IFF vs. SW: Intl Flavors & Fragrances vs. Smurfit Westrock Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) both fall under the Materials industry group, but IFF is classified in Chemicals while SW is classified in Containers & Packaging.

Company profile comparison for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Profile Item	IFF	SW
Name	International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.	Smurfit WestRock Plc
Country/Region	United States	Ireland
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Chemicals	Containers & Packaging
GICS Sub-Industry	Specialty Chemicals	Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials
Market Capitalization	20.69 billion USD	23.13 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	December 17, 1974	June 17, 2008
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

IFF

GSPC

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
Total Return (1Y)	40.13%	29.05%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	8.28%	14.60%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-8.71%	-0.16%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

IFF

GSPC

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	36.26%	42.69%
Beta (5Y)	0.88	0.89
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-56.66%	-53.49%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.88M	4.66M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IFF and SW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.99	0.58
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.71	0.94

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) reports a negative ROE of -7.37%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile Smurfit Westrock (SW) reports 2.57%, ranking against industry peers normally.

IFF

Materials industry group

-7.37%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
IFF: -7.37%
Min: -32.81%

SW

Materials industry group

2.57%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
SW: 2.57%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.68% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.50% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.68%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
IFF: 1.68%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

SW

Materials industry group

1.50%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
SW: 1.50%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 9.53% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 6.38% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

IFF

Materials industry group

9.53%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
IFF: 9.53%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

SW

Materials industry group

6.38%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
SW: 6.38%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
ROE (TTM)	-7.37%	2.57%
ROA (TTM)	2.18%	2.50%
Net Margin (TTM)	1.68%	1.50%
Operating Margin (TTM)	9.53%	6.38%
Gross Margin (TTM)	36.27%	17.67%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 47.70% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at -5.17% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 62.20% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at -248.42% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-5.17%	47.70%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-4.34%	32.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-248.42%	62.20%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-30.01%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.87 and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.48 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.87

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
IFF: 1.87
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

SW

Materials industry group

1.48

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
SW: 1.48
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 0.51 and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 0.78 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

IFF

Materials industry group

0.51

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
IFF: 0.51
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

SW

Materials industry group

0.78

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
SW: 0.78
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.87	1.48
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.51	0.78
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.51	2.96

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.85% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 4.02% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.85%

Max: 4.52%
IFF: 1.85%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SW

Materials industry group

4.02%

Max: 4.52%
SW: 4.02%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) reports payout ratio above 100% at 198.63%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) reports 62.26%, ranking against industry peers normally.

IFF

Materials industry group

62.26%

Max: 83.62%
IFF: 62.26%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SW

Materials industry group

198.63%

SW: 198.63%
Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.85%	4.02%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	62.26%	198.63%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 48.99 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 236.06 is richer still, above its industry range.

IFF

Materials industry group

236.06

IFF: 236.06
Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

SW

Materials industry group

48.99

Max: 59.00
SW: 48.99
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.91 and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 0.73 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.91

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
IFF: 1.91
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

SW

Materials industry group

0.73

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
SW: 0.73
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.56 and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.28 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.56

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
IFF: 1.56
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

SW

Materials industry group

1.28

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
SW: 1.28
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	IFF	SW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	236.06	48.99
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.91	0.73
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.56	1.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-10.66%	4.26%