INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO /NEW/ (IP) Business
This page reproduces the company's own Item 1 Business text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Informational only - not investment advice. See Disclaimer.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
GENERAL
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
International Paper Company (the "Company," "International Paper" or "IP", which may also be referred to as "we"
or "us") is a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions. We produce renewable fiber-based packaging
products with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, Europe and North Africa. We are a New
York corporation, incorporated in 1941 as the successor to the New York corporation of the same name organized in
1898. In recent years, the Company has undergone significant transformation designed to simplify our operations,
strengthen performance and position the business for long-term value creation.
STRATEGY
At International Paper, we follow the IP 80/20 performance system. The 80/20 approach is a disciplined, data-driven
operating model focused on simplification, segmentation, resourcing and growth. In recent years the Company has
taken actions to drive meaningful operational improvement and increase strategic flexibility across our global
portfolio, including:
| Simplify | Segment | Resource | Grow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focusing on our core business: sustainable packaging solutions | Concentrating on the right geographies within each region | Tailoring investment and capital allocation strategies to meet distinct needs | Winning with customers and providing superior customer experiences |
| Exiting non-core businesses | Planning to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies in North America and EMEA (announced Jan 2026) | Investing in greenfield packaging facilities; plans for two new plants announced in 2025 | Enhancing investor base in both North America and EMEA |
| Optimizing internal processes and organizational structures to reduce complexity | Prioritizing the right customer segments and product offerings | Investing in our talent and putting the right people in the right roles to create value | Focusing on achieving an advantaged cost position |
We remain confident that the initiatives undertaken as part of our transformational journey will unlock substantial
value at IP and strengthen the Company for our employees, customers and shareholders.
2025 Highlights
•Financial: Net sales in 2025 totaled $23.63 billion and cash provided by operating activities totaled $1.7
billion.
•Strategic Acquisition: Completed the acquisition of DS Smith Ltd. (“DS Smith”), advanced regional
integration and implemented the 80/20 performance system within the new teams; enabled cross-business
sharing of best practices.
•Strategic Divestiture: Sold our Global Cellulose Fibers business for $1.5 billion to American Industrial
Partners (completed January 2026).
•Portfolio Rationalizations: Exited non-core businesses and markets, streamlined our footprint and
redeployed resources where needed.
•Organizational Improvements: Streamlined our organizational structure to eliminate redundancies created
by the acquisition, further decentralized our teams, outsourced some functional areas and better resourced
high value-creation areas.
•Shareholder Returns: Returned $977 million to shareholders in dividends.
•Packaging Focused Company: Took actions to position IP as a pure play company dedicated exclusively to
sustainable packaging.
2026 Focus
In 2026, we will continue to drive sustainable value creation and advance our company. Through the application of
our 80/20 performance system, we will execute our strategy with a sharp focus on achieving an advantaged cost
position, delivering superior customer experience and capturing a high relative supply position in the right
geographies, with the right customers and the right product offerings. A critical priority will be the execution of the
strategic separation to create two independent, publicly traded companies in North America and EMEA, which we
aim to complete near the end of 2026 or early 2027. In North America, the business will continue strengthening its
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Table of Contents
position in the region, focusing on customers and leading on innovation with an advantaged cost position. In EMEA,
we will prepare the business to stand alone as an independent, publicly traded entity following the separation with
the goal of becoming the leading provider of innovative, sustainable packaging solutions in EMEA.
From 2021 through 2025, International Paper’s capital expenditures totaled approximately $5.4 billion, excluding
mergers and acquisitions. These expenditures reflect our continuing efforts to use our capital strategically to
improve product quality and environmental performance, as well as lower costs, maintain reliability of operations
and deploy strategic capital for capacity expansion. Capital expenditures in 2025 were approximately $1.9 billion
and are expected to be approximately $2.0 billion to $2.1 billion in 2026. You can find more information about capital
expenditures in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Discussions of acquisitions can be found in Note 7 Acquisitions of Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary
Data.
You can find discussions of restructuring charges and other special items in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. For further discussion on our business strategies, see