IP vs. LYB: International Paper vs. LyondellBasell Industries Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) 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

International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) both fall under the Materials industry group, but IP is classified in Containers & Packaging while LYB is classified in Chemicals.

Company profile comparison for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Profile Item	IP	LYB
Name	International Paper Co.	LyondellBasell Industries N.V.
Country/Region	United States	Netherlands
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Containers & Packaging	Chemicals
GICS Sub-Industry	Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials	Commodity Chemicals
Market Capitalization	18.29 billion USD	19.63 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	April 28, 2010
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

LYB

GSPC

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB), 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 International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
Total Return (1Y)	-2.70%	49.52%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	6.64%	-7.11%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-2.14%	-1.68%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LYB

GSPC

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB), 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 International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.71%	42.84%
Beta (5Y)	0.96	0.32
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-48.61%	-55.35%
Avg. Volume (3M)	5.09M	3.62M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IP and LYB 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 International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.16	1.06
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.24	1.63

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

International Paper (IP) reports a negative ROE of -22.30%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) reports 12.18%, ranking against industry peers normally.

IP

Materials industry group

-22.30%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
IP: -22.30%
Min: -32.81%

LYB

Materials industry group

12.18%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
LYB: 12.18%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

International Paper (IP) reports a negative net margin of -14.32%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) reports 4.05%, ranking against industry peers normally.

IP

Materials industry group

-14.32%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
IP: -14.32%
Min: -20.40%

LYB

Materials industry group

4.05%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
LYB: 4.05%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both International Paper (IP) at 5.89% and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 13.40% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

IP

Materials industry group

5.89%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
IP: 5.89%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

LYB

Materials industry group

13.40%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
LYB: 13.40%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
ROE (TTM)	-22.30%	12.18%
ROA (TTM)	1.60%	5.36%
Net Margin (TTM)	-14.32%	4.05%
Operating Margin (TTM)	5.89%	13.40%
Gross Margin (TTM)	29.78%	14.56%

Growth

Revenue Growth

International Paper (IP) at 49.25% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at -9.71% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Neither side shows strong earnings momentum: LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at -156.39% sits in the bottom EPS growth quartile, and International Paper (IP) at -542.68% is weaker still, below its industry range.

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
Revenue Growth (YoY)	49.25%	-9.71%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.75%	-15.77%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-542.68%	-156.39%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 1.78 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while International Paper (IP) at 0.99 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for IP.

IP

Materials industry group

0.99

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
IP: 0.99
Min: 0.16

LYB

Materials industry group

1.78

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
LYB: 1.78
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

International Paper (IP) at 0.79 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 1.21 uses more debt funding than most peers.

IP

Materials industry group

0.79

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
IP: 0.79
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

LYB

Materials industry group

1.21

Max: 1.98
LYB: 1.21
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.99	1.78
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.79	1.21
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.40	2.47

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both International Paper (IP) at 5.40% and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 5.58% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

IP

Materials industry group

5.40%

IP: 5.40%
Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LYB

Materials industry group

5.58%

LYB: 5.58%
Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

International Paper (IP) reports payout ratio above 100% at 402.17%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) reports 83.29%, ranking against industry peers normally.

IP

Materials industry group

402.17%

IP: 402.17%
Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LYB

Materials industry group

83.29%

Max: 83.62%
LYB: 83.29%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
Dividend Yield (TTM)	5.40%	5.58%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	402.17%	83.29%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) trades at 14.70 times trailing earnings, ranked against its peers, while International Paper (IP) has no P/E ratio this period.

IP

Materials industry group

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93
IP: --

LYB

Materials industry group

14.70

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
LYB: 14.70
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): IP does not report P/E ratio, so it has no value marker; LYB is benchmarked against the Materials industry group.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 0.61 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while International Paper (IP) at 0.76 prices around its industry’s middle — LYB costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

IP

Materials industry group

0.76

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
IP: 0.76
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

LYB

Materials industry group

0.61

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
LYB: 0.61
Min: 0.00

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both International Paper (IP) at 1.39 and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 1.74 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

IP

Materials industry group

1.39

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
IP: 1.39
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

LYB

Materials industry group

1.74

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
LYB: 1.74
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

International Paper (IP) vs. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for International Paper (IP) and LyondellBasell Industries (LYB)
Metric	IP	LYB
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	14.70
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.76	0.61
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.39	1.74
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	12.53%	9.06%