IP vs SW: Correlation
International Paper (IP) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.74.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are IP and SW?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of IP and SW correlate at 0.74, strong. The past 12 months show a tighter link (0.85) than the 3-year average (0.74). Stretching to 5 years gives 0.64, with an annualized covariance of 1119.7 %².
SW is one of the assets that tracks IP most closely: it ranks #1 out of the 29 assets we track against IP. The last year tells two different stories: SW led by 23.2 percentage points, -13.5% for IP against +9.7% for SW. On a rolling one-year basis the correlation drifted between 0.45 and 0.88, a moderate band.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
IP vs SW: side by side
| IP (International Paper) | SW (Smurfit Westrock) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -13.5% | +9.7% |
| 5-year return | -11.2% | +2.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 37.8% | 40.1% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.77 | 0.92 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -48.6% | -40.5% |
| Market cap | $21.1B | $25.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 51.7 |
| Dividend yield | 4.47% | 3.57% |
| Sector / category | Materials | Materials |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | IP | SW |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -23.0% | -28.0% |
| 2023 | +10.2% | +14.1% |
| 2024 | +55.3% | +37.6% |
| 2025 | -23.8% | -26.2% |
| 2026 | +5.0% | +29.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are IP and SW good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.74 means IP and SW share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
FAQ
What is the correlation between IP and SW?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.74 over 3 years, with 0.85 over the last year and 0.64 over 5 years.
Is SW a good diversifier for IP?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.74 means IP and SW share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.74 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.74 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/ip-vs-sw.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/ip-vs-sw/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: IP correlations · SW correlations
