Is IP a high-quality business?

AlphaMadera's AlphaQuality grade scores International Paper Company on six pillars — profitability, capital efficiency, balance-sheet strength, growth durability, cash generation, and shareholder yield. The composite letter grade reflects how IP compares to a Buffett-style quality bar.

What is International Paper Company's AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to IP based on a six-pillar quantitative model. The live page shows the composite grade plus each pillar's individual score with the underlying metrics.

What makes IP a quality stock?

AlphaQuality looks at return on capital, free-cash-flow margins, debt-to-equity, revenue stability, dividend and buyback policy, and operating-margin trend. Stocks scoring well across all six pillars earn higher grades — the methodology favors compounders over cyclicals.

IP - International Paper Company

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Buy DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $46.75 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Cyclical & Capital-Intensive

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

F 26.0 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for cyclical & capital-intensive businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 15%

F 10.8

5yr Avg ROIC 1.1% 15/100
Operating Margin Trend -4.35 pp/yr 0/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 15%

F 9.1

5yr Avg ROE 0.8% 14/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR 7.7% 0/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 10%

D+ 42.3

5yr Revenue CAGR 6.5% 67/100
5yr EPS CAGR -29.4% 0/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 3/5 60/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 15%

B- 67.5

5yr FCF Margin 4.1% 46/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion 1.33x 94/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 25%

F 5.2

Net Debt / EBITDA 10.00x 0/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) -8.01x 0/100
Altman Z-Score 1.23 21/100

Stability

Weight: 20%

D 36.9

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.55 26/100
Piotroski F-Score 3 33/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 2/5 60/100

3 of 3 gurus held; 2 added; 1 trimmed.

Holders: 3
Avg Δ position: +74.9%
New buys: 0
Full exits: 0

Wood increased +224%
Greenblatt increased +32%
Cooperman decreased -32%

How this is calculated

AlphaQuality grades six pillars from 0-100 and weights each by archetype:

Profitability (15%) — 5yr Avg ROIC, Operating Margin Trend
Capital Efficiency (15%) — 5yr Avg ROE, 5yr Share-Count CAGR
Growth Quality (10%) — 5yr Revenue CAGR, 5yr EPS CAGR, Revenue-Growth Years (5)
Cash Generation (15%) — 5yr FCF Margin, 5yr FCF/NI Conversion
Balance Sheet (25%) — Net Debt / EBITDA, Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int), Altman Z-Score
Stability (20%) — EPS Volatility (σ/μ), Piotroski F-Score, Negative-Revenue Years (5)

We deliberately ignore stock price, analyst targets, and consensus ratings so the grade is suitable for backtesting forward returns. A minimum of 5 fiscal years of audited statements is required; distressed and highly leveraged infrastructure businesses are declared ungradable rather than forced into a numeric score.