$IP

S&P futures rose as oil prices retreated ahead of U.S. inflation data. Economists expect August CPI to rise +0.4% m/m, with core CPI at +0.2% m/m. Oracle (ORCL) jumped +6% after reporting stronger-than-expected cloud revenue. ACV Auctions (ACVA) surged +44% following a $1.9B acquisition deal. Adobe (ADBE) fell -3% on soft revenue guidance. U.K. GDP grew +0.4% m/m in July, exceeding expectations. Asian markets closed lower, with China's Shanghai Composite down -1.18% and Japan's Nikkei 225 down -

Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) reported Q2 revenue of $2.49B, up 14.7% YoY, but missed EPS estimates. International Paper (IP) reported $6.00B revenue, down 11.3% YoY, missing expectations. Silgan Holdings (SLGN) reported $1.64B revenue, up 6.8% YoY, beating estimates. PCA and SLGN stocks are up 1.9% and down 19.7% since reporting, respectively. IP stock is down 18.1% since reporting.

Major indices closed lower Thursday, with the Russell 2000 down 1.04%. Brent Crude surged 7.2% to $108.60 due to U.S.-Iran tensions. Morgan Stanley downgraded Novo Nordisk (NVO) to Underweight, while RBC initiated Dell (DELL) with an Outperform rating and $640 target. Analysts also made calls on Atmos Energy (ATO), Celanese (CE), Check Point (CHKP), Chewy (CHWY), Fortinet (FTNT), Global Payments (GPN), HP (HPQ), and Shopify (SHOP).

Analysts initiated or updated coverage on several companies. Piper Sandler initiated Q2 Holdings as overweight, citing its growth potential. Bernstein initiated Shopify as outperform, highlighting its AI positioning. RBC initiated Dell as outperform with a $640 price target, citing AI infrastructure demand. UBS initiated Korsana Biosciences as buy with a $55 price target. Other notable mentions include Nvidia, SpaceX, Tesla, Palantir, and Oracle.

Kommersant reports Russian authorities are reviewing foreign-company exit deals after lawsuits seeking extra payments. Prosecutors demand 414.53 million rubles from GS Investments, which bought Amcor’s Russian assets for 370 million euros in late 2022. A separate suit seeks 1.81 billion rubles from Ilim Global Timber Rus over its 2023 purchase of International Paper’s stake.

Hamic William Thomas (Exec. VP & President) sold 24,500 shares of INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO /NEW/ (IP) at $41.20 ($1.01M total) on 2026-08-07.

Goughnour Holly G. (VP & Chief Accounting Officer) sold 3,500 shares of INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO /NEW/ (IP) at $41.96 ($0.15M total) on 2026-08-04.

Analysts issued new ratings for consumer cyclical stocks. Morgan Stanley’s Brian Nowak kept Amazon (AMZN) at Buy and set a $335 target; consensus Strong Buy targets $329.30. Truist’s Michael Roxland reiterated Buy for International Paper (IP) with a $49 target; J.P. Morgan upgraded to Buy at $61. Stifel kept Codere Online (CDRO) at Hold with a $10 target.

International Paper reported Q2 progress tied to North American box volume growth expected to beat the industry by about 2% in 2026. Management cited cost-out and mill simplification, plus Riverdale conversion and NORPAC acquisition. Full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance was narrowed to $2.35B-$2.45B, with a $600M H2 step-up. EMEA plans 31 facility closures and 3,000 job reductions.

International Paper said it expects adjusted EBITDA improvement in 2H as earlier price increases in North America and EMEA flow through, though most pricing gains have been offset by higher OCC, energy, and freight costs. It cited ramp-ups and integrations (Riverdale, NORPAC, Waterloo) to improve mix, lower costs, and utilization. A Pine Hill mill outage may hurt near-term results. IP trades near $42.77.