Smurfit Westrock · Earnings release

www.smurfitwestrock.com

Smurfit Westrock Reports Second Quarter

July 29, 2026 – Smurfit Westrock plc (NYSE:

SW) today announced the financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.

Key Points:

•

Net Sales of $8,031 million

•

Net Income of $88 million, with a Net Income Margin of 1.1%

•

Adjusted EBITDA1 of $1,140 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA Margin1 of 14.2%

•

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities of $765 million

•

Quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per ordinary share

Smurfit Westrock plc’s performance for the three

months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025 (in millions, except margins and per share data):

Three months ended June 30,

Net Sales

$

$

Net Income (Loss)

$

$

)

Net Income (Loss) Margin

%

)%

Adjusted EBITDA1

$

$

Adjusted EBITDA Margin1

%

%

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities

$

$

Basic EPS

$

$

)

Adjusted Basic EPS1

$

$

Tony Smurfit, President and CEO, commented:

“I am pleased to report a strong second quarter

performance with Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $1,140 million and an Adjusted EBITDA Margin¹ of 14.2%. The quarter was impacted by significantly

higher input costs, particularly freight, which we managed to mitigate through our actions. Positively, demand for paper remained strong

throughout the quarter with a generally excellent supply/demand backdrop. As always, we fully expect to recover input cost inflation through

the second half of the year and beyond.

“In the two years since the formation of Smurfit

Westrock, we have driven a significant cultural and operational shift in our business. I have always believed that our strongest differentiators

are the commitment and dedication of our people and the strength of our culture. As we target an accelerated path to growth through our

Medium-Term Plan, I am excited that we have an excellent team which will realize Smurfit Westrock’s true potential.

“Our North American region continues to make

significant operational and commercial progress. Our team is progressively implementing our owner operator model and improving operating

efficiency. Pricing initiatives have been implemented to recover increased input costs across practically all paper grades, and we are

beginning to see the benefits from our commercial approach in our converting businesses. As we begin the third quarter, our mill system

is generally running full with strong order books and an improving outlook for our converting operations.

“Our EMEA and APAC region continues to outperform.

This region is exceptionally well positioned and our actions on improving productivity and providing superior service and innovation for

customers is gaining significant new business for us. While certain input costs are continuing to rise, these are being recovered with

the customary lag.

“Our Latin American region delivered another

excellent performance as a result of our strong market positions and continuing benefits from our investment programs. We see significant

growth opportunities, and we are well positioned to develop this region through both internal investment and acquisition.

“In April we hosted over 200 global customers

at our flagship innovation packaging event. I am very proud that we continue to be recognized by customers across all regions with numerous

awards received for our approach towards innovation, sustainability and service. We continuously transfer best practice, operating

excellence and innovation across markets, regions and continents for the benefit of our customers.

1 Adjusted EBITDA,

Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Adjusted Basic EPS are non-GAAP measures. See the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations”

below for discussion and reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures.

1

“We also continued to optimize our system with

a mill closure in the UK and are in the process of closing a further 8 facilities in our converting business in both Europe and the North

American region.

"Looking ahead, we are

very encouraged by the current market back drop and the significant improvements we have made within our business. With input costs remaining

elevated, especially freight, G1we currently expect third quarter Adjusted EBITDA2 to be

approximately $1.3 billion and G2for the full year Adjusted EBITDA2 we expect to be in

the range of $4.9 billion to $5.1 billion with good momentum through the latter half of 2026 and beyond.

Dividend

Smurfit Westrock plc announced today that its Board

approved a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share on its ordinary shares. The quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per ordinary share is payable

on September 10, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 14, 2026.

Earnings Call

Management will host an

earnings conference call today at 7:30 AM ET / 12:30 PM BST to discuss Smurfit Westrock’s financial results. The conference

call will be accessible through a live webcast. Interested investors and other individuals can access the webcast, earnings release,

and earnings presentation via the Company’s website at www.smurfitwestrock.com. The webcast will be available at

https://investors.smurfitwestrock.com/overview and a replay of the webcast will be available on the website shortly after the

call.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes certain “forward-looking

statements” (including within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”),

and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) regarding, among other things, the

plans, strategies, outcomes, outlooks and prospects, both business and financial, of Smurfit Westrock, the expected benefits of the completed

combination of Smurfit Kappa Group plc (re-registered as Smurfit Kappa Group Limited) (“Smurfit Kappa”) and WestRock Company

(“WestRock”) (the “Combination”) (including, but not limited to, synergies, as well as our scale, geographic reach

and product portfolio), our medium-term plan, demand outlook, operating environment and the impact of announced closures and additional

economic downtime and any other statements regarding Smurfit Westrock's future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, results of operations,

financial condition and cash flows, or future events, outlook or performance.

2 Adjusted EBITDA

is a non-GAAP financial measure. We have not reconciled Adjusted EBITDA outlook to the most comparable GAAP outlook because it is not

possible to do so without unreasonable efforts due to the uncertainty and potential variability of reconciling items, which are dependent

on future events and often outside of management’s control and which could be significant. Because such items cannot be reasonably

predicted with the level of precision required, we are unable to provide an outlook for the comparable GAAP measure (net income).

2

Statements that are not historical facts,

including statements about the beliefs and expectations of the management of Smurfit Westrock, are forward-looking statements. Words

such as “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “estimate”, “project”, “plan”, “believe”, “expect”, “target”, “prospects”, “potential”, “commit”, “forecasts”, “aims”, “considered”, “likely” and variations of

these words and similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the

exclusive means of identifying such statements. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and

projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and

uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and

uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon future circumstances that may or may not occur. Actual results may differ

materially from the current expectations of the Company depending upon a number of factors affecting its business, including risks

associated with the integration and performance of the Company following the Combination. Important factors that could cause actual

results to differ materially from plans, estimates or expectations include: our ability to deliver on our medium-term plan; changes

in demand environment; our ability to deliver on our closure plan and associated efforts; our future cash payments associated with

these initiatives; potential future cost savings associated with such initiatives; the amount of charges and the timing of such

charges or actions described herein; potential future impairment charges; accuracy of assumptions associated with the charges;

economic, competitive and market conditions generally, including macroeconomic uncertainty, customer inventory rebalancing, the

impact of inflation and increases in energy, raw materials, shipping, labor and capital equipment costs; geo-economic fragmentation

and protectionism such as tariffs, trade wars or similar governmental actions affecting the flows of goods, services or currency

(including the implementation of tariffs by the U.S. federal government and reciprocal tariffs and other protectionist or

retaliatory measures governments in Europe, Asia, and other countries have taken or may take in response); the impact of prolonged

or recurring U.S. federal government shutdowns and any resulting volatility in the capital markets or interruptions in the

Company’s access to capital; the impact of public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics and any related company or

governmental policies and actions to protect the health and safety of individuals or governmental policies or actions to maintain

the functioning of national or global economies and markets; reduced supply of raw materials, energy and transportation, including

from supply chain disruptions and labor shortages; developments related to pricing cycles and volumes; intense competition; the

ability of the Company to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity problem due to a hurricane, flood,

earthquake or other weather-event, terrorist attack, war, pandemic, security breach, cyber-attack, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural

or man-made events, including the ability to function remotely during long-term disruptions; the Company's ability to respond to changing

customer preferences and to protect intellectual property; the amount and timing of the Company's capital expenditures; risks related

to international sales and operations; failures in the Company's quality control measures and systems resulting in faulty or contaminated

products; cybersecurity risks, including threats to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data in the Company's systems;

works stoppages and other labor disputes; the Company’s ability to establish and maintain effective internal controls over financial

reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and remediate any weaknesses in controls and processes; the Company's

ability to retain or hire key personnel; risks related to sustainability matters, including climate change and scarce resources, as well

as the Company's ability to comply with changing environmental laws and regulations; the Company's ability to successfully implement strategic

transformation initiatives; results and impacts of acquisitions by the Company; the Company's significant levels of indebtedness; the

impact of the Combination on the Company's credit ratings; the potential impairment of assets and goodwill; the availability of sufficient

cash to distribute dividends to the Company's shareholders in line with current expectations; the scope, costs, timing and impact of any

restructuring of operations and corporate and tax structure; evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes; changes in economic, financial,

political and regulatory conditions in Ireland, the United States and elsewhere, and other factors that contribute to uncertainty and

volatility, natural and man-made disasters, civil unrest, geopolitical uncertainty, and conditions that may result from legislative, regulatory,

trade and policy changes associated with the current or subsequent Irish, U.S. or other administrations; legal proceedings instituted

against the Company; actions by third parties, including government agencies; the Company's ability to promptly and effectively integrate

Smurfit Kappa's and WestRock's businesses; the Company's ability to achieve the synergies and value creation contemplated by the Combination;

the Company's ability to meet expectations regarding the accounting and tax treatments of the Combination, including the risk that the

Internal Revenue Service may assert that the Company should be treated as a U.S. corporation or be subject to certain unfavorable U.S.

federal income tax rules under Section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, as a result of the Combination; other factors

such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behavior of other market participants, the actions of regulators and other

factors such as changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which the Company's group operates or in economic or technological

trends or conditions, and other risk factors included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including

the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company’s forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of

this press release or as of the date they are made. Neither the Company nor any of its associates or directors, officers or advisers provides

any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements

will actually occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Other than in accordance with

its legal or regulatory obligations, the Company is under no obligation, and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation,

to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Smurfit Westrock

Smurfit Westrock is a leading provider of paper-based

packaging solutions in the world, with approximately 96,000 employees across 40 countries.

Contact

Ciarán Potts

FTI Consulting

Smurfit Westrock

E: ir@smurfitwestrock.com

E: smurfitwestrock@fticonsulting.com

3

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)

(in millions, except per share data)

Three months ended June 30,

Six months ended June 30,

Net sales

$

$

$

$

Cost of goods sold

)

)

)

)

Gross profit

Selling, general and administrative expenses

)

)

)

)

Impairment and restructuring costs

)

)

)

)

Transaction and integration-related expenses associated with the Combination

(1

)

)

(1

)

)

Operating profit

Interest expense, net

)

)

)

)

Pension and other postretirement non-service income, net

7

Other expense, net

)

)

)

)

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense

)

)

)

)

Net income (loss)

)

Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interests

1

(2

)

3

—

Net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders

$

$

)

$

$

Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders

$

$

)

$

$

Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders

$

$

)

$

4

Segment Information

We report our financial results of operations in the following

three reportable segments:

i.

North America, which includes operations in the U.S., Canada

and Mexico.

i.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“MEA” and together

with Europe, “EMEA”) and Asia-Pacific (“APAC”).

ii.

Latin America (“LATAM”), which includes operations

in Central America and the Caribbean, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Segment profitability is measured

based on Adjusted EBITDA, defined as income before income taxes, unallocated corporate costs, depreciation, depletion and amortization,

interest expense, net, pension and other postretirement non-service income, net, share-based compensation expense, other expense, net,

impairment and restructuring costs, transaction and integration-related expenses associated with the Combination and other specific items

that management believes are not indicative of the ongoing operating results of the business.

Financial information by segment is summarized below (in

millions, except margins).

Three months ended June 30,

Six months ended June 30,

Net sales (unaffiliated customers)

North America

$

$

$

$

Europe, MEA and APAC

LATAM

Total

$

$

$

$

Add net sales (intersegment)

North America

$

$

$

$

Europe, MEA and APAC

5

LATAM

—

3

—

Total

$

$

$

$

Net sales (aggregate)

North America

$

$

$

$

Europe, MEA and APAC

LATAM

Total

$

$

$

$

Adjusted EBITDA

North America

$

$

$

$

Europe, MEA and APAC

LATAM

Total

$

$

$

$

Adjusted EBITDA Margin3

North America

%

%

%

%

Europe, MEA and APAC

%

%

%

%

LATAM

%

%

%

%

3Adjusted EBITDA / Net sales (aggregate)

5

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)

(in millions, except share and per share data)

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents (amounts related to consolidated variable interest entities of $1 million and $3 million at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively)

$

$

Accounts receivable, net (amounts related to consolidated variable interest entities of $860 million and $876 million at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively)

Inventories

Other current assets

Total current assets

Property, plant and equipment, net

Goodwill

Intangibles, net

Prepaid pension asset

Other non-current assets (amounts related to consolidated variable interest entities of $394 million and $393 million at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively)

Total assets

$

$

Liabilities and Equity

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

$

$

Accrued expenses

Accrued compensation and benefits

Current portion of debt

Other current liabilities

Total current liabilities

Non-current debt due after one year (amounts related to consolidated variable interest entities of $366 million and $376 million at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively)

Deferred tax liabilities

Pension liabilities and other postretirement benefits, net of current portion

Other non-current liabilities (amounts related to consolidated variable interest entities of $336 million and $335 million at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively)

Total liabilities

Equity:

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 10,000 shares outstanding

—

—

Common stock, $0.001 par value; 9,500,000,000 shares authorized; 524,522,908 and 522,310,486 shares outstanding at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively

1

1

Treasury stock, at cost; 706,129 and 1,449,320 common stock at June 30, 2026, and December 31, 2025, respectively

)

)

Capital in excess of par value

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

)

)

Retained earnings

Total shareholders’ equity

Noncontrolling interests

Total equity

Total liabilities and equity

$

$

6

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

(in millions)

Three months ended June 30,

Six months ended June 30,

Operating activities:

Net income (loss)

$

$

)

$

$

Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation, depletion and amortization

Impairment of assets

Cash surrender value increase in excess of premiums paid

)

)

)

)

Share-based compensation expense

Deferred income tax benefit

)

)

)

)

Pension and other postretirement funding more than cost

)

)

)

)

Other

2

5

(1

)

6

Change in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and divestitures:

Accounts receivable

)

)

)

)

Inventories

)

7

)

Other assets

—

)

Accounts payable

)

Income taxes

(1

)

)

9

Accrued liabilities and other

)

(9

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

Investing activities:

Capital expenditures

)

)

)

)

Cash paid for purchase of businesses, net of cash acquired

(1

)

(1

)

)

(5

)

Proceeds from corporate owned life insurance

8

3

3

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment

—

—

Other

—

—

3

5

Net cash used for investing activities

)

)

)

)

Financing activities:

Additions to debt

—

Repayments of debt

)

)

)

)

Debt issuance costs

(1

)

(1

)

(4

)

(6

)

Changes in commercial paper, net

)

)

)

Other debt additions (repayments), net

(2

)

)

Repayments of finance lease liabilities

)

(7

)

)

)

Proceeds from re-issuance of shares from treasury stock

—

—

—

Tax paid in connection with shares withheld from employees

(2

)

(3

)

)

)

Cash dividends paid to shareholders

)

)

)

)

Other

—

—

1

1

Net cash used for financing activities

)

)

)

)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

4

—

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

3

)

)

)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$

$

$

$

7

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations

Smurfit Westrock reports its

financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). However, management

believes certain non-GAAP financial measures provide Smurfit Westrock’s Board of Directors, investors, potential investors, securities

analysts and others with additional meaningful financial information that should be considered when assessing its ongoing performance.

Smurfit Westrock management also uses these non-GAAP financial measures in making financial, operating and planning decisions, and in

evaluating company performance. Non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to be considered in isolation of or as a substitute for,

or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP and should be viewed in addition to, and not as an

alternative for, the GAAP results. The non-GAAP financial measures we present may differ from similarly captioned measures presented by

other companies. Smurfit Westrock uses the non-GAAP financial measures “Adjusted EBITDA”, “Adjusted EBITDA Margin”

and “Adjusted Basic Earnings Per Share” (referred to as “Adjusted Basic EPS”). We discuss below details of the

non-GAAP financial measures presented by us and provide reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable

financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Definitions

Smurfit Westrock uses the non-GAAP

financial measures “Adjusted EBITDA” and “Adjusted EBITDA Margin” to evaluate its overall performance. The composition

of Adjusted EBITDA is not addressed or prescribed by GAAP. Smurfit Westrock defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income before income tax expense,

depreciation, depletion and amortization, interest expense, net, pension and other postretirement non-service income, net, share-based

compensation expense, other expense, net, impairment and restructuring costs, transaction and integration-related expenses associated

with the Combination and other specific items that management believes are not indicative of the ongoing operating results of the business.

Management believes Adjusted

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin measures provide Smurfit Westrock’s management, Board of Directors, investors, potential investors,

securities analysts and others with useful information to evaluate Smurfit Westrock’s performance relative to other periods because

it adjusts out non-recurring items that management believes are not indicative of the ongoing results of the business. Adjusted EBITDA

Margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Net Sales.

Smurfit Westrock uses the non-GAAP

financial measure “Adjusted Basic EPS”. Management believes this measure provides Smurfit Westrock’s management, Board

of Directors, investors, potential investors, securities analysts and others with useful information to evaluate Smurfit Westrock’s

performance because it excludes impairment and restructuring costs, transaction and integration-related expenses associated with the Combination

and other specific items that management believes are not indicative of the ongoing operating results of the business. Smurfit Westrock

and its Board of Directors use this information when making financial, operating and planning decisions and when evaluating Smurfit Westrock’s

performance relative to other periods. Smurfit Westrock believes that the most directly comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted Basic EPS

is Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders (referred to as “Basic EPS”).

8

Reconciliations to Most Comparable GAAP Measure

Set forth below is a reconciliation of the non-GAAP

financial measures Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin to Net Income (Loss) and Net Income (Loss) Margin, the most directly comparable

GAAP measures, for the periods indicated (in millions, except margins).

Three months ended June 30,

Six months ended June 30,

Net income (loss)

$

$

)

$

$

Income tax expense

Depreciation, depletion and amortization

Impairment and restructuring costs

Transaction and integration-related expenses associated with the Combination

1

1

Interest expense, net

Pension and other postretirement non-service income, net

)

(7

)

)

)

Share-based compensation expense

Other expense, net

Other adjustments

6

Adjusted EBITDA

$

$

$

$

Net Sales

$

$

$

$

Net Income (Loss) Margin4

%

)%

%

%

Adjusted EBITDA Margin5

%

%

%

%

Set forth below is a reconciliation of the non-GAAP

financial measure Adjusted Basic EPS to Basic EPS, the most directly comparable GAAP measure for the periods indicated.

Three months ended June 30,

Six months ended June 30,

Basic EPS

$

$

)

$

$

Impairment and restructuring costs

Accelerated depreciation related to machine closures

—

—

—

Transaction and integration-related expenses associated with the Combination

—

—

Other adjustments

Income tax on above items

)

)

)

)

Adjusted Basic EPS

$

$

$

$

4Net Income (Loss) / Net Sales

5Adjusted EBITDA / Net Sales

9