Barclays analyst Scott Gaffner downgraded International Paper (IP) to Equal Weight citing limited upside catalysts for the Containerboard group over the next 12 months. He cut his price target for the shares to $42 from $57. The analyst this morning also downgraded WestRock (WRK) and removed KapStone (KS) as hit Top Pick. Gaffner now prefers small and mid cap Containerboard names and upgraded Packaging Corp. (PKG) to Overweight. He calls Avery Dennison (AVY) his new Top Pick in U.S. Paper & Packaging.

Reports Q1 revenue $4.62B, consensus $4.56B. "International Paper made progress executing our strategic initiatives in the first quarter,'' said Mark Sutton, chairman and CEO. "We saw commercial benefits from our business strategies, as well as cost benefits from mill system optimization. Although costs remain elevated and volumes were seasonally lower in the quarter, market trends continue to improve."

Reports Q1 revenue $2.2B, consensus $2.15B. "We are off to a strong start to the year. In the first quarter we delivered significant earnings growth, driven by higher volume and productivity gains," said Deon Stander, president and CEO. "Materials Group delivered significant volume growth and margin expansion, as downstream inventory destocking subsided and volumes continued to normalize. Solutions Group delivered strong top-line growth, driven by high-value categories, despite apparel imports continuing to be below demand. In Intelligent Labels, we are targeting to deliver another year of significant growth in 2024, as the apparel industry normalizes and we accelerate the adoption of our solutions that help address key industry challenges, further advancing our leadership position at the intersection of the physical and digital," added Stander. We continue to expect strong earnings growth in 2024 and remain confident that the consistent execution of our strategies will enable us to meet our long-term goals for superior value creation through a balance of profitable growth and capital discipline. Once again, I want to thank our entire team for their continued resilience, focus on excellence and commitment to addressing the unique challenges at hand."