One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$50.64 our estimate vs market $63.15
Wall Street consensus: $71.54 (41.3% higher than our fair-value estimate)
25% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Ball Corporation
BALL · NYQ · Consumer Cyclical · Packaging & Containers
Current price
$63.15
52-week range
$44.83 - $68.29
Market cap
$16.72B
Balance sheet
Stretched
4.43x Stretched
Net debt $7.08B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 5.1% last year.
- Reward Returns 17.2% on equity, ahead of 60% of its peers.
- Risk Stock trades 4.6% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 0.3% (peer median: 1.1%).
What this company does
Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation makes aluminum cans and containers used by many big brands for drinks, personal care items, and cleaning supplies. Most of their money comes from selling these aluminum cans to beverage companies that fill them with drinks like soda and beer. This matters because it shows how Ball is a key part of everyday products we all use, and its success is tied to how well those brands sell.
How the company got here
Ball Corporation started in 1880 when the Ball brothers began making tin cans with wooden jackets to hold kerosene, paint, or varnish. They soon realized glass jars would be more durable and versatile, leading them to manufacture glass jars and lids, most famously the Ball Mason jar. Over time, the company expanded beyond glass, venturing into metal packaging and even aerospace technology. In a significant strategic shift, Ball sold its aerospace division in February 2024 to become a more focused company solely dedicated to aluminum packaging. This move simplified its business and refocused its priorities on its core packaging operations.
What it actually does
Ball Corporation is a major global manufacturer of aluminum packaging. Think of the aluminum cans that hold your favorite sodas, beers, and energy drinks – Ball makes many of those. They also produce aluminum bottles, aerosol cans for personal care products like hairspray, and aluminum cups. Essentially, Ball provides the containers that many everyday consumer goods come in, focusing on aluminum as a sustainable and recyclable material.
Beverage Packaging, North and Central America
This is Ball's largest business segment, making up about half of its total revenue. It focuses on producing aluminum cans and bottles for a wide range of beverage companies, including those that make beer, soft drinks, and energy drinks. Ball works closely with these beverage fillers, often through long-term supply contracts, to ensure they have the packaging they need to get their products to consumers. The scale of this operation means Ball has a significant manufacturing presence close to its customers in these regions.
Beverage Packaging, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
This segment is responsible for manufacturing aluminum beverage containers for customers across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Similar to the North and Central America segment, it serves brewers, soft drink bottlers, and other beverage producers in these regions. Ball's operations in EMEA are designed to be close to its customers, ensuring efficient production and delivery of their packaging needs. This business represents a substantial portion of Ball's overall revenue.
Beverage Packaging, South America
This part of Ball's business focuses on producing aluminum beverage cans and other metal packaging for the South American market, with a significant presence in Brazil. It caters to the same types of customers as the other beverage packaging segments – beverage fillers looking for reliable and sustainable packaging solutions. While smaller than the North American segment, it is a key part of Ball's global manufacturing footprint.
What management is betting on now
Ball's current strategy revolves around maximizing its position as a pure-play aluminum packaging company. Management is focused on improving the efficiency of its manufacturing plants, ensuring they are running at optimal capacity. They are also emphasizing growth in higher-value packaging formats and working to increase the amount of recycled aluminum used in their products, aligning with sustainability goals. A key priority is to use the capital generated from operations and past sales to reduce debt and return value to shareholders, while still investing in the core packaging business.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$493.00M
FY2024 Q4
$393.00M
FY2025 Q1
$-746.00M
FY2025 Q2
$236.00M
FY2025 Q3
$257.00M
FY2025 Q4
$1.04B
FY2026 Q1
$-938.00M
FY2026 Q2
$467.00M
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
0.83
Operating cash flow
$608.00M
Free cash flow
$467.00M
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Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
0.77
Operating cash flow
$-777.00M
Free cash flow
$-938.00M
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Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
0.73
Operating cash flow
$1.21B
Free cash flow
$1.04B
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Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
1.18
Operating cash flow
$384.00M
Free cash flow
$257.00M
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Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
0.76
Operating cash flow
$332.00M
Free cash flow
$236.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
0.63
Operating cash flow
$-665.00M
Free cash flow
$-746.00M
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Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
-0.11
Operating cash flow
$500.00M
Free cash flow
$393.00M
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Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
—
Diluted EPS
0.65
Operating cash flow
$610.00M
Free cash flow
$493.00M
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Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $50.64 vs current price $63.15
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $71.54 (41.3% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $50.64 a share — about 19.8% away from today's price of $63.15, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $7.1B. Interest coverage 4.4x.
Net debt
$7.08B
Interest coverage
4.43x
Ball Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 4.4 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
BALL
BASELINE
Ball Corporation
Total debt $7.58B Interest coverage 4.43x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $5.85B Interest coverage 4.11x -7% vs BALL Has roughly the same debt cushion as BALL.
Total debt $15.14B Interest coverage 3.25x -27% vs BALL Carries about 1.4x less debt cushion than BALL.
Total debt $4.83B Interest coverage 3.48x -21% vs BALL Carries about 1.3x less debt cushion than BALL.
Total debt $4.99B Interest coverage 1.76x -60% vs BALL Carries about 2.5x less debt cushion than BALL.
What you should know
The case for and against BALL
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 5.1% last year.
-
Returns 17.2% on equity, ahead of 60% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 7/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 4.6% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Insider ownership is only 0.3% (peer median: 1.1%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
17.99x
Forward P/E
13.98x
P/B
2.91x
P/S
1.17x
EV/EBITDA
11.59x
PEG ratio
1.09x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
18.6%
Operating margin
9.2%
Net margin
6.6%
ROE
17.2%
ROA
4.6%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
1.31x
Current ratio
1.07x
Quick ratio
0.60x
Total debt
$7.58B
Total cash
$500.00M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$11.54B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
6.7%
EPS TTM
3.51
EPS 5Y CAGR
13.6%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.43B
Free CF TTM
$788.00M
FCF margin
6.8%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.2%
Payout ratio
22.8%
Last ex-div date
2026-09-01