Smurfit Westrock management check
SW · Materials · Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials · CEO Anthony P J Smurfit
Filings as of
2 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2024 grew to $88, against $97 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- n/a
Does pay follow performance?
Not enough dataToo few years of pay and return figures to compare.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
2.4% of net income$16.4m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $699.0m of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingNo open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Stock pay 0.4% of revenueStock-based pay was 0.4% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
4 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. Smurfit. 4 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2024.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Materials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 39 | 40 | |
| Pay for performance | — | — | 77 |
| CEO cost | 19 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 38 |
| Dilution | 97 | 71 | |
| Stable leadership | 100 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials, by management score. Smurfit Westrock is 9th of 24 in its sector.
- 148PKGPackaging Corporation of America72
- 161LINLinde plc72
- 172SWSmurfit Westrock71
- 189AVYAvery Dennison69
- 453AMCRAmcor46
- 474IPInternational Paper38
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 11, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Smurfit | $16.4m | −$727k | $5.3m | $88 | $97 | $699.0m |
| 2024 | — | $21.3m | $27.9m | $5.9m | $118 | $109 | $319.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted EBITDA. Its other key measures: Free Cash Flow, Relative TSR, Cumulative Adjusted Earnings per Share, Average Return on Capital Employed.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Anthony P J Smurfit (President and CEO) held 1,728,994 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 10, 2026.
No open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
Leadership and governance on file
- Feb 27, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 11, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 8, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 1, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $2.4bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 83% of net income, and $479.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | $13.5bn | $12.1bn | $21.1bn | $31.2bn |
| Net income | — | $1.0bn | $825.0m | $319.0m | $699.0m |
| Stock-based pay | — | $68.0m | $66.0m | $206.0m | $139.0m |
| Buybacks | — | $32.0m | $30.0m | $27.0m | $0 |
| Dividends | — | $349.0m | $391.0m | $650.0m | $900.0m |
| Diluted shares | — | 261m | 260m | 389m | 526m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.