PK

Packaging Corporation of America stock research

Mar 31, 2025

FY2025 Q1

Packaging Corporation of America (PKG) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Mar 31, 2025

Revenue held stable versus the prior quarter, while gross profit and gross margin both weakened compared to the same period last year. The decline in gross margin from the year-ago quarter reflects that cost of revenue grew at a faster pace than revenue, compressing gross profit as a share of sales.

Gross margin takeaway

Quarter ended Mar 31, 2025 · FY2025 Q1

Revenue held stable versus the prior quarter, while gross profit and gross margin both weakened compared to the same period last year. The decline in gross margin from the year-ago quarter reflects that cost of revenue grew at a faster pace than revenue, compressing gross profit as a share of sales.

  • Compared with the year-ago quarter, gross profit improved substantially, but gross margin weakened relative to the immediately preceding quarter. The sequential decline in gross margin from the prior quarter suggests that cost of revenue absorbed a slightly larger portion of revenue.
  • Revenue was essentially unchanged from the preceding quarter and higher than the same quarter one year earlier. Gross profit fell compared to the prior quarter but rose versus the year-ago period, and gross margin weakened sequentially and improved year over year.

Gross margin snapshot

The selected quarter's reported revenue, gross profit, direct costs, and margin comparisons.

Gross margin

21.2%

Gross profit

$454.7M

Revenue

$2.1B

Cost of revenue

$1.7B

Quarter-over-quarter change

-0.6 pts

Year-over-year change

+2.5 pts

Quarterly gross margin trend

A four-quarter view of the revenue and direct-cost bridge behind gross margin.

PeriodRevenueGross profitCost of revenueGross margin
Jun 30, 2024$2.1B$437.7M$1.6B21.1%
Sep 30, 2024$2.2B$505.2M$1.7B23.1%
Dec 31, 2024$2.1B$469.7M$1.7B21.9%
Mar 31, 2025$2.1B$454.7M$1.7B21.2%

Quarterly comparisons

Compare the selected margin with the preceding quarter and the same fiscal quarter one year earlier.

Previous-quarter change

Dec 31, 2024

-0.6 pts

Year-over-year change

Mar 31, 2024

+2.5 pts

What the margin says

Filing-constrained interpretation of margin direction, comparisons, and what to monitor next.

Compared with the year-ago quarter, gross profit improved substantially, but gross margin weakened relative to the immediately preceding quarter. The sequential decline in gross margin from the prior quarter suggests that cost of revenue absorbed a slightly larger portion of revenue.

Revenue was essentially unchanged from the preceding quarter and higher than the same quarter one year earlier. Gross profit fell compared to the prior quarter but rose versus the year-ago period, and gross margin weakened sequentially and improved year over year.

Monitor whether the cost of revenue continues to grow at a rate similar to or faster than revenue in upcoming quarters.