GRAPHIC PACKAGING HOLDING CO (GPK) Business

Item 1. Business

Overview

Graphic Packaging Holding Company ("GPHC" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Company") is committed to creating consumer packaging that makes a world of difference. The Company is a leading producer of consumer goods packaging made from renewable or recycled materials. The Company designs and manufactures sustainable packaging solutions including cartons, multipack cartons, trays, carriers, paperboard canisters, as well as cups and bowls made primarily from recycled paperboard, unbleached paperboard and bleached paperboard.

The Company serves a wide variety of consumer markets, from food and beverage, to foodservice, household products, beauty and health care. The Company produces packaging solutions at over 100 locations in 20 countries around the world, serving customers ranging from local to multinational consumer products companies and retailers. The Company offers one of the most comprehensive ranges of packaging design, manufacturing and execution capabilities available. The Company currently manufactures most of the paperboard it consumes in the Americas and purchases the majority of the paperboard it consumes in its International Paperboard Packaging operations from third parties.

Graphic Packaging works closely with its customers to understand their needs and goals and to create new and innovative designs customized to their specific needs. The Company's approach serves to build and strengthen long-term relationships with purchasing, brand management, marketing and other key customer functions. The Company is organized to bring the full resources of its global and local innovation, design and manufacturing capabilities to all of its customers with the goal of delivering packaging solutions that are more circular, more functional and more convenient.

Acquisitions, Closures and Dispositions

In May 2025, the Company closed its Middletown, Ohio, recycled paperboard manufacturing facility. For more information, see Note 18. Exit Activities in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

In December 2025, the Company closed its East Angus, Québec, recycled paperboard manufacturing facility. For more information, see Note 18. Exit Activities in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

In May 2024, the Company completed the sale of its Augusta, Georgia bleached paperboard manufacturing facility (the "Augusta Divestiture") to Clearwater Paper Corporation for a total consideration of $711 million. For more information, see Note 19. Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

During 2024 and 2023, the Company decided to close multiple packaging facilities. Production from these facilities has been consolidated into other existing packaging facilities. Current Assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet include $8 million and $15 million related to multiple paperboard manufacturing and packaging facilities that met the held for sale criteria as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. For more information, see Note 18. Exit Activities in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

In January 2023, the Company completed the acquisition of Tama Paperboard, LLC ("Tama"), a recycled paperboard manufacturing facility located in Tama, Iowa, from Greif Packaging LLC for approximately $100 million. Tama is reported within Corporate and Other. Subsequently, in the second quarter of 2023, the Company closed this facility. For more information, see Note 4. Business Combinations in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

In September 2023, the Company completed the acquisition of Bell Incorporated ("Bell") for $262 million, adding three packaging facilities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Groveport, Ohio. Bell is reported within the Americas Paperboard Packaging reportable segment. For more information, see Note 4. Business Combinations in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

During the third quarter of 2023, the Company decided to discontinue its project in Texarkana to modify an existing paperboard machine to add swing capacity between bleached and unbleached paperboard in order to focus growth investments in the strategic expansion of recycled paperboard capacity. For more information, see Note 18. Exit Activities in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

During the third quarter of 2023, the Company announced its decision to permanently decommission the K3 recycled paperboard machine in Kalamazoo, Michigan as part of its recycled paperboard network optimization plan that the Company initiated in 2019. For more information, see Note 18. Exit Activities in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

In November 2023, the Company completed the sale of its two packaging facilities in Russia. For more information, see Note 19. Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Share Repurchases and Dividends

On April 30, 2025, the Company's Board of Directors authorized an additional share repurchase program to allow the Company to purchase up to $1.5 billion of the Company's issued and outstanding shares of common stock through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions and Rule 10b5-1 plans (the "2025 share repurchase program"). The previous $500 million share repurchase program was authorized on July 27, 2023 (the "2023 share repurchase program"), in addition to the $500 million share repurchase program that was authorized on January 28, 2019 (the "2019 share repurchase program"), which was completed in May 2024. At December 31, 2025, the Company had $1.715 billion available for additional repurchases under the 2025 and 2023 share repurchase programs.

Share repurchases are reflected as a reduction of common stock for the par value of the shares, with any excess of share repurchase price over par value allocated between capital in excess of par value and retained earnings.

The following table presents the Company's share repurchases for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023:

(a) Excluding $1 million and $2 million of excise taxes incurred in 2025 and 2024, respectively.

(b) Includes $65 million shares repurchased under the 2019 share repurchase program, thereby completing that program.

During 2025, 2024 and 2023 GPHC paid cash dividends of $128 million, $122 million and $123 million, respectively. Though the decision to distribute cash dividends rests solely with the Board of Directors, the Company presently intends to maintain a quarterly cash dividend, subject to earnings and liquidity considerations.

Products

During the first quarter of 2025, the Company realigned its financial reporting structure under two reportable segments, Americas Paperboard Packaging and International Paperboard Packaging.

The Company's reportable segments are described as follows:

Americas Paperboard Packaging includes paperboard packaging sold primarily to consumer packaged goods ("CPG") companies serving the food, beverage and consumer product markets and cups, lids and food containers sold primarily to foodservice companies and quick-service restaurants in the Americas.

International Paperboard Packaging includes paperboard packaging sold primarily to CPG companies serving the food, foodservice, beverage and consumer product markets, including healthcare and beauty, outside of the Americas.

The Company operates primarily in three geographic areas: the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

For reportable segment and geographic area information for each of the last three fiscal years, see Note 15. Business Segment and Geographic Area Information in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Paperboard Packaging

The Company's paperboard packaging products deliver brand, marketing, sustainability and performance benefits at a competitive cost. The Company supplies paperboard cartons, carriers and containers designed to protect and hold products while providing:

•Convenience through ease of carrying, storage, delivery, dispensing of product and food preparation for consumers;

•A smooth surface printed with high-resolution, multi-color graphic images that help improve brand awareness and visibility of products on store shelves; and

•Durability, stiffness and wet and dry tear strength; leak, abrasion and heat resistance; barrier protection from moisture, oxygen, oils and greases, as well as enhanced microwave heating performance.

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The Company provides a wide range of innovative, paperboard packaging solutions for the following end-use markets:

•Food, including dry foods and food ingredients, frozen, refrigerated and microwavable prepared foods, and desserts;

•Beverage, including beer, seltzer, soft drinks, energy drinks, teas, water and juices;

•Foodservice, including cups, trays and containers for food and drinks for quick-service restaurants, and other food service providers;

•Household products, including cleaning products, tissues products, home air filters and pet care products; and

•Health and beauty products.

Paperboard Manufacturing and Packaging Operations Facilities

The Company produces paperboard at its manufacturing facilities; prints, cuts, folds and glues ("converts") the paperboard into cartons, containers and other packaging at its packaging facilities; and designs and manufactures specialized, proprietary packaging machines that package bottles and cans and, to a lesser extent, non-beverage consumer products. The Company also installs its packaging machines at customer plants and provides support, service and advanced performance monitoring of the machines.

The majority of the paperboard the Company produces is consumed internally in its packaging facilities. The Company elects to produce its own paperboard where it believes that doing so allows it to generate a higher return on capital and deliver better results for customers. The Company also purchases paperboard from external sources. The various bleached, unbleached and recycled grades of paperboard that the Company produces internally and buys externally offer distinctly different combinations of strength, printability, appearance and recycled content, as well as other functional and non-functional characteristics of importance to customers.

The Company converts paperboard into cartons, containers and other packaging for consumer goods products at packaging facilities the Company operates in various locations globally, including a packaging facility associated with the Company's joint venture in Japan, and at licensees outside the U.S. The Company's packaging facilities convert paperboard into cartons and containers designed to meet customer specifications.

Joint Venture

The Company is a party to a Japanese joint venture, Rengo Riverwood Packaging, Ltd., in which it holds a 50% ownership interest. The joint venture agreement covers unbleached paperboard supply, use of proprietary carton designs and marketing and distribution of packaging systems.

Sales and Marketing

The Company markets its products principally to multinational beverage, food, quick-service restaurants, health/beauty and other well-recognized consumer products companies. The beverage companies include Anheuser-Busch Inbev, MillerCoors LLC, PepsiCo, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company, among others. Consumer product customers include The Kraft Heinz Company, General Mills, Inc., Nestlé USA, Inc., Mars, Inc., Ferrero Group and Kimberly-Clark Corporation, among others. Quick-service restaurant customers include Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Wendy's, Panda Express, Dairy Queen, Chipotle, Panera and KFC. Health/beauty customers include GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Novartis, L'Oréal S.A., Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive. The Company also sells paperboard in the open market to independent and integrated paperboard packaging producers.

Sales of the Company's principal products are primarily accomplished through sales offices in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and, to a lesser degree, through broker arrangements with third parties.

During 2025, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not have any one customer that represented 10% or more of its net sales.

Competition

Although a relatively small number of large competitors hold a significant portion of the paperboard packaging market, the Company's business is subject to strong competition within paperboard packaging, and from plastic and other packaging materials. Smurfit WestRock plc is the Company's largest competitor within paperboard packaging.

In non-beverage consumer packaging and foodservice, the Company competes with packaging utilizing a wide range of paperboard, plastic, foam, molded fiber and other materials. Packaging suppliers compete on the basis of design and execution capabilities, price, functionality, appearance, quality and customer service.

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In beverage packaging, the Company competes with other paperboard-based containers, plastic and shrink-wrap, and corrugated packaging. The Company believes that packaging made from unbleached paperboard offers advantages over alternative materials in areas including recyclability, design flexibility, distribution, brand awareness, carton designs, package performance and package line speed.

Raw Materials

The Company's main raw materials are pine and hardwood trees and recovered fiber. Pine pulpwood, hardwood pulp, paper and recovered fiber and energy used in the manufacture of paperboard, as well as poly sheeting, plastic resins and various chemicals used in the coating of paperboard, represent the largest components of the Company's variable costs of paperboard production (other than labor).

For the West Monroe, Louisiana, Macon, Georgia and Texarkana, Texas paperboard manufacturing facilities, the Company relies on private landowners and the open market for all of its pine and hardwood pulp and recovered fiber requirements, supplemented by clippings that are obtained from its packaging operations. The Company follows a due diligence process to ensure virgin fiber inputs are sourced from sustainably managed forests and do not contribute to deforestation or habitat loss for ecosystems with high conservation value. The Company believes that adequate supplies from both private landowners and open market fiber sellers currently are available in close proximity to its paperboard manufacturing facilities to meet its raw material needs.

The paperboard grades produced at the Kalamazoo, Michigan and Waco, Texas paperboard manufacturing facilities are made from recovered fiber. The Company procures its recovered fiber from external suppliers and internal packaging operations. The market price of each of the various recovered fiber types fluctuates with supply and demand. The Company's internal recovered fiber procurement function enables the Company to pay lower average prices for its recovered fiber needs. The Company believes there are adequate supplies of recovered fiber to serve its paperboard manufacturing facilities.

In North America, the Company also utilizes a variety of other paperboard grades in its packaging operations, in addition to paperboard that is supplied to its packaging operations from its own paperboard manufacturing facilities. The Company purchases such paperboard requirements, including additional recycled and bleached paperboard, from outside vendors. The majority of external paperboard purchases are acquired through long-term arrangements with other major industry suppliers. The Company's European packaging operations consume unbleached paperboard supplied from the Company's paperboard manufacturing facilities and also utilize paperboard purchased from external suppliers in its packaging facilities.

Energy

Energy, including natural gas, fuel, oil and electricity, represents a significant portion of the Company's manufacturing and distribution costs. The Company has entered into contracts designed to manage risks associated with future variability in cash flows and price risk related to future energy cost increases for a portion of its natural gas requirements at its U.S. paperboard manufacturing facilities. The Company's hedging program for natural gas is discussed in Note 10. Financial Instruments, Derivatives and Hedging Activities in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Seasonality

The Company's net sales, income from operations and cash flows from operations are subject to moderate seasonality, with demand usually increasing in the late spring through early fall due to increases in demand for beverage and food products.

Research and Development

The Company's research and development team works directly with its sales, marketing and consumer insights personnel to understand long-term consumer and retailer trends and create relevant new packaging. These innovative solutions provide customers with differentiated packaging to meet consumer preferences. The Company's development efforts include, but are not limited to, developing sustainable consumer packaging made from renewable resources, packaging alternatives to replace plastic packaging, extending the shelf life of customers' products, reducing production and waste costs, enhancing the heat-managing characteristics of food packaging, improving the sturdiness and compression strength of packaging to allow goods to ship in their own branded container and to meet store display needs, and refining packaging appearance through new printing techniques and materials.

Consumer concerns regarding growing plastic packaging waste represents one of the strongest trends in the packaging industry, and the Company focuses on developing innovative, sustainable consumer packaging solutions that are recyclable and help customers achieve their packaging sustainability goals. The Company's strategy is to combine functionality and innovative packaging design with a focus on packaging end of life to create circular packaging solutions for customers and consumers.

For more information on research and development expenses see Note 1. Nature of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Patents and Trademarks

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a large patent portfolio, presently owning, controlling or holding rights to more than 3,100 U.S. and foreign patents, with more than 900 U.S. and foreign patent applications currently pending. The Company's patent portfolio consists primarily of patents relating to packaging machinery, manufacturing methods, structural carton designs, active microwave packaging technology and barrier protection packaging. These patents and processes are significant to the Company's operations and are supported by trademarks such as Boardio™, Fridge Vendor™, IntegraPak™, KeelClip™, MicroFlex-Q™, MicroRite™, Quilt Wave™, Qwik Crisp™, Tite-Pak™, and Z-Flute™. The Company takes significant steps to protect its intellectual property and proprietary rights.

Human Capital

The Company believes that its greatest asset is its workforce. Solving day-to-day operational and business challenges in order to drive positive results for stakeholders requires attracting, developing and retaining talented individuals with different skills, ideas and experiences. The Company's Vision 2030 outlines how to lead in innovation, build a world-class culture, protect the planet and deliver results for all of the Company's stakeholders.

Culture is one of the pillars of the Company's Vision 2030 and the safety and wellbeing of employees is a top priority. Employee engagement is key to a safe and stable workforce. The Company is putting programs and initiatives in place to drive engagement to the 75% percentile (using the Gallup Q12® framework). In 2024 and 2025, the Company conducted an employee engagement survey and executed a robust communication plan to ensure each employee heard results and a commitment for action from their leaders. Action plans have been developed at the local level in locations around the globe as the Company strives to further engage its employees. The Company also considers its talent acquisition, development and succession strategies to be critical components of its multi-year plan to focus on people and culture.

The Company is enhancing the capabilities of its workforce as its business and strategy evolve. The Company has invested in innovation, research and development, and digital capabilities to position it to capture organic sales growth supported by consumer preferences for low impact, recyclable packaging. As its business continues to evolve, the Company will continue to invest in capability development areas that serve as a competitive advantage and will adapt its workforce and invest in its employees to ensure that it has the necessary human capital capabilities in place to support its growth strategy.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had more than 23,000 employees based in more than 100 locations in over 25 different countries around the world. Approximately 66% of its employees are in the Americas and 34% are in Europe and the rest of the world. Approximately 59% of the Company's employees were represented by labor unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements or covered by works councils in Europe. As of December 31, 2025, 1,056 of the Company's employees were working under expired contracts, which are currently being negotiated, and 1,901 were covered under collective bargaining agreements that expire within one year. The Company considers its employee relations to be satisfactory.

Employee Health and Safety

Maintaining a safe work environment is vital to the Company, and the Company is committed to the health, safety and wellness of its employees. The Company's Total Recordable Incident Rate, which is the annual rate of workplace injuries per 100 full-time employees, is 0.86, reflecting significantly better performance than the industry average. The Company strives to achieve an injury-free workplace through various safety initiatives and programs, and the Company's Vision 2030 goal is zero life injuries.

Company Culture

Graphic Packaging works to enable a safe, engaged, and customer-focused culture, and has a solid record of delivering outstanding results for its customers across the globe. As a leading innovator in consumer packaging, a deep understanding of the widest range of consumers is essential to the success of the Company's designs and product execution. As such, the Company seeks to recruit and retain talented employees whose perspectives and experience are broadly representative of the consumers its customers serve.

Similarly, strong relationships with the communities in which the Company operates have a substantial impact on hiring costs, retention rates, employee engagement, operating performance and safety. The Company therefore seeks to build and maintain strong and capable teams broadly representative of those communities. The Company believes that its recent safety performance is among the best in the industry, and considers employee engagement to be critical to maintaining and improving upon that level of safety performance. The Company has a number of initiatives underway to drive employee engagement higher.

The Compensation and Management Development Committee of the Company's Board of Directors annually reviews the processes and practices related to talent and engagement to ensure the equitable treatment of all employees, and alignment with the Company's strategic objectives.

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Community Engagement

Building connections between the Company's employees, their families and their communities creates a more meaningful, fulfilling and enjoyable workplace. The Company's employees around the world dedicate their time and talents to improve the communities in which they live and work. Driven by the Company's core values, making a difference for its customers, its consumers and its community is at the root of its community engagement strategy. The Company focuses on three pillars that guide the strategy for its community service activities and philanthropic commitments: (i) putting food on the table, (ii) preserving the environment, and (iii) investing in education.

Environmental and Regulatory Matters

The Company is subject to a broad range of foreign, federal, state and local environmental, health and safety, and other governmental regulations and employs a team of professionals in order to maintain compliance at each of its facilities. In 2025, the Company spent $61 million of capital on projects to maintain compliance with environmental laws, regulations and the Company's permits granted thereunder. In 2026 and 2027, the Company estimates it will spend $65 million and $147 million respectively, primarily for projects such as upgrades to and new wastewater treatment systems at certain of its paperboard manufacturing facilities. For additional information on such regulation and compliance, see Environmental Matters in Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Note 14. Environmental and Legal Matters in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Climate change presents both challenges and opportunities for the Company and its communities. Climate change challenges for the Company are likely to be driven by changes in the physical climate where its facilities are located, as well as changes in laws and regulations, including restrictions on greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions, cap and trade systems, and taxes on GHG emissions, fuel and energy. Climate change also presents opportunities for the Company as it drives growth in demand for lower-carbon footprint products and manufacturing technologies. The Company believes it is well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities that may arise from increased consumer demand for and/or legislation mandating or incentivizing the use of products and technologies necessary to achieve a lower-carbon, lower-waste economy. The costs of complying with complex environmental laws and regulations, as well as voluntary certification and disclosure programs, are significant and will continue to be significant for the foreseeable future. These laws and regulations and stakeholder driven voluntary certification and disclosure programs could become more stringent over time, which could result in significant additional compliance costs. Additionally, significant national or state differences in the imposition and enforcement of such laws and regulations could present competitive challenges in a global marketplace. By tracking and taking action to reduce the Company's GHG emissions and energy use through efficiency programs and focused GHG management efforts, it can decrease the potential future impact of these regulatory matters.

The Company's Core Values underpin its commitment to stakeholders and strategy to deliver sustainable, recyclable packaging solutions. The Company's Vision 2030 plan outlines its targets for protecting the environment and include: achieving its approved 2032 Science Based Targets for Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions reductions; achieving 90% renewable fuel use in wood fiber paperboard manufacturing facilities; raising its purchased renewable electricity percentage to 50%; and ensuring that 100% of its purchased forest products come from sustainably managed sources.

Available Information

The Company's website is located at http://www.graphicpkg.com. The Company makes available, free of charge through its website, its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are electronically filed or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The Company also makes certain investor presentations and access to analyst conference calls, as well as certain environmental, social, and governance information is available through its website. The information contained or incorporated into the Company's website is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The SEC maintains website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers like the Company that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.SEC.gov.