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Bank of America Corporation (BAC) vs International Paper Company (IP): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-09-17, BAC is undervalued at $58, with a DCF intrinsic value of $142 and a margin of safety of 59%. IP is undervalued at $35, with an intrinsic value of $219 and a margin of safety of 84%. Of the two, IP has the wider margin of safety.

BAC
Bank of America Corporation
$57.73
VS
IP
International Paper Company
$34.51

Rewards

BAC
  • ★Bank of America Corporation scores 100/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.90 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
IP
  • ★FCF yield of 9.0% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.
  • ★Market sentiment is in extreme fear territory (score: 24/100) — historically, periods of fear have often presented buying opportunities.

Risks

BAC
  • ⚠Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.22 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
IP
  • ⚠ROIC has declined by 9.7 percentage points over the past 4 years, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • ⚠International Paper Company scores only 17/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • ⚠Share count has increased by 51% over the past 4 years, diluting existing shareholders.

Key Valuation Metrics

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BAC
IP
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$1.65B
N/A
FCF Yield
9.01%
13.33
Trailing P/E
N/A
10.91
Forward P/E
11.48
Quality & Moat
4.37%
ROIC
1.80%
11.20%
ROE
-16.48%
0.00%
Gross Margin
29.61%
0.90
PEG Ratio
1.58
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Net Debt / Equity
0.63
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
N/A
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.33
2.21%
Dividend Yield
5.43%
BAC: 4Ties: 1IP: 2
BACIP

Historical Fundamentals

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BAC

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

IP

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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BAC
$2.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$55.63B
Δ Market Cap
+$131.83B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
IP
N/A
Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
Σ Retained
$-4.93B
Δ Market Cap
+$8.67B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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BAC
59.4% Margin of Safety
Price is 59.4% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $57.73
Fair Value: $142.10
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
IP
84.2% Margin of Safety
Price is 84.2% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $34.51
Fair Value: $218.82
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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BAC

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

IP

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $35?

+5.2%
Market-Implied FCF Growth Rate

Market pricing in significantly higher growth than history — aggressive.

Economic Moat Score

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BAC
100/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by revenue predictability. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
IP
17/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though reinvestment efficiency shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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BAC
-2.31
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
IP
-2.75
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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BAC
Insiders 7.0%Institutions 71.3%Retail & Other 21.7%
No. of Institutional Holders4,542
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
IP
Insiders 0.2%Institutions 102.6%
No. of Institutional Holders1,206
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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BAC
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
IP
0
Buys (3M)
4
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $4.32M
TOZIER SCOTT A
Director
$313,009
@ $31.30 · 2026-05-01
GUSTAFSSON PER ANDERS
Director
$1.00M
@ $38.33 · 2026-03-12
CONNOR CHRISTOPHER M
Director
$1.01M
@ $40.37 · 2026-01-30
SILVERNAIL ANDREW K.
Chief Executive Officer
$2.00M
@ $39.98 · 2026-01-30
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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BAC
0
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $20.17M
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$4.41M
@ $46.94 · 2026-03-12
BRONSTEIN SHERI B
Officer
$2.99M
@ $49.91 · 2026-03-05
SCRIVENER THOMAS M
Officer
$2.49M
@ $49.82 · 2026-03-05
ATHANASIA DEAN C
President
$6.86M
@ $50.21 · 2026-03-03
BORTHWICK ALASTAIR M.
Chief Financial Officer
$3.42M
@ $50.24 · 2026-02-27
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
IP
2
Sells (3M)
2
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.16M
HAMIC WILLIAM THOMAS
President
$1.01M
@ $41.20 · 2026-08-07
GOUGHNOUR HOLLY G
Officer
$146,860
@ $41.96 · 2026-08-04
SAAB JOSEPH R
General Counsel
$409,815
@ $45.53 · 2025-09-16
GOUGHNOUR HOLLY G
Officer
$336,344
@ $44.85 · 2025-05-05
SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
Director
$35,034
@ $58.39 · 2024-11-29
SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
Director
$33,714
@ $56.19 · 2024-11-15
SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
Director
$32,100
@ $53.50 · 2024-10-31
SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
Director
$28,848
@ $48.08 · 2024-10-15
SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
Director
$29,208
@ $48.68 · 2024-09-30
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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BAC
FearGreed
😐Neutral(53/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
IP
FearGreed
😨Fear(24/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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BAC
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (53)
IP
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (24)
View BAC Full AnalysisView IP Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: BAC vs IP

Is Bank of America Corporation or International Paper Company more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, IP trades at a 84.2% margin of safety (intrinsic value $219 vs. price $35), compared to BAC's 59.4% margin of safety (intrinsic $142 vs. $58).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, Bank of America Corporation or International Paper Company?▼

BAC scores 100/100 (Wide moat), while IP scores 17/100 (None moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is Bank of America Corporation in financial distress?▼

BAC's Altman Z-Score of 0.2 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. IP scores 1.4 (Distress zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Bank of America Corporation or International Paper Company?▼

BAC earns 4.4% ROIC versus IP's 1.8%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, Bank of America Corporation's or International Paper Company's?▼

BAC's dividend earns a safety score of 79/100 (Safe), compared to IP's 50/100 (Borderline). BAC has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.