New York, Jan 8, 2026, 13:08 EST — Regular session
Smurfit Westrock plc (SW) shares jumped about 8% in early afternoon trade on Thursday, rebounding a day after a sharp drop as a TipRanks report pointed to a profit-focused “reset” in North America. The stock was up $3.27 at $42.91, after trading between $39.51 and $42.91.
The move matters because Smurfit Westrock has become a quick-read stock for box demand, a proxy for how much goods move through retail and e-commerce. It closed Wednesday at $39.64, down 3.2% on the day and about 29% below its 52-week high of $56.05, MarketWatch data showed.
Other packaging names rose too, even as the broader market held near flat. International Paper gained about 5.5%, Packaging Corp of America added about 3.1% and Graphic Packaging climbed about 3.5%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF was little changed.
Smurfit Westrock has been trying to convince investors it can lift margins without chasing every box in a soft market. In October, it cut its full-year adjusted EBITDA forecast — a profit measure that strips out interest, tax and depreciation — after weak U.S. demand forced additional downtime at plants. “The demand patterns … still don’t seem to be there,” Chief Financial Officer Ken Bowles told Reuters at the time. 1
Away from the tape, the company has kept leaning into sustainability messaging. Smurfit Westrock said this week it was honored for work tied to protecting the habitat of the endangered Andean bear at Colombia’s 2025 Xposible Awards.
But the downside case has not gone away: boxes don’t ship themselves. A TipRanks ratings note flagged the risk that a more prolonged U.S. demand slowdown could delay an expected volume recovery beyond 2026.
For now, traders are treating the $40 area as a line the stock needs to hold, after Wednesday’s close just below it and Thursday’s snap-back. The bigger question is whether the move sticks once the sector’s early-January repositioning fades.
