Graphic Packaging Cuts 2026 Cash Flow Outlook After Inflation

The Tip Desk · August 5, 2026 · 3 min read

Second-quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $247 million as the company now sees 2026 Adjusted Cash Flow of $600 million to $700 million.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK), a global maker of sustainable consumer packaging, now expects 2026 Adjusted Cash Flow of $600 million to $700 million, down from the $700 million to $800 million range it reaffirmed after the first quarter.

The Atlanta-based company also said it now expects full-year Net Sales at the high end of an $8.4 billion to $8.6 billion range and Adjusted EBITDA at the low end of $1.05 billion to $1.25 billion, citing a heightened inflationary environment. Adjusted EPS guidance is $0.65 to $0.90, lowered to reflect higher interest expense. Capital spending remains below $450 million.

Second-quarter Net Sales were $2,188 million, down 1% from $2,204 million a year earlier. The $16 million decline reflected a 1% price decrease of $27 million and a $2 million volume/mix decrease, partly offset by a $13 million favorable foreign-exchange and other impact. That reversed a 2% year-over-year sales increase in the first quarter, when Net Sales were $2,156 million.

Net Income was $24 million, or $0.08 a share, versus $104 million, or $0.34 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted Net Income was $41 million, or $0.14 a share.

Adjusted EBITDA was $247 million, down from $336 million a year earlier. The company attributed the $89 million decline to $60 million of commodity input and operating cost inflation, $27 million of lower price, $8 million of lower volume/mix, and a $3 million unfavorable foreign-exchange impact, partly offset by $9 million of positive Net Performance. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 11.3%.

President and Chief Executive Officer Robbert Rietbroek said Adjusted EBITDA landed at the top of the company’s guidance range despite greater-than-anticipated inflation, and that the business achieved 50 basis points of sequential Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion in the second quarter relative to the first quarter. He said sales and volumes increased in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

Innovation Sales Growth was $40 million in the second quarter.

Structural cost actions are expected to generate approximately $85 million of in-year savings, partially offsetting full-year 2026 expected inflation of $150 million. The company completed the divestiture of its Croatia facility, announced plans to close its Lebanon, Tennessee, plant to consolidate volumes, and notified employees of an intention to evaluate a potential closure at Winsford, UK.

Capital expenditures were $83 million in the second quarter, versus $228 million a year earlier. Total Debt was $5,688 million at June 30. Net Debt was $5,483 million, and the Net Leverage Ratio was 4.7x. The company returned about $65 million to stockholders through regular dividends in the first six months of 2026.

Rietbroek said additional productivity, cost-reduction, and pricing initiatives were implemented in response to incremental inflation, and that those actions, together with execution against strategic priorities, position the company to drive continued sequential profitability and margin improvement in the second half of 2026.