International Paper wrote off $2.47B of DS Smith goodwill a year after buying it

International Paper completed its acquisition of packaging rival DS Smith on 31 January 2025, folding the EMEA business into a new Packaging Solutions (PS) EMEA reporting unit. Less than a year later, on 29 January 2026, it reported a pre-tax, non-cash goodwill impairment of $2.47 billion on that PS EMEA unit — recorded as of 31 December 2025.

The charge was decided in conjunction with the annual strategic review and the decision to separate the company. Full-year 2025 came in at a $2,838 million loss from continuing operations and a $3,516 million total net loss, with diluted EPS from continuing operations of −$5.61. The quarter also carried a further $1.07 billion of impairment related to its GCF fibre business.

The response was structural: International Paper announced it would split into two independent, publicly traded packaging companies — Packaging Solutions North America and Packaging Solutions EMEA — to be completed in 12 to 15 months. The goodwill taken on at the DS Smith close was written off almost immediately after, an admission that the premium paid for the EMEA combination was not supported by what the business would earn.