checked against validation rules, but may still contain errors or omissions. Not investment advice. · Generated 2026-09-17
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