Sonoco reported second-quarter net sales of $1.89 billion for the three months ended 28 June 2026, down 1.3% from a year earlier, as the disposal of its ThermoSafe business and lower sales volumes offset higher prices and favourable currency movements.
The US packaging company said GAAP operating profit rose 9.8% to $193 million, supported by procurement savings, fixed-cost reductions and improved productivity. The results were announced on 22 July from Sonoco’s headquarters in Hartsville, South Carolina.
Sonoco supplies paper, metal and plastic packaging to food, beverage, pet care, household, personal care and industrial customers. Its performance provides an indication of packaging demand across supermarket and FMCG supply chains.
Adjusted net income increased 10.6% to $151 million, while adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 10.2% to $1.51.
Adjusted operating profit declined 1.8% to $242 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 1.2% to $324 million.
Reported net income dropped to $105 million from $493 million in the second quarter of 2025. However, the previous-year figure included a $425 million gain connected with the sale of Sonoco’s Thermoformed and Flexibles Packaging and global Trident business.
The comparison therefore reflects the effect of the disposal rather than a similar decline in the operating performance of Sonoco’s continuing businesses.
Consumer Packaging sales increased 1.2% to $1.24 billion. Higher prices introduced to recover inflation and tariff-related costs, together with favourable foreign exchange movements, offset weaker underlying volumes.
Operating profit in the division fell 5.4% to $152 million. Its operating margin narrowed from 13.1% to 12.2%, while adjusted EBITDA declined 3.1% to $207 million.
Paper can volumes across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific increased 9%, supported by rising snack demand. However, total Consumer Packaging volumes were 1.8% lower because of weaker demand for metal aerosol cans and adhesive and sealant tubes.
The increase in paper can demand is relevant to food manufacturers and retailers because these containers are widely used for snacks and other packaged grocery products. Sonoco is examining additional paper can capacity in Europe, Asia and South America as it prepares for expected demand from customer promotions and new product launches.
Industrial Paper Packaging delivered stronger growth. Sales rose 4.2% to $643 million, while operating profit increased 4% to $89 million.
North American trade volumes of uncoated recycled paperboard increased 6%, lifting mill utilisation to 95%. Sonoco said stronger demand and market-share gains had expanded its order backlog, requiring paper imports from its European and Latin American mills during the third quarter.
The Industrial division maintained an operating margin of 13.9%. Its adjusted EBITDA rose 2.9% to $122 million, although the adjusted EBITDA margin edged down from 19.2% to 19%.
Across the US packaging and FMCG market, the results show that higher logistics, chemical, resin and raw-material costs remain a pressure. Sonoco has used pricing, contract resets, procurement savings and cost controls to limit the effect, but softer volumes continued to affect parts of its consumer packaging portfolio.
The company generated record second-quarter operating cash flow of $301 million and free cash flow of $237 million. These represented year-on-year increases of 56% and 139%, respectively.
For the first half, operating cash flow remained negative at $67 million. This included approximately $103 million in one-off tax payments linked to gains from the 2025 disposals of the TFP and ThermoSafe businesses, as well as seasonal working-capital requirements in metal packaging.
Sonoco ended the quarter with $1.3 billion in liquidity. Total debt stood at $4.5 billion, while net debt was $4.3 billion.
The company maintained its full-year 2026 guidance. It expects net sales of between $7.25 billion and $7.75 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $1.25 billion to $1.35 billion and adjusted earnings of $5.80 to $6.20 per diluted share.
Sonoco continues to expect adjusted earnings near the lower end of that range. Full-year operating cash flow is forecast at between $700 million and $800 million.
During the second half, attention will turn to seasonal food-packaging demand in the United States and EMEA, the potential expansion of paper can capacity and progress with the integration of Eviosys. Tariffs, inflation, raw-material prices and uneven customer volumes remain the main risks to the Sonoco 2026 outlook.
