SONOCO PRODUCTS COSON
SONOCO PRODUCTS CO Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosure
Goodwill and other intangible assets
Goodwill
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the year ended December 31, 2025, are as follows:
| Consumer Packaging | Industrial Paper Packaging | All Other | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of January 1, 2025 | $ | 1,807,971 | $ | 486,636 | $ | 231,050 | $ | 2,525,657 | |||||||||||||||
| Divestitures | — | (2,043) | (173,250) | (175,293) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Measurement period adjustments | (27,399) | — | — | (27,399) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation | 167,419 | 23,783 | (2,556) | 188,646 | |||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2025 | $ | 1,947,991 | $ | 508,376 | $ | 55,244 | $ | 2,511,611 | |||||||||||||||
Goodwill activity reflected under the caption “Measurement period adjustments” relates to the December 2024 acquisition of Eviosys. Goodwill activity reflected under the caption “Divestitures” relates to the November 2025 sale of the ThermoSafe business, part of the All Other group of businesses, and the April 2025 sale of a small recycling business in Asheville, North Carolina, part of the Industrial Paper Packaging segment. See Note 4 for additional information.
The Company assesses goodwill for impairment annually during the third quarter, or from time to time when warranted by the facts and circumstances surrounding individual reporting units or the Company as a whole. The Company completed its most recent annual goodwill impairment testing during the third quarter of 2025 and analyzed certain qualitative and quantitative factors in determining whether a goodwill impairment existed. The Company’s assessments reflected a number of significant management assumptions and estimates including the Company’s forecast of sales growth during the discrete period, EBITDA, and discount rates. Changes in these assumptions could materially impact the Company’s conclusions. Based on its assessments, the Company concluded that there was no impairment of goodwill for any of its reporting units.
Although no reporting units failed the annual impairment test, in management’s opinion, the goodwill balances of the Metal Packaging EMEA and Global Paper Products Asia Pacific (“APAC”) reporting units are at risk of impairment in the near term if the reporting unit’s operations do not perform in line with management’s expectations, or if there is a negative change in the long-term financial outlook for the reporting unit or in other factors such as the discount rate. In the case of Metal Packaging EMEA, the lower differential between the fair value and carrying value of the reporting unit is due to the acquisition of Eviosys in December 2024, at which time the majority of assets and liabilities acquired were recorded at fair value.
In the annual goodwill impairment analysis completed during the third quarter of 2025, projected future cash flows for the Metal Packaging EMEA and Global Paper Products APAC reporting units were discounted at 12.0% and 13.0%, respectively, and their estimated fair values were determined to exceed their individual carrying values by approximately 3.1% and 9.0%, respectively.
Based on equal weighting of the income and market approaches and holding other valuation assumptions constant, the discount rates for the Metal Packaging EMEA and Global Paper Products APAC reporting units would have to increase to 12.7% and 15.4%, respectively, or projected EBITDA across all future periods would have to be reduced by approximately 3.0% and 8.4%, respectively, in order for the estimated fair values of the reporting units to fall below carrying values. At December 31, 2025, the total goodwill associated with the Metal Packaging EMEA and Global Paper Products APAC reporting unit was $1,397,039 and $26,867, respectively.
During the time subsequent to the annual evaluation, and at December 31, 2025, the Company considered whether any events and/or changes in circumstances had resulted in the likelihood that the goodwill of any of its reporting units may have been impaired. It is management’s opinion that no such events and/or changes in circumstances have occurred.
Other intangible assets
Details at December 31 are as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Other Intangible Assets, Gross: | |||||||||||
| Patents | $ | 29,403 | $ | 28,941 | |||||||
| Customer lists | 2,895,345 | 2,679,372 | |||||||||
| Trade names | 28,417 | 38,623 | |||||||||
| Proprietary technology | 234,336 | 226,936 | |||||||||
| Other | 2,054 | 2,339 | |||||||||
| Total Other Intangible Assets, Gross | $ | 3,189,555 | $ | 2,976,211 | |||||||
| Accumulated Amortization: | |||||||||||
| Patents | $ | (18,706) | $ | (15,955) | |||||||
| Customer lists | (431,704) | (332,680) | |||||||||
| Trade names | (12,488) | (13,239) | |||||||||
Proprietary technology | (41,990) | (26,203) | |||||||||
| Other | (1,193) | (1,436) | |||||||||
| Total Accumulated Amortization | $ | (506,081) | $ | (389,513) | |||||||
| Other Intangible Assets, Net | $ | 2,683,474 | $ | 2,586,698 | |||||||
During 2025, the Company recorded measurement period adjustments related to the December 2024 acquisition of Eviosys that increased the previously reported fair value of customer lists by $42,379. The effect on amortization expense in the prior period was immaterial. In addition, the Company wrote off other intangible assets, primarily customer lists, with a net book value of $1,455 as a result of the divestiture of a small recycling business in Asheville, North Carolina. See Note 4 for additional information.
In conjunction with the sale of ThermoSafe on November 3, 2025, the Company disposed of intangible assets with a net book value of $9,405. The gross value of these intangible assets, which consisted primarily of customer lists and trade names, was $89,607 and the accumulated amortization was $80,202 at the time of the sale.
Other intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over their respective useful lives when management determines that the straight-line method approximates the pattern of consumption of the respective intangible assets or in relation to the asset’s specific pattern of consumption if management determines that the straight-line method does not provide a fair approximation of the consumption of benefits. These lives generally range from to twenty years. The Company has no intangible assets with indefinite lives.
Aggregate amortization expense on intangible assets was $182,431, $78,595, and $67,323 for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. Amortization expense on other intangible assets is expected to approximate $182,100 in 2026, $181,900 in 2027, $181,800 in 2028, $180,800 in 2029 and $178,500 in 2030 based on intangible assets as of December 31, 2025.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 28, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 28, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 28, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 26, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 28, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 28, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Feb 28, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Mar 1, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 29, 2016 | |
About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures
Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.
Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.