CLW
Clearwater Paper Corporation
CLW's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 107x earnings, about 11 times its usual 10x. Analysts expect losses to shrink, though they disagree widely on how much.
CLW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
CLW's cash flow is currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
CLW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 2.8x | $0.36 | -97% |
| Fair | 10x | $1.30 | -91% |
| Expensive | 28x | $3.65 | -74% |
| Current | 107x | $13.97 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CLW's PE is in its expensive range at 107x.
CLW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect CLW's losses to shrink, with revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CLW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $0.13 | -98% |
| Q2 2026 | -$3.07 | -125% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.57 | -115% |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.15 | -110% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.40 | +950% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.05 | +360% |
| Q1 2025 | $10.33 | +74% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.73 | +86% |
CLW's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.13 over the past year, against $12.05 in mid-2025.
CLW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $384.9M | -3.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $374.8M | -4.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $360.3M | -4.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $386.4M | -0.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $399M | +1.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $391.8M | -33% |
| Q1 2025 | $378.2M | -24% |
| Q4 2024 | $387.1M | -25% |
CLW's revenue fell from its 2024 peak and has held roughly level since: $385M last quarter, down 3.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7% | +15 points |
| Q2 2026 | -6.4% | -8.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -2.9% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 1.9% | +6 points |
| Q3 2025 | -14% | -14 points |
| Q2 2025 | 2.5% | +5.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | -1.1% | -7.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | -4% | -11 points |
CLW's operating margin was 0.7% last quarter, up 15 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CLW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $15.9M | +1.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $59.4M | +$110.5M |
| Q1 2026 | -$8.6M | +$22.6M |
| Q4 2025 | -$9.9M | +$58.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $15.7M | +$46.5M |
| Q2 2025 | -$51.1M | -1803% |
| Q1 2025 | -$31.2M | -177% |
| Q4 2024 | -$68.1M | -268% |
CLW's free cash flow has turned positive again: $57M over the past year, against −$135M the year before.
CLW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +8K shares |
| 1 year | 0% | -8K shares |
| 3 years | -4.9% | -824K shares |
| 5 years | -3.3% | -551K shares |
| Available history | -2.4% | -399K shares |
CLW has 16M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $100,000 |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $4.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $10.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $4M |
CLW has spent almost nothing on buybacks in the past year.
CLW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.7x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 22.5x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 7.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 6.3x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 12.1x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 4.1x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 2.2x | Moderate |
CLW's net debt is about 7.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 12 years a year ago.
CLW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 36.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 9.5 | Oversold |
CLW's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 10 (oversold).
CLW PE vs Basic Materials Sector
| Metric | CLW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 107x | 19x | 477% above |
| PE % | 90 | 40 | 50 pts above |
CLW is trading at 107x earnings, a 477% premium to the Basic Materials sector's median of 19x.
CLW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $17.3 | 19% below |
| 20 week MA | $18.7 | 25% below |
| 50 week MA | $17.1 | 18% below |
| 100 week MA | $21.1 | 34% below |
| 200 week MA | $28.7 | 51% below |
CLW is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 51% below its 200-week average.
CLW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.4 | $37.5 | +76% |
| 2021 | $37.5 | $36.1 | -3.9% |
| 2022 | $36.1 | $37.1 | +3% |
| 2023 | $37.1 | $36.1 | -2.7% |
| 2024 | $36.1 | $30.4 | -16% |
| 2025 | $30.4 | $18.0 | -41% |
| 2026 YTD | $18.0 | $14.0 | -22% |
CLW has finished three years in a row lower, and it's down 22% so far in 2026.