BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
PKG
Packaging Corporation of America
PKG has a slight edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
PKG Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
PKG's revenue and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability and cash flow are stable.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA has the edge over PKG in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PKG PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 13x | $106 | -58% |
| Forward | 18x | $251 | — |
| Fair | 20x | $165 | -34% |
| Expensive | 27x | $220 | -12% |
| Current | 31x | $251 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PKG's PE is in its expensive range at 31x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BABA, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
PKG Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PKG, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
BABA has the edge over PKG on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
PKG Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $14.00 | +72% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.13 | -18% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.71 | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.23 | -14% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.58 | -3.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.89 | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.02 | +26% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.56 | +20% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.93 | +5.3% |
PKG's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $8.13 over the past year, against $11.03 in late 2022.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA's revenue has grown year over year for 16 quarters in a row: $40.2B last quarter, up 8.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA's operating margin was 7.2% last quarter, down 6.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PKG Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.6B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.5B | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.4B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.4B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.3B | +6% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.2B | +4.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.1B | +8.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.1B | +11% |
PKG has the edge over BABA on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | -3.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -2.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | -1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +2.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | +3.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 14% | +0.6 points |
PKG has the edge over BABA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
PKG Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $224.3M | -20% |
| Q2 2026 | $170.1M | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $164.6M | -14% |
| Q4 2025 | $127.6M | +2.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $280.1M | +55% |
| Q2 2025 | $129.9M | +290% |
| Q1 2025 | $191M | +4% |
| Q4 2024 | $124.1M | -36% |
PKG has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +11.1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +21.4M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -161M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -339M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -221M shares |
BABA has 2.4B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $269.8M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
BABA spent $270M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none the year before.
PKG Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -0.8% | -700K shares |
| 3 years | -0.6% | -500K shares |
| 5 years | -6% | -5.7M shares |
| Available history | -5.4% | -5.1M shares |
PKG has the edge over BABA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $58.8M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | $380.6M |
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA has the edge over PKG on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
PKG Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1x | Healthy |
PKG's net debt is about 1.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
PKG Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 58.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 75.0 | Neutral |
PKG's weekly RSI is 58 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 75 (neutral).
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA has the edge over PKG on valuation relative to its sector.
PKG PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | PKG | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 31x | 18x | 71% above |
| PE % | 98 | 47 | 51 pts above |
PKG is trading at 31x earnings, a 71% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
PKG Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $242.1 | 3.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $242.3 | 3.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $228.3 | 9.7% above |
| 100 week MA | $216.2 | 16% above |
| 200 week MA | $193.0 | 30% above |
PKG has the edge over BABA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.
PKG Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $111.8 | $136.1 | +22% |
| 2021 | $136.1 | $131.3 | -3.5% |
| 2022 | $131.3 | $128.7 | -2% |
| 2023 | $128.7 | $162.9 | +27% |
| 2024 | $162.9 | $227.1 | +39% |
| 2025 | $227.1 | $208.9 | -8% |
| 2026 YTD | $208.9 | $250.6 | +20% |
PKG has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.