IP Strategy announced a major advancement in its validator operations to significantly expand is on-chain revenue engine: the initiation of long-term self-staking under custodial accounts at Crypto.com. The transition to long-term staking on the Company's validator is expected to increase overall yields to approximately 11.72%, more than doubling the returns previously earned through flexible staking. The validator upgrade also enables the Company to stake up to an additional 10.7 million $IP tokens that are currently unstaked. Moving these $IP tokens into long-term staking and raising the yield on staked assets to approximately 11.72% represents a potential 150% uplift in total validator earnings, expected to be achieved without any material increase in operating costs. The Company owns a total of 53.2 million $IP tokens and expects to transition most of them to its new custodied validator system by early Q1 2026.
Wall Street analysts forecast IP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IP is 49.48 USD with a low forecast of 36.00 USD and a high forecast of 57.80 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
10 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast IP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IP is 49.48 USD with a low forecast of 36.00 USD and a high forecast of 57.80 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
7 Buy
2 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 43.660
Low
36.00
Averages
49.48
High
57.80
Current: 43.660
Low
36.00
Averages
49.48
High
57.80
Truist
Buy
maintain
$47 -> $50
Al Analysis
2026-01-06
Reason
Truist
Price Target
$47 -> $50
Al Analysis
2026-01-06
maintain
Buy
Reason
Truist raised the firm's price target on International Paper to $50 from $47 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Early 2026 is expected to see modestly challenged packaging volumes due to limited promotions, though some CPGs are successfully driving volume while retaining price gains, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Beverage cans should continue growing in North America and Europe, and containerboard producers are likely to implement price increases successfully thanks to disciplined supply management, the firm says.
BofA
Buy
downgrade
$47 -> $43
2026-01-05
Reason
BofA
Price Target
$47 -> $43
2026-01-05
downgrade
Buy
Reason
BofA lowered the firm's price target on International Paper to $43 from $47 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. International Paper does have several risk factors associated with its 80/20 turnaround and the industry, while M&A and its transformation create muddiness relative to performance and consensus expectations, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm added that it believes its industry price forecasts are above the Street and sees this as a positive catalyst for the shares.
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RBC Capital
Matthew McKellar
Outperform
downgrade
$57 -> $55
2025-12-18
Reason
RBC Capital
Matthew McKellar
Price Target
$57 -> $55
2025-12-18
downgrade
Outperform
Reason
RBC Capital analyst Matthew McKellar lowered the firm's price target on International Paper to $55 from $57 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares as part of a broader research note previewing 2026 for Paper & Forest Products. 2025 was a challenging year for much of the forest products group, and with demand conditions seemingly remaining tepid into early 2026, the firm continues to prefer exposure to names where a supply response has either already played out to a significant degree - such as the containerboard group - or is seemingly in progress - such as lumber producers, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
JPMorgan
Detlef Winckelmann
Neutral
downgrade
$48 -> $46
2025-12-05
Reason
JPMorgan
Detlef Winckelmann
Price Target
$48 -> $46
2025-12-05
downgrade
Neutral
Reason
JPMorgan analyst Detlef Winckelmann lowered the firm's price target on International Paper to $46 from $48 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm says that with excess supply "looming in almost every market across almost every product grade," it expects 2026 to be a tough year for paper and packaging. However, the U.S. corrugated packaging market is facing a structural rationalization of capacity which should support prices through 2026, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
About IP
International Paper Company provides sustainable packaging solutions. The Company is a global producer of renewable fiber-based packaging products. Its segments include Packaging Solutions North America and Packaging Solutions EMEA. Packaging Solutions North America and Packaging Solutions EMEA segments are primarily focused on producing fiber-based packaging. It produces linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft of which a majority of its production is converted into corrugated packaging and other packaging. The Company’s recycling solutions and services manage fiber recovery programs for retailers, grocers, e-commerce, distribution centers, manufacturers, and its own box plants by managing recovered fiber streams used in packaging production.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
