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International Paper Company (IP) vs Pfizer, Inc. (PFE): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-08-03, IP is undervalued at $41, with a DCF intrinsic value of $124527309897 and a margin of safety of 100%. PFE is undervalued at $25, with an intrinsic value of $127985960274 and a margin of safety of 100%. Of the two, PFE has the wider margin of safety.

IP
International Paper Company
$40.83
VS
PFE
Pfizer, Inc.
$25.01

Rewards

IP
    PFE
    • ★Gross margin of 74.8% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
    • ★Trailing P/E of 19.1x is 37% below the historical average of 30.4x — potentially undervalued relative to its own history.

    Risks

    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.
    • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.87 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
    PFE
    • ⚠ROIC has declined by 15.9 percentage points over the past 4 years, which may signal competitive erosion.
    • ⚠PEG ratio of 2.94 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.
    • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 1.38 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.

    Key Valuation Metrics

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    IP
    PFE
    Valuation
    $1.76B
    Free Cash Flow
    $12.38B
    N/A
    FCF Yield
    N/A
    N/A
    Trailing P/E
    19.09
    13.89
    Forward P/E
    8.85
    Quality & Moat
    1.71%
    ROIC
    10.19%
    -16.48%
    ROE
    8.31%
    29.61%
    Gross Margin
    74.80%
    1.58
    PEG Ratio
    2.94
    Balance Sheet Safety
    0.62
    Net Debt / Equity
    0.57
    N/A
    Interest Coverage
    N/A
    2.34
    Net Debt / EBITDA
    2.03
    4.53%
    Dividend Yield
    6.88%
    IP: 1Ties: 1PFE: 8
    IPPFE

    Historical Fundamentals

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    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.

    PFE

    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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    IP
    N/A
    Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
    Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
    Σ Retained
    $-4.93B
    Δ Market Cap
    +$4.76
    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
    PFE
    N/A
    Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
    Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
    Σ Retained
    $-10.61B
    Δ Market Cap
    $-26.34
    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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    IP
    100.0% Margin of Safety
    Price is 100.0% below estimated fair value
    Current Price: $40.83
    Fair Value: $124527309897.42
    Strongly undervalued
    Undervalued
    Fairly valued
    Overvalued
    Strongly overvalued
    PFE
    100.0% Margin of Safety
    Price is 100.0% below estimated fair value
    Current Price: $25.01
    Fair Value: $127985960274.09
    Strongly undervalued
    Undervalued
    Fairly valued
    Overvalued
    Strongly overvalued

    Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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    IP

    What growth rate is the market pricing in at $41?

    -11.8%
    Market-Implied FCF Growth Rate

    Market roughly matching historical growth — reasonable.

    PFE

    What growth rate is the market pricing in at $25?

    -14.2%
    Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
    Standard FCF implies -15.0%

    The market implies -14.2% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

    Standard FCF implies a demanding -15.0%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

    Economic Moat Score

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    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.
    PFE
    35/100
    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 5 years of fundamental data.

    Forensic Accounting

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    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.
    PFE
    -2.53
    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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    IP
    Insiders 0.2%Institutions 99.5%Retail & Other 0.2%
    No. of Institutional Holders1,181
    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.
    PFE
    Insiders 0.1%Institutions 69.5%Retail & Other 30.4%
    No. of Institutional Holders3,661
    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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    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
    SILVERNAIL ANDREW K.
    Chief Executive Officer
    $2.00M
    @ $39.98 · 2026-01-30
    CONNOR CHRISTOPHER M
    Director
    $1.01M
    @ $40.37 · 2026-01-30
    Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
    PFE
    0
    Buys (3M)
    0
    Buys (12M)
    BLAYLOCK RONALD E
    Director
    $499,072
    @ $25.65 · 2025-02-13
    GOTTLIEB SCOTT
    Director
    $28,240
    @ $28.24 · 2024-10-30
    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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    IP
    0
    Sells (3M)
    1
    Sells (12M)
    Total value (12M): $409,815
    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
    SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
    Director
    $29,688
    @ $49.48 · 2024-09-16
    SAAB JOSEPH R
    General Counsel
    $115,412
    @ $47.30 · 2024-09-12
    GOUGHNOUR HOLLY G
    Officer
    $236,100
    @ $47.22 · 2024-09-06
    SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
    Director
    $28,740
    @ $47.90 · 2024-08-30
    ELLIS CLAYTON R
    Officer
    $439,470
    @ $48.83 · 2024-08-28
    SULLIVAN KATHRYN D.
    Director
    $27,660
    @ $46.10 · 2024-08-15
    Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
    PFE
    1
    Sells (3M)
    1
    Sells (12M)
    Total value (12M): $51,400
    DAMICO JENNIFER B.
    Officer
    $51,400
    @ $25.70 · 2026-06-09
    DAMICO JENNIFER B.
    Officer
    $64,825
    @ $25.93 · 2025-03-04
    DAMICO JENNIFER B.
    Officer
    $147,714
    @ $28.66 · 2024-08-13
    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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    IP
    FearGreed
    😐Neutral(43/100)

    "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.
    PFE
    FearGreed
    😐Neutral(52/100)

    "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.

    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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    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: Neutral (43)
    PFE
    ⚪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 (52)
    View IP Full AnalysisView PFE Full Analysis

    Frequently Asked Questions: IP vs PFE

    Is International Paper Company or Pfizer, Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼

    Based on our discounted cash flow model, PFE trades at a 100.0% margin of safety (intrinsic value $127985960274 vs. price $25), compared to IP's 100.0% margin of safety (intrinsic $124527309897 vs. $41).

    Which stock has a wider economic moat, International Paper Company or Pfizer, Inc.?▼

    PFE scores 35/100 (None 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 International Paper Company in financial distress?▼

    IP's Altman Z-Score of 0.9 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. PFE 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, International Paper Company or Pfizer, Inc.?▼

    PFE earns 10.2% ROIC versus IP's 1.7%. 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, International Paper Company's or Pfizer, Inc.'s?▼

    IP's dividend earns a safety score of 56/100 (Borderline), compared to PFE's 24/100 (Unsafe). IP has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

    IP vs PFE: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026? | SafetyMargin.io