CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) Stock Fundamental Analysis
NYSE:CLW • US18538R1032
14.38 USD
-0.01 (-0.07%)
At close: Feb 24, 2026
14.38 USD
0 (0%)
After Hours: 2/24/2026, 8:17:34 PM
We assign a fundamental rating of 3 out of 10 to CLW. CLW was compared to 9 industry peers in the Paper & Forest Products industry. The financial health of CLW is average, but there are quite some concerns on its profitability. CLW does not seem to be growing, but still is valued expensively.
1. Profitability
1.1 Basic Checks
- CLW had negative earnings in the past year.
- CLW had a positive operating cash flow in the past year.
- In multiple years CLW reported negative net income over the last 5 years.
- In the past 5 years CLW always reported a positive cash flow from operatings.
1.2 Ratios
- CLW has a better Return On Assets (-1.17%) than 66.67% of its industry peers.
- CLW's Return On Equity of -2.25% is fine compared to the rest of the industry. CLW outperforms 66.67% of its industry peers.
- CLW has a Return On Invested Capital (1.38%) which is comparable to the rest of the industry.
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ROA | -1.17% | ||
| ROE | -2.25% | ||
| ROIC | 1.38% |
ROA(3y)5.65%
ROA(5y)3.6%
ROE(3y)12.27%
ROE(5y)7.87%
ROIC(3y)N/A
ROIC(5y)N/A
1.3 Margins
- CLW's Operating Margin of 1.54% is in line compared to the rest of the industry. CLW outperforms 55.56% of its industry peers.
- CLW's Operating Margin has declined in the last couple of years.
- CLW has a Gross Margin of 7.43%. This is in the lower half of the industry: CLW underperforms 66.67% of its industry peers.
- CLW's Gross Margin has declined in the last couple of years.
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| OM | 1.54% | ||
| PM (TTM) | N/A | ||
| GM | 7.43% |
OM growth 3Y-47.67%
OM growth 5Y-32.41%
PM growth 3YN/A
PM growth 5YN/A
GM growth 3Y-25.23%
GM growth 5Y-13.94%
2. Health
2.1 Basic Checks
- CLW has a Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), which is below the Cost of Capital (WACC), which means it is destroying value.
- Compared to 1 year ago, CLW has less shares outstanding
- The number of shares outstanding for CLW has been reduced compared to 5 years ago.
- CLW has a worse debt/assets ratio than last year.
2.2 Solvency
- CLW has an Altman-Z score of 2.20. This is not the best score and indicates that CLW is in the grey zone with still only limited risk for bankruptcy at the moment.
- With a decent Altman-Z score value of 2.20, CLW is doing good in the industry, outperforming 66.67% of the companies in the same industry.
- CLW has a Debt/Equity ratio of 0.42. This is a healthy value indicating a solid balance between debt and equity.
- CLW has a better Debt to Equity ratio (0.42) than 66.67% of its industry peers.
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt/Equity | 0.42 | ||
| Debt/FCF | N/A | ||
| Altman-Z | 2.2 |
ROIC/WACC0.21
WACC6.48%
2.3 Liquidity
- CLW has a Current Ratio of 2.43. This indicates that CLW is financially healthy and has no problem in meeting its short term obligations.
- The Current ratio of CLW (2.43) is comparable to the rest of the industry.
- A Quick Ratio of 1.13 indicates that CLW should not have too much problems paying its short term obligations.
- With a Quick ratio value of 1.13, CLW perfoms like the industry average, outperforming 44.44% of the companies in the same industry.
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 2.43 | ||
| Quick Ratio | 1.13 |
3. Growth
3.1 Past
- The earnings per share for CLW have decreased strongly by -448.91% in the last year.
- Looking at the last year, CLW shows a very negative growth in Revenue. The Revenue has decreased by -17.26% in the last year.
- Measured over the past years, CLW shows a decrease in Revenue. The Revenue has been decreasing by -3.60% on average per year.
EPS 1Y (TTM)-448.91%
EPS 3YN/A
EPS 5YN/A
EPS Q2Q%43.24%
Revenue 1Y (TTM)-17.26%
Revenue growth 3Y9.18%
Revenue growth 5Y-3.6%
Sales Q2Q%-19.97%
3.2 Future
- The Earnings Per Share is expected to grow by 29.84% on average over the next years. This is a very strong growth
- The Revenue is expected to decrease by -0.99% on average over the next years.
EPS Next Y63.61%
EPS Next 2Y41.87%
EPS Next 3Y29.84%
EPS Next 5YN/A
Revenue Next Year-2.74%
Revenue Next 2Y0.67%
Revenue Next 3Y-0.99%
Revenue Next 5YN/A
3.3 Evolution
- The Revenue growth rate is accelerating: in the next years the growth will be better than in the last years.
4. Valuation
4.1 Price/Earnings Ratio
- CLW reported negative earnings for the last year, which makes the Price/Earnings Ratio negative.
- Besides the negative Price/Earnings Ratio, also the Forward Price/Earnings Ratio is negative for CLW. No positive earnings are expected for the next year.
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | ||
| Fwd PE | N/A |
4.2 Price Multiples
- CLW's Enterprise Value to EBITDA ratio is rather cheap when compared to the industry. CLW is cheaper than 88.89% of the companies in the same industry.
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| P/FCF | N/A | ||
| EV/EBITDA | 4.7 |
4.3 Compensation for Growth
- A more expensive valuation may be justified as CLW's earnings are expected to grow with 29.84% in the coming years.
PEG (NY)N/A
PEG (5Y)N/A
EPS Next 2Y41.87%
EPS Next 3Y29.84%
5. Dividend
5.1 Amount
- CLW does not give a dividend.
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 0% |
14.38
-0.01 (-0.07%)
Chartmill FA Rating
GICS SectorMaterials
GICS IndustryGroupMaterials
GICS IndustryPaper & Forest Products
Earnings (Last)02-18 2026-02-18/amc
Earnings (Next)04-27 2026-04-27
Inst Owners83.86%
Inst Owner Change4.41%
Ins Owners3.11%
Ins Owner Change-0.01%
Market Cap230.66M
Revenue(TTM)1.56B
Net Income(TTM)-18.60M
Analysts77.14
Price Target24.14 (67.87%)
Short Float %4.33%
Short Ratio3.26
Dividend
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 0% |
Yearly DividendN/A
Dividend Growth(5Y)N/A
DPN/A
Div Incr Years0
Div Non Decr Years0
Ex-DateN/A
Surprises & Revisions
EPS beat(2)1
Avg EPS beat(2)-251.55%
Min EPS beat(2)-516.48%
Max EPS beat(2)13.37%
EPS beat(4)2
Avg EPS beat(4)-120.26%
Min EPS beat(4)-516.48%
Max EPS beat(4)98.02%
EPS beat(8)4
Avg EPS beat(8)-86.95%
EPS beat(12)6
Avg EPS beat(12)-54.43%
EPS beat(16)8
Avg EPS beat(16)-52.28%
Revenue beat(2)2
Avg Revenue beat(2)1.32%
Min Revenue beat(2)0.77%
Max Revenue beat(2)1.86%
Revenue beat(4)2
Avg Revenue beat(4)-0.72%
Min Revenue beat(4)-3.24%
Max Revenue beat(4)1.86%
Revenue beat(8)4
Avg Revenue beat(8)-0.42%
Revenue beat(12)6
Avg Revenue beat(12)-0.57%
Revenue beat(16)9
Avg Revenue beat(16)-0.1%
PT rev (1m)-21.11%
PT rev (3m)-21.11%
EPS NQ rev (1m)-1.05%
EPS NQ rev (3m)-200%
EPS NY rev (1m)-91.19%
EPS NY rev (3m)-155.29%
Revenue NQ rev (1m)-0.26%
Revenue NQ rev (3m)-1.89%
Revenue NY rev (1m)-0.06%
Revenue NY rev (3m)-0.57%
Valuation
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | ||
| Fwd PE | N/A | ||
| P/S | 0.15 | ||
| P/FCF | N/A | ||
| P/OCF | 18.91 | ||
| P/B | 0.28 | ||
| P/tB | 0.28 | ||
| EV/EBITDA | 4.7 |
EPS(TTM)-3.21
EYN/A
EPS(NY)-1.17
Fwd EYN/A
FCF(TTM)-4.78
FCFYN/A
OCF(TTM)0.76
OCFY5.29%
SpS96.97
BVpS51.45
TBVpS51.32
PEG (NY)N/A
PEG (5Y)N/A
Graham NumberN/A
Profitability
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ROA | -1.17% | ||
| ROE | -2.25% | ||
| ROCE | 1.74% | ||
| ROIC | 1.38% | ||
| ROICexc | 1.41% | ||
| ROICexgc | 1.41% | ||
| OM | 1.54% | ||
| PM (TTM) | N/A | ||
| GM | 7.43% | ||
| FCFM | N/A |
ROA(3y)5.65%
ROA(5y)3.6%
ROE(3y)12.27%
ROE(5y)7.87%
ROIC(3y)N/A
ROIC(5y)N/A
ROICexc(3y)N/A
ROICexc(5y)N/A
ROICexgc(3y)N/A
ROICexgc(5y)N/A
ROCE(3y)N/A
ROCE(5y)N/A
ROICexgc growth 3Y-43.01%
ROICexgc growth 5Y-33.61%
ROICexc growth 3Y-42.92%
ROICexc growth 5Y-33.2%
OM growth 3Y-47.67%
OM growth 5Y-32.41%
PM growth 3YN/A
PM growth 5YN/A
GM growth 3Y-25.23%
GM growth 5Y-13.94%
F-Score4
Asset Turnover0.98
Health
| Industry Rank | Sector Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt/Equity | 0.42 | ||
| Debt/FCF | N/A | ||
| Debt/EBITDA | 2.97 | ||
| Cap/Depr | 96.1% | ||
| Cap/Sales | 5.71% | ||
| Interest Coverage | 1.5 | ||
| Cash Conversion | 10.49% | ||
| Profit Quality | N/A | ||
| Current Ratio | 2.43 | ||
| Quick Ratio | 1.13 | ||
| Altman-Z | 2.2 |
F-Score4
WACC6.48%
ROIC/WACC0.21
Cap/Depr(3y)95.89%
Cap/Depr(5y)71.34%
Cap/Sales(3y)6.87%
Cap/Sales(5y)5.12%
Profit Quality(3y)N/A
Profit Quality(5y)N/A
High Growth Momentum
Growth
EPS 1Y (TTM)-448.91%
EPS 3YN/A
EPS 5YN/A
EPS Q2Q%43.24%
EPS Next Y63.61%
EPS Next 2Y41.87%
EPS Next 3Y29.84%
EPS Next 5YN/A
Revenue 1Y (TTM)-17.26%
Revenue growth 3Y9.18%
Revenue growth 5Y-3.6%
Sales Q2Q%-19.97%
Revenue Next Year-2.74%
Revenue Next 2Y0.67%
Revenue Next 3Y-0.99%
Revenue Next 5YN/A
EBIT growth 1Y728.95%
EBIT growth 3Y-42.87%
EBIT growth 5Y-34.84%
EBIT Next Year190.9%
EBIT Next 3Y60.31%
EBIT Next 5YN/A
FCF growth 1Y-38.77%
FCF growth 3YN/A
FCF growth 5YN/A
OCF growth 1Y-80.13%
OCF growth 3Y-56.7%
OCF growth 5Y-45.21%
CLEARWATER PAPER CORP / CLW FAQ
What is the ChartMill fundamental rating of CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) stock?
ChartMill assigns a fundamental rating of 3 / 10 to CLW.
What is the valuation status of CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) stock?
ChartMill assigns a valuation rating of 1 / 10 to CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW). This can be considered as Overvalued.
Can you provide the profitability details for CLEARWATER PAPER CORP?
CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) has a profitability rating of 3 / 10.
What is the expected EPS growth for CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) stock?
The Earnings per Share (EPS) of CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) is expected to grow by 63.61% in the next year.