International Paper management check
IP · Materials · Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials · CEO Mr. Silvernail
Filings as of
2 good · 1 to watch · 3 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $104, against $127 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.67 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
Paid in a loss-making year$14.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, a year the company lost $3.5bn.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingBoth: 1 buyer ($313k) and 2 sellers ($1.2m) in six months.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +20.4% a year over the last three fiscal years.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. Sutton, Mr. Silvernail. 14 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Materials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 27 | 40 | |
| Pay for performance | 84 | 77 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 38 |
| Dilution | 0 | 71 | |
| Stable leadership | 15 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials, by management score. International Paper is 24th of 24 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 27, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Silvernail | $14.8m | −$8.7m | $5.6m | $104 | $127 | −$3.5bn |
| 2024 | Mr. Sutton, Mr. Silvernail | $20.7m | $47.7m | $4.5m | $136 | $114 | $557.0m |
| 2023 | Mr. Sutton | $12.8m | $6.5m | $3.0m | $88 | $103 | $288.0m |
| 2022 | Mr. Sutton | $13.7m | $14.6m | $2.6m | $80 | $85 | $1.5bn |
| 2021 | — | $15.2m | $12.6m | $3.1m | $104 | $101 | $1.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted EBITDA. Its other key measures: Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR), Net Income, Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (Adjusted EBITDA).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Both: 1 buyer ($313k) and 2 sellers ($1.2m) in six months.
- BoughtScott TozierDirector$313kMay 1, 2026
- SoldWilliam Thomas HamicExec. VP & President$1.0mAug 7, 2026
- SoldHolly G. GoughnourVP & Chief Accounting Officer$147kAug 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jul 17, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 21, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 14, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 11, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 10, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 27, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 23, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 16, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 19, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 11, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $6.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 1050% of net income, and $0 of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $19.4bn | $21.2bn | $16.0bn | $15.8bn | $23.6bn |
| Net income | $1.8bn | $1.5bn | $288.0m | $557.0m | −$3.5bn |
| Stock-based pay | — | — | — | — | — |
| Buybacks | $839.0m | $1.3bn | $218.0m | $23.0m | $65.0m |
| Dividends | $780.0m | $673.0m | $642.0m | $643.0m | $977.0m |
| Diluted shares | 392m | 367m | 349m | 354m | 506m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.