Sonoco Products reported a third-quarter 2026 net loss of $732.1 million, or $7.36 a share from continuing operations, on sales of $2,041.58 million. The nine-month net loss was $559.61 million, with sales slightly below the prior year. The packaging maker cut its full-year 2026 net sales outlook to between $7.20 billion and $7.40 billion. It still affirmed a quarterly dividend of $0.54. The results put pricing, cost control and cash generation in focus, particularly in its Consumer and Industrial Paper Packaging segments. Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Sonoco navigates inflation pressures with cost controls. Sonoco's Profitability Performance Plan delivers $34 million in savings so far this year as leadership balances pricing actions against inflationary cost pressures. October 24, 2026 Despite the pressure, Sonoco executives note that cost management and early pricing actions helped cushion the blow, setting the stage for stronger margins as the effects of 2025 price increases and efficiency programs carry into 2027. Sonoco reported a bruising stretch of cost inflation in the third quarter, as spiking diesel prices, climbing freight rates, and a sharp rise in recycled fiber costs tested the packaging maker's ability to protect profitability - pressures that will sound familiar to plastics processors grappling with their own resin, energy, and transportation cost spikes. Despite the pressure, company leaders said disciplined cost management and early pricing actions helped cushion the blow, setting the stage for stronger margins as the effects of 2025 price increases and efficiency programs carry into 2027. For plastics converters watching substrate competition closely, Sonoco's results offer a useful benchmark: Many of the same macro forces - diesel prices, freight surcharges, and energy costs - are squeezing margins across paper, metal, and plastic packaging alike, even as each substrate manages its own raw material dynamics. Sonoco, a diversified packaging maker whose portfolio includes metal, paper, and fiber-based packaging that often competes directly with rigid and flexible plastics in categories like food cans, aerosol containers, and industrial reels, weathered a third quarter marked by surging freight, energy, and raw material costs. Company executives said they leaned on aggressive productivity measures and targeted price increases to protect margins during a recent earnings conference call. The company posted net sales of $2 billion, down 4% year-over-year, as strength in its Industrial segment partially offset softer demand in Consumer Packaging, where drought conditions and unfavorable price-cost dynamics weighed on volumes. Executives said an $829 million non-cash goodwill impairment tied to the consumer EMEA business did not affect adjusted results, and they expressed confidence that cost-cutting and pricing actions already underway would strengthen earnings heading into 2027. "During the third quarter, our business has faced a combination of challenges," said Howard Coker, president and CEO. "Through strong productivity initiatives and rigorous cost control, our teams were able to mitigate a significant portion of these issues and deliver resilient operating results." Coker said Sonoco maintains leadership positions in uncoated recycled paperboard (URB), metal and paper cans, and closures - categories where plastic packaging remains a persistent substrate competitor, particularly in rigid containers and closures. Industrial segment holds steady despite cost pressure. The Industrial segment, which includes paper-based cores, tubes, and reels that often compete with plastic alternatives in industrial applications, delivered results largely consistent with the second quarter despite a volatile operating environment, Coker said. North America URB trade ton sales rose 10% year-over-year, and mill utilization remained strong at 94%. Wire and cable reel sales, an application area where plastic reels also compete, posted double-digit growth, he said. "An additional URB pricing realized in September further strengthens our ability to recover rising input costs moving forward," Coker said - a strategy mirrored across the plastics supply chain, where resin producers and converters have similarly pushed through price increases to offset inflation. Consumer Packaging results show substrate competition dynamics. Results in Consumer Packaging fell short of expectations, with volume mix down 3% year-over-year, driven primarily by hot, dry weather and unfavorable price-cost relationships, Coker said. International paper can operations posted double-digit volume growth on continued demand for snack products in emerging markets, while US aerosol can demand - a category where metal, glass, and plastic packaging all vie for share - rose 7%. Drought conditions across parts of Europe and the United States hurt crop yields, reducing demand for food cans, a dynamic that similarly affects plastic container demand tied to agricultural output. Inflationary pressures across raw materials, freight, energy, and other operating inputs exceeded the company's expectations, Coker said. "Freight costs alone increased $17 million year-over-year in the quarter, while diesel prices, which had stabilized in early July, accelerated to record levels, topping $6.50 per gallon in the US," Coker said - cost spikes that resin suppliers and plastics processors have cited as well in their own margin pressures. Old corrugated containers (OCC), Sonoco's largest industrial raw material input, rose another $25 per ton during the quarter and is now 90% higher than a year ago, pushing total URB production costs up more than $60 per ton year-over-year, a trajectory not unlike resin price volatility that plastics converters have navigated in recent cycles. Goodwill impairment, cost actions detailed. CFO Paul Joachimczyk said the company recorded an $829 million non-cash goodwill impairment during the quarter, primarily related to the consumer EMEA business, reflecting an updated assessment of carrying value based on current market conditions. The adjustment does not affect adjusted results, he said. Net sales for the quarter totaled $2 billion, down 4% year-over-year, though sales were essentially flat excluding last year's ThermoSafe divestiture, Joachimczyk said. The Industrial segment contributed $32 million of growth, driven by healthy trade and URB demand along with pricing realization in North America. "The team is responding with urgency through productivity, operational excellence, and pricing initiatives," Joachimczyk said. The company is also closing two sites in Europe as part of footprint optimization, a move expected to generate $15 million to $20 million in savings in 2027, he said. Industrial sales increased 5% year-over-year to $646 million, supported by pricing and strong North American execution, Joachimczyk said. Reel sales continued to grow, benefiting from recent capacity investments and higher wood demand tied to wire and cable applications supporting data center construction and broader US infrastructure investment - a growth area plastics reel and spool manufacturers are also targeting, he said. Profitability plan, pricing actions point to 2027. Joachimczyk reviewed progress on the company's three-year Profitability Performance Plan, a company-wide program aimed at structural margin improvement, organizational simplification, and stronger commercial effectiveness. The plan delivered $16 million of savings in the third quarter, up from $10 million in the second quarter and $8 million in the first. Year-to-date savings reached $34 million, with annualized savings now at $51 million - about a third of the low end of the company's three-year target range of $150 million to $200 million. Coker said the Industrial segment implemented two price increases this year totaling $110 per ton, with the full benefit of the most recent increase expected to show up in 2027. The company also implemented surcharges across both its Industrial and Consumer businesses to help offset increased freight and diesel costs - an approach plastics converters have increasingly adopted amid resin and transportation cost swings. "In Industrial, we are benefiting from strong URB demand and continued growth in reels. In Consumer, our innovation pipeline in both metal and paper positions us for future growth," Coker said. "Most importantly, we remain confident in our strategy, our market-leading positions, and the ability of our team to execute through economic cycles." Editor-in-chief of PlasticsToday, David Hutton is a journalist with more than 25 years of experience as an editor and writer with daily newspapers and trade publications. A Kent State University graduate, he was born in Canton, OH, and is a lifelong writer. David started his professional career as a reporter and page designer with the Parkersburg Sentinel in Parkersburg, WV. He returned to his hometown, taking a role with the Massillon Independent, where he rose to the position of managing editor. David's career next took him to October Research Corp., where he worked for trade publications in the real estate settlement services industry before returning to daily newspapers as news editor for The Times-Reporter in Dover-New Philadelphia, OH. While there, he oversaw design of the newspaper and won an Associated Press award for Best Page 1 Design. In 2012, David joined the staff of Plastics News as research analyst. He was responsible for the production of data research reports providing analysis of various segments and end markets of the plastics industry. He also produced content for the publication. In 2019, David joined Ophthalmology Times, serving as managing editor of the publication covering the latest advancements in the ophthalmology industry for physicians and clinicians. David lives in Canton, OH, with his wife, Arionne. They have three grown children, Paige, Chandler and Connor. Their "zoo" also includes two cats, a parrot, and a pug, named Freddie. An avid sports fan, David follows the Cleveland Browns, Cavaliers, and Guardians as well as the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also enjoys movies, classic rock, and reading. He enjoys sports cars, and owns a Camaro and a Corvette. Want more PlasticsToday in your search results?

Sonoco Products reported third-quarter net sales of $2 billion, down 4% year-over-year but essentially flat excluding the Thermosafe divestiture. Adjusted EBITDA fell 9% to $352 million, and adjusted EPS dropped 13% to $1.67. Higher freight, diesel, and old corrugated container costs weighed on results. Consumer sales fell 3%, while industrial sales rose 5% to $646 million. The company also booked an $829 million non-cash goodwill charge, mainly tied to its consumer EMEA business. Operating cash flow reached $285 million. Sonoco cut total debt by $162 million and refinanced an $800 million term loan. It expects full-year 2026 net sales of $7.2 billion to $7.4 billion, adjusted EPS of $5.30 to $5.50, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 billion to $1.25 billion. Closing two European sites should save $15 million to $20 million in 2027.