Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and uncoated freesheet (UFS) paper products in North America. The company operates through Packaging and Paper segments. The Packaging segment offers various linerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Strong Interest Coverage & Conservative LeverageDebt serviceability is strong (score 0.91), with robust interest coverage.
Consistent Cash GenerationCash generation is strong and consistent (score 0.86).
Key risks
Volatile Margins Suggest CyclicalityMargin volatility is high (stability score 0.36), suggesting cyclical exposure or competitive pressure.
The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks
against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.
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Packaging Corporation of Americ ranks #6 of 26
scored companies in Packaging & Containers by moat score — the top 23%.
The widest moat in the group is Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. (REYN)
at 83/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near PKG in Packaging & Containers
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 82
· 15% of the moat score
A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.
Customer Stickiness
Score 82
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 74
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 93
· 17% of the moat score
Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.
Scale & Market Position
Score 50
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
What is Packaging Corporation of Americ's moat score?
Packaging Corporation of Americ (PKG) scores 71 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #6 of 26 scored companies in Packaging & Containers, the top 23%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 25 companies in Packaging & Containers. Its strongest defense is Resilience (93/100) and its weakest is Scale & Market Position (50/100).
How does Packaging Corporation of Americ compare with other Packaging & Containers companies?
Packaging Corporation of Americ ranks #6 of 26 scored companies in Packaging & Containers by moat score. The widest moat in Packaging & Containers is Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. (REYN) at 83/100. The companies ranked closest are Karat Packaging Inc. (KRT) at 71 just above it and Ball Corporation (BALL) at 64 just below it.
How is the moat score calculated?
Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 25 companies in Packaging & Containers. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Packaging Corporation of Americ scored with the Corporate Default template?
Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.
Which competitive defenses are measured for Packaging Corporation of Americ?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and PKG scores: Pricing Power (52), Cost Advantage (82), Customer Stickiness (82), Capital Efficiency (74), Resilience (93), Scale & Market Position (50). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.
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