Sonoco Products Company

SON

$52.33

-0.69%

N/A-$0.37

Consumer Cyclical

Packaging & Containers

NYSE

Active Trading

Sonoco Products Company (SON), through its numerous subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide producer and vendor of both industrial and consumer packaging solutions. ...

Supply Chain of SON

Upstream

Foundry, packaging, memory, wafers, components, and input vendors.

Upstream

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

INX International Ink Co.

ExxonMobil Corporation

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

NYSE:CLF

Tinplate steel supplier for metal food cans and aerosol cans (primary US supplier of tin mill products)

ArcelorMittal S.A.

NYSE:MT

Global tinplate and flat-rolled steel supplier for metal packaging operations

Nucor Corporation

NYSE:NUE

Steel supplier for metal packaging operations (flat-rolled and plate steel)

H.B. Fuller Company

NYSE:FUL

Adhesives, sealants, and specialty chemical supplier for paper can assembly and packaging converting (2017 Sonoco Quality & Innovation Award recipient)

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

ETR:HEN3

Adhesives, coatings, and sealants for packaging converting operations

Downstream

Customers, distributors, OEMs, and channels that absorb output.

Downstream

Kellanova (now part of Mars Inc.)

Nestlé S.A.

Campbell's Company (formerly Campbell Soup Co.)

The Kraft Heinz Company

Kellanova (now part of Mars Inc.)

Flagship rigid paper container supply for Pringles snack can tubes; multi-year partnership for sustainable paper-bottom cans; one of Sonoco's most visible relationships

Nestlé S.A.

SWX:NESN

Consumer packaging (metal cans, rigid paper containers) for food and beverage products globally

PepsiCo, Inc.

NASDAQ:PEP

Packaging for snack foods and beverages across multiple formats (rigid paper, metal cans)

Conagra Brands, Inc.

NYSE:CAG

Metal food cans and packaging for prepared foods (e.g., Hunt's, Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice)

The Hershey Company

NYSE:HSY

Rigid paper containers and metal packaging for confectionery products

Proxies

Public comparables and monitoring names used as representatives for the analysis.

Proxies

Packaging Corporation of America

Greif, Inc.

Crown Holdings, Inc.

NYSE:CCK

Direct peer in metal food can and aerosol packaging; former parent of Eviosys which Sonoco acquired. Closest pure-play proxy for Sonoco's transformed metal-heavy portfolio.

Amcor PLC

NYSE:AMCR

Global consumer packaging peer with exposure to food, beverage, and healthcare end-markets. Similar scale and diversified packaging portfolio (post-Berry Global acquisition).

Packaging Corporation of America

NYSE:PKG

US packaging peer with significant paperboard and containerboard operations, comparable to Sonoco's Industrial Paper Packaging segment.

Ball Corporation

NYSE:BALL

Peer in metal packaging (primarily aluminum beverage cans). Relevant proxy for understanding metal packaging end-market dynamics.

Greif, Inc.

NYSE:GEF

Industrial packaging peer with overlapping tube, core, and paperboard product lines, competing directly with Sonoco's Industrial Paper Packaging segment.

Geographic

Region-level exposures that can distort the supply network.

Geographic

Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)

United States

Global (China, Southeast Asia)

Nestlé S.A.

Danone S.A.

Unilever PLC

Conagra Brands, Inc.

Campbell's Company

The Kraft Heinz Company

Various CPG multinationals

Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)

Post-Eviosys integration risk and geopolitical exposure

Nestlé S.A.SWX:NESNMajor customer via Eviosys EMEA metal packaging operations

Danone S.A.EPA:BNCustomer via Eviosys EMEA can production

Unilever PLCNYSE:ULAerosol and food can customer in EMEA

United States

Domestic steel supply constraints and recycled fiber market volatility

Conagra Brands, Inc.NYSE:CAGMajor US metal food can customer

Campbell's CompanyNASDAQ:CPBMajor US metal food can customer

The Kraft Heinz CompanyNASDAQ:KHCMajor US metal food can customer

Global (China, Southeast Asia)

Tinplate import tariffs and trade policy risk

Various CPG multinationalsGlobal packaging supply chain exposed to US tariffs on imported tinplate from China, Germany, Netherlands, etc.

Concentration

Customer, supplier, or partner concentration exposures that can distort the supply network.

Customer

Medium

No single customer represents ≥10% of revenue, but the top CPG customers collectively represent a significant share. Loss of Kellanova (Pringles), Conagra, or Nestlé business would materially impact revenue. The customer base is somewhat concentrated in large multinational food & beverage companies.

Foundry

High

Sonoco is heavily exposed to the metal packaging segment (45% of revenue post-Eviosys), making the company dependent on tinplate steel availability and pricing. The 2024 idling of Cleveland-Cliffs' Weirton tinplate mill reduced domestic tinplate supply, increasing reliance on imported steel and raising input cost risk.

Equipment

Low

Sonoco's converting and can-making operations depend on specialized capital equipment from a limited pool of global suppliers (e.g., BOBST, Stolle, Belvac). Disruption in machinery supply could constrain capacity expansion.

Other

Critical

High leverage following the $3.9B Eviosys acquisition. Net debt/EBITDA is elevated, limiting financial flexibility and increasing vulnerability to margin compression from raw material inflation.

Revenue mix

How the target's revenue mix translates into supply-chain leverage and dependency.

Consumer Packaging – Metal Cans (Food & Aerosol)

45.0%

$3.4B

Drives demand for tinplate steel (Cleveland-Cliffs, ArcelorMittal, Nucor), coatings/lacquers (PPG, Sherwin-Williams), and sealing compounds. Post-Eviosys integration, this is Sonoco's largest product group and the primary driver of upstream steel procurement.

Consumer Packaging – Rigid Paper Containers

20.0%

$1.5B

Drives demand for 100% recycled paperboard (Sonoco produces its own via internal mills using recycled fiber), adhesives (H.B. Fuller, Henkel), and printing inks. High-volume contracts with snack food (Kellanova/Pringles) and powdered goods brands.

Industrial Paper Packaging – Tubes, Cores & Paperboard

32.2%

$2.4B

Drives demand for recovered fiber (collected via Sonoco Recycling and third-party waste management partners), adhesives, and converting machinery. Serves paper mills, textile manufacturers, and film/plastic converters.

Other (Intersegment Eliminations & Minor Categories)

2.8%

$0.2B

Includes minor specialty and protective packaging remnants following the ThermoSafe divestiture (Nov 2025) to Arsenal Capital Partners.

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Sonoco Products Company

Supply Chain of SON

Upstream

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

ArcelorMittal S.A.

Nucor Corporation

H.B. Fuller Company

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

INX International Ink Co.

Dow Inc.

ExxonMobil Corporation

View More

Downstream

Kellanova (now part of Mars Inc.)

Nestlé S.A.

PepsiCo, Inc.

Conagra Brands, Inc.

The Hershey Company

Campbell's Company (formerly Campbell Soup Co.)

General Mills, Inc.

The Kraft Heinz Company

View More

Proxies

Crown Holdings, Inc.

Amcor PLC

Packaging Corporation of America

Ball Corporation

Greif, Inc.

Geographic

Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)

United States

Global (China, Southeast Asia)

Supply Chain of SON

Upstream

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

ArcelorMittal S.A.

Nucor Corporation

H.B. Fuller Company

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

INX International Ink Co.

Dow Inc.

ExxonMobil Corporation

View More

Downstream

Kellanova (now part of Mars Inc.)

Nestlé S.A.

PepsiCo, Inc.

Conagra Brands, Inc.

The Hershey Company

Campbell's Company (formerly Campbell Soup Co.)

General Mills, Inc.

The Kraft Heinz Company

View More

Proxies

Crown Holdings, Inc.

Amcor PLC

Packaging Corporation of America

Ball Corporation

Greif, Inc.

Geographic

Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)

United States

Global (China, Southeast Asia)