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Analyst
Lewis Roxburgh
Period: Reporting periods mapped to calendar 2025 Q2 – 2026 Q1 (4 quarters).
- Questions
- 6on tracked calls
- Challenge rate
- 0%none of 6 questionsLimited sample
- Companies
- 1questioned at least once
- Reporting periods
- 4with questions
These figures cover the whole profile: every tracked question, all reporting periods.
How to read these numbers
Challenge rate is the share of questions that pushed back, pressed for specifics or questioned management’s assumptions. It describes how questions were asked on the calls tracked here; it does not measure whether any view turned out to be right.
Rounding. Rates are rounded to whole percentages, so a small share can show as 0% even when some questions were challenging. The count beside each rate is exact; “none of N questions” means no question was challenging.
No questions recorded. “—” means there is nothing to calculate: no questions were recorded for that period on the calls tracked here. It does not mean there was no activity.
Fewer than 3 questions. A company-level rate is withheld when fewer than 3 questions were recorded for that company; the questions are still counted everywhere else.
Small samples. Profiles with fewer than 10 questions are marked Limited sample.
Reporting periods. Questions are grouped by the calendar quarter each company’s fiscal reporting period maps to, not by the date of the call. Periods without a calendar mapping are listed separately under their fiscal label.
Questions asked
Grouped by company, most questions first. Open a company to read its questions, newest reporting period first.
Showing 6 of 6 questions from 1 company
SWSmurfit WestRock6 questions · 4 reporting periods · 0 of 6 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q1
You previously talked about around 60% of those box plants, loss making box plants still to work through. Another 40% is seen as a realistic improvement target over the next few years
Show response
Tony clarified: started with 60-70 loss-making box plants, got to 29, currently still at 29. Continued work in progress, very little to do with cost side, about operating improvements. Expects to get through-cycle loss makers into single digits. Acknowledged will probably always have some loss-making for transient reasons.
Calendar 2025 Q4
how that piece will contribute. Do you think that will translate to pricing outperforming the benchmark or maybe cost takeout from rightsizing and efficiency
Show response
Tony expects to be lapping positive volumes by this time next year (Feb 2027). High confidence in landing pipeline customers. European market share gains cited as proof of model. Tony would be 'very disappointed' if not lapping positive by next year.
growth CapEx, it seems pretty broad-based across sort of businesses and regions, but just sort of highlight any sort of standout focus there
Show response
Ken explained D&A expected around $2.6-2.7B across plan life as amortizing intangible trails off ~$140M/year. Strategic CapEx (1/3 of growth CapEx) targets pockets of geographic/segment growth and new paper machine capabilities. Base CapEx (2/3) is good asset custodianship yielding incremental capacity. Tony emphasized adaptability, capital can shift between regions based on growth.
you've talked about in the past how there was a great opportunity in the converting assets in North America, the box businesses. Can you maybe kind of update us on how that's progressing
Show response
Tony described corrugated system moving from significant loss to somewhat profitable. Aspiration of 8-12% box plant margins. Gave example of one country going from breakeven to $1.5M/month after competitor closed. Chicago facility went from poor performance to ~$1M/month profit in one year. Laurent noted some plants need equipment investment, others may need management changes, taking time to assess.
Calendar 2025 Q3
you expected some relief on OCC pricing. So I just wondered to see if that was playing out as expected
Show response
Ken updated full-year cost buckets: fiber tailwind improved from ~$100M to $130-140M, energy headwind from $250M to ~$180M, labor from $200M to ~$180M, but downtime worsened from $150M to $180-200M. Tony said CapEx slightly skewed toward legacy WestRock assets for quality/service improvements.
Calendar 2025 Q2
Are you seeing any signs of improvement in consumer confidence or demand across your key markets
Show response
Tony noted US seasonal pickup not yet materialized in July. On European closures, said all SW mills remain profitable due to integration; their footprint went from 23 mills/3M tonnes to ~15 mills/5M tonnes. Expects more independent mill closures if conditions persist.
Challenge rate by company
Every company this analyst questioned, most questions first. A company-level rate is shown from 3 questions; below that it is withheld.
| Company | Questions | Challenge rate |
|---|---|---|
| SW Smurfit WestRock | 6 | 0%none of 6 questions |
- SWSmurfit WestRock · 6 questions0%none of 6 questions
Activity by reporting period
Questions recorded for each calendar quarter that companies’ reporting periods map to (not the call date), with the challenge rate for that period. Periods inside the range with no questions are shown as “No questions recorded”.
| Calendar period | Questions | Challenge rate | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q2 | 1 | 0%none of 1 question | 1 |
| 2025 Q3 | 1 | 0%none of 1 question | 1 |
| 2025 Q4 | 3 | 0%none of 3 questions | 1 |
| 2026 Q1 | 1 | 0%none of 1 question | 1 |
- 2025 Q21 question · challenge rate 0% (none of 1 question) · 1 company
- 2025 Q31 question · challenge rate 0% (none of 1 question) · 1 company
- 2025 Q43 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 3 questions) · 1 company
- 2026 Q11 question · challenge rate 0% (none of 1 question) · 1 company
Topics
Topics tagged on this analyst’s questions.
- Margin3
- Competitive Dynamics2
- Demand2
- Capital Allocation2
- Pricing1
- Cost Pressure1
- Trade Tariffs1