Sonoco (SON) Lags Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Company Performance - Sonoco reported quarterly earnings of $1.17 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$ 1.18 per share, but showing an increase from $1.02 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of -0.85% [1] - The company posted revenues of$ 1.36 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.13%, and down from $1.64 billion year-over-year [2] - Over the last four quarters, Sonoco has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times but has not beaten consensus revenue estimates [2] Stock Outlook - Sonoco shares have underperformed the market, losing about 2.2% since the beginning of the year compared to the S&P 500's gain of 4% [3] - The company's earnings outlook is crucial for investors, with current consensus EPS estimates at$ 1.37 on $2.11 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and$ 6.25 on $8.51 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year [7] Industry Context - The Containers - Paper and Packaging industry, to which Sonoco belongs, is currently in the bottom 26% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating potential challenges for stock performance [8] - Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, suggesting that the industry outlook can significantly impact Sonoco's stock performance [5][8]