Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Information

18.Segment Information

Reportable Segments

We report our business in three reportable segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. These segments represent distinct businesses that are managed separately because of differing products and services. Each of these businesses requires distinct operating and marketing strategies.

Packaging. We manufacture and sell a wide variety of containerboard and corrugated packaging products, including conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods, multi-color boxes and displays with strong visual appeal that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations. In addition, we are a large producer of packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.

Paper. We manufacture and sell a range of communication-based papers. Our papers can be manufactured as either commodity papers or specialty papers with specialized or custom features, such as colors, coatings, high brightness, or recycled content.

Corporate and Other. Our Corporate and Other segment includes corporate support staff services and related assets and liabilities, and foreign exchange gains and losses. This segment also includes transportation assets, such as rail cars and trucks, which we use to transport our products from some of our manufacturing sites and assets related to LTP. See Note 17, Transactions with Related Parties, for more information related to LTP. Sales in this segment relate primarily to LTP and our rail and truck business. We provide transportation services not only to our own facilities but also, on a limited basis, to third parties when geographic proximity and logistics are favorable. Rail cars and trucks are generally leased.

Each segments’ profits and losses are measured on operating profits before non-operating pension income (expense), interest expense, net, and income taxes. For many of these allocated expenses, the related assets and liabilities remain in the Corporate and Other segment.

At December 31, 2024 and 2023, we did not have any significant long-lived assets held by foreign operations.

Chief Operating Decision Maker

ASC 280-10-50-5 (Topic 280) defines the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) as an individual or group of individuals responsible for assessing the performance of the operating segments of a public entity and determining the overall resource allocation to those operating segments. Based on these criteria, we deem our Chief Executive Officer as the CODM, as the Chief Executive Officer is responsible for evaluating our operating results and concluding on the overall resource allocation.

Analysis of Operations by Reportable Segment

An analysis of operations by reportable segment is as follows (dollars in millions):

Year Ended December 31, 2024	Packaging			Paper			Corporate and Other				Total
Trade sales	$	7,668.9		$	624.7		$	89.7			$	8,383.3
Intersegment sales		22.0			—			157.4				179.4
		7,690.9			624.7			247.1				8,562.7
Elimination of intersegment sales												(179.4	)
Net sales (a)												8,383.3
Less (b):
Variable costs (c)		(3,767.4	)		(338.7	)		—				—
Fixed costs (d)		(1,679.7	)		(81.5	)		—				—
Freight		(798.2	)		(69.4	)		—				—
Other segment items (e)		(344.1	)		(5.4	)		(377.0	)			—
Income (loss) from operations		1,101.5			129.7			(129.9	)	(f)		1,101.3
Non-operating pension income												4.5
Interest expense, net												(41.4	)
Income before taxes											$	1,064.4
Other segment disclosures:
Segment sales to external customers	$	7,690.9		$	624.7		$	67.7		(g)	$	8,383.3
Depreciation, amortization,    and depletion		490.1			19.5			16.0				525.6
Capital expenditures (h)		626.6			15.0			28.1				669.7
Assets		7,253.2			375.7			1,204.3				8,833.2

Year Ended December 31, 2023	Packaging			Paper			Corporate and Other				Total
Trade sales	$	7,116.7		$	595.4		$	90.3			$	7,802.4
Intersegment sales		18.9			—			157.6				176.5
		7,135.6			595.4			247.9				7,978.9
Elimination of intersegment sales												(176.5	)
Net sales (a)												7,802.4
Less (b):
Variable costs (c)		(3,406.6	)		(317.3	)		—				—
Fixed costs (d)		(1,592.0	)		(94.1	)		—				—
Freight		(747.3	)		(62.9	)		—				—
Other segment items (e)		(315.4	)		(2.2	)		(366.0	)			—
Income (loss) from operations		1,074.3			118.9			(118.1	)	(f)		1,075.1
Non-operating pension expense												(7.7	)
Interest expense, net												(53.3	)
Income before taxes											$	1,014.1
Other segment disclosures:
Segment sales to external customers	$	7,135.6		$	595.4		$	71.4		(g)	$	7,802.4
Depreciation, amortization,    and depletion		472.5			29.6			15.6				517.7
Capital expenditures (h)		426.8			9.7			33.2				469.7
Assets		6,903.7			384.4			1,393.0				8,681.1

Year Ended December 31, 2022	Packaging			Paper			Corporate and Other				Total
Trade sales	$	7,760.7		$	622.1		$	95.2			$	8,478.0
Intersegment sales		20.0			—			148.2				168.2
		7,780.7			622.1			243.4				8,646.2
Elimination of intersegment sales												(168.2	)
Net sales (a)												8,478.0
Less (b):
Variable costs (c)		(3,724.2	)		(336.8	)		—				—
Fixed costs (d)		(1,543.6	)		(92.8	)		—				—
Freight		(716.9	)		(86.4	)		—				—
Other segment items (e)		(372.3	)		(3.1	)		(349.4	)			—
Income (loss) from operations		1,423.7			103.0			(106.0	)	(f)		1,420.7
Non-operating pension income												14.5
Interest expense, net												(70.4	)
Income before taxes											$	1,364.8
Other segment disclosures:
Segment sales to external customers	$	7,780.7		$	622.1		$	75.2		(g)	$	8,478.0
Depreciation, amortization,    and depletion		420.2			26.1			10.5				456.8
Capital expenditures (h)		753.5			14.1			56.6				824.2
Assets		6,986.5			403.1			614.2				8,003.8

(a)Sales to foreign unaffiliated customers during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 were $445.8 million, $402.6 million, and $512.9 million, respectively.

(b)The significant expense categories align with the segment-level information that is regularly provided to the CODM.

(c)For the Packaging segment, primarily includes expense items for liner and medium consumption, purchased sheets usage, raw materials, energy, chemicals, hourly-employee related expenses and benefits, and miscellaneous supplies. For the Paper segment, primarily includes expense items for chemicals, raw materials, hourly-employee related expenses and benefits, and miscellaneous supplies.

(d)For the Packaging segment, primarily includes expense items for depreciation and salaried employee-related expenses and benefits. For the Paper segment, primarily includes expense items for depreciation, salaried employee-related expenses, and professional services.

(e)Other segment items for each reportable segment primarily include:

1.Packaging: farmout purchases, certain divisional allocations, and other expense/income items.

2.Paper: other expense/income items.

3.Corporate and Other: unallocated corporate costs, transportation business activity, and activity related to LTP.

(f)The significant expense categories reported for the Packaging and Paper segments are not used for Corporate and Other in the segment-level information that is regularly reviewed by the CODM. The CODM makes resource allocation decisions for Corporate and Other based on divisional income (loss) from operations.

(g)The Corporate and Other segment sales to external customers is presented net of total company intersegment eliminations.

(h)Includes “Additions to property, plant, and equipment” and excludes cash used for “Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired” as reported on our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.