Sonoco Q3 2026: $732M Loss on $829M Goodwill Impairment

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON), the Hartsville packaging maker, reported third-quarter 2026 net sales of $2,041.6 million — down 4.2% year over year, though essentially flat excluding divestitures — and a GAAP net loss of $732.1 million, or $(7.36) per diluted share, against a $122.9 million profit last year. The entire hole is a non-cash $829 million goodwill impairment against the Consumer EMEA/APAC and Industrial APAC businesses, sitting inside $856.4 million of restructuring and impairment charges that flipped operating profit of $195.0 million into an operating loss of $638.0 million. Underneath, the quarter was merely soft: gross margin slipped to 19.9% from 21.9% on $1,636.3 million of cost of sales, SG&A fell 15.4% to $186.8 million, and interest expense dropped 23.8% to $46.7 million on lower debt costs. A $44.1 million tax provision landed on top of the $(690.4) million pretax loss.

The adjusted view strips the write-down out: adjusted operating profit of $268 million fell 13.1%, adjusted EBITDA of $352 million fell 9.0%, and adjusted net income of $167 million, or $1.67 per share, fell 13.0% from $1.92. Cash held up better than earnings — $285 million of third-quarter operating cash flow, though year-to-date operating cash of $218 million is net of roughly $103 million of one-time taxes on the 2025 TFP and ThermoSafe sale gains. The balance sheet absorbed the hit: goodwill fell $865.4 million to $1,646.3 million and total equity dropped $812.6 million to $2,819.3 million, while long-term debt held flat at $3,781.6 million and a September credit amendment added $800 million of new term-loan capacity. Shareholders still got $159 million of dividends over nine months ($0.54 this quarter, up a penny). For the full year Sonoco guides $7.20–7.40 billion of sales, adjusted EPS of $5.30–5.50, adjusted EBITDA of $1.20–1.25 billion, and operating cash flow reset to $600–650 million.

The Headline Numbers​

* Balance-sheet figures as of September 27, 2026 versus December 31, 2025.

Nine-month sales of $5,603.5 million are down 2.6%, and the nine-month net loss of $559.6 million compares with a $670.8 million profit swollen by $429.7 million of discontinued TFP income last year — the 2025 figure was the divestiture year, this one is the impairment year. The fourth quarter brings a test of the "more stable Consumer, continued strong Industrial" outlook management promised, plus a $1.20–1.25 billion adjusted-EBITDA guide that needs roughly $250–300 million in Q4 against nine-month adjusted EBITDA of $952 million.

Five years in the ledger: deals in, deals out, write-down​

The ledger runs FY2021–FY2025 plus this quarter. Sales ran from $5,590.4 million in the 2021 pension-settlement loss year to $7,518.8 million with a full year of Eviosys, while attributable net income swung from a $(85.5) million loss to a $1,003.0 million 2025 peak fattened by the $606.6 million TFP sale gain and the $371.7 million ThermoSafe gain — EPS of $10.07 that will stand as the high-water mark for a while. The balance sheet tells the deal story in sequence: the 2022 Ball Metalpack-era debt binge (long-term debt +$1,520.7 million), the December 2024 Eviosys close (intangibles +$1,733.0 million, total debt +$3,957.0 million), the 2025 TFP exit, and now the $829 million impairment clawing goodwill back. Every annual income statement and balance sheet, plus this quarter's exhibit statements, is modeled as examinable Beancount below.

Sources​

• Q3 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K exhibit, October 21, 2026)
• Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025