WestRock Co - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021

OR

For the transition period from              to             

Commission file number 001-38736

WESTROCK COMPANY

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (770) 448-2193

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒     No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐   No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes ☒   No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).   Yes ☒    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).     Yes   ☐     No   ☒

The aggregate market value of the common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of March 31, 2021 (based on the closing price per share as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on such date), was approximately $13,705 million.

As of November 5, 2021, the registrant had 265,001,543 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on January 28, 2022 are incorporated by reference in Part III.

WESTROCK COMPANY

INDEX TO FORM 10-K

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PART I

Unless the context otherwise requires, “we”, “us”, “our”, “WestRock” and “the Company” refer to the business of WestRock Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries and its partially-owned consolidated subsidiaries for periods on or after November 2, 2018 and to WRKCo Inc. (formerly known as WestRock Company, “WRKCo”) for periods prior to November 2, 2018.

General

WestRock is a multinational provider of sustainable fiber-based paper and packaging solutions. We partner with our customers to provide differentiated, sustainable paper and packaging solutions that help them win in the marketplace. Our team members support customers around the world from our operating and business locations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

On November 2, 2018, pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of January 28, 2018, among WRKCo, KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (“KapStone”), WestRock Company (formerly known as Whiskey Holdco, Inc.), Whiskey Merger Sub, Inc. and Kola Merger Sub, Inc., the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of KapStone through a transaction in which: (i) Whiskey Merger Sub, Inc. merged with and into WRKCo, with WRKCo surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and (ii) Kola Merger Sub, Inc. merged with and into KapStone, with KapStone surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (together, the “KapStone Acquisition”). As a result, among other things, the Company became the ultimate parent of WRKCo, KapStone and their respective subsidiaries, and the Company changed its name to “WestRock Company” and WRKCo changed its name to “WRKCo Inc.”. WRKCo (formerly known as WestRock Company) was the accounting acquirer in the transaction; therefore, the historical consolidated financial statements of WRKCo for periods prior to the KapStone Acquisition are also considered to be the historical financial statements of the Company. The Company is the successor issuer to both WRKCo and KapStone pursuant to Rule 12g-3(c) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). See “Note 3. Acquisitions and Investments” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

We report our financial results of operations in the following two reportable segments: Corrugated Packaging, which consists of our containerboard mills, corrugated packaging and distribution operations, as well as our merchandising displays and recycling procurement operations; and Consumer Packaging, which consists of our consumer mills, food and beverage and partition operations. Prior to the completion of our monetization program in fiscal 2020, we had a third reportable segment, Land and Development, which previously sold real estate, primarily in the Charleston, SC region. Following completion of the monetization of these assets, we ceased reporting the results of the Land and Development segment as a separate segment.

Products

Corrugated Packaging Segment

We are one of the largest integrated producers of linerboard and corrugating medium (“containerboard”), corrugated products and specialty papers (including kraft papers and saturating kraft) in North America measured by tons produced, one of the largest producers of high-graphics preprinted linerboard measured by net sales in North America and one of the largest manufacturers of temporary promotional point-of-purchase displays in North America measured by net sales. We have integrated corrugated operations in North America, Brazil and India. We believe we are one of the largest paper recyclers in North America and our recycling operations provide substantially all of the recycled fiber that we consume to our containerboard and paperboard mills, as well as to third parties. Our Brazil operations own and operate forestlands that provide virgin fiber to our mill in Brazil.

We operate an integrated corrugated packaging system that manufactures primarily containerboard, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging and preprinted linerboard for sale to consumer and industrial products manufacturers and corrugated box manufacturers. We produce a full range of high-quality corrugated containers designed to protect, ship, store, promote and display products made to our customers’ merchandising and distribution specifications. We convert corrugated sheets into corrugated products ranging from one-color

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protective cartons to graphically brilliant point-of-purchase packaging. Our corrugated container plants serve local customers and regional and large national accounts. Corrugated packaging is used to provide protective packaging for shipment and distribution of food, paper, health and beauty, and other household, consumer, commercial and industrial products. Corrugated packaging may also be graphically enhanced for retail sale, particularly in club store locations. We provide customers with innovative packaging solutions to help them promote and sell their products. We provide structural and graphic design, engineering services and custom, proprietary and standard automated packaging machines, offering customers turn-key installation, automation, line integration and packaging solutions. We offer a machinery solution that creates pouches that replace single-use plastics, including bubble mailers. We also distribute corrugated packaging materials and other specialty packaging products, including stretch film, void fill, carton sealing tape and other specialty tapes, through our network of warehouses and distribution facilities. To make corrugated sheet stock, we feed linerboard and corrugating medium into a corrugator that flutes the medium to specified sizes, glues the linerboard and fluted medium together, and slits and cuts the resulting corrugated paperboard into sheets to customer specifications. Our containerboard mills and corrugated container operations are integrated with the majority of our containerboard production used internally by our corrugated container operations. The balance is either used in trade swaps with other manufacturers or sold domestically and internationally.

We design, manufacture and, in certain cases, pack temporary displays for sale to consumer products companies and retailers. These displays are used as marketing tools to support new product introductions and specific product promotions in mass merchandising stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, home improvement stores and other retail locations. We also design, manufacture and, in some cases, pre-assemble permanent displays for these customers. We make temporary displays primarily from corrugated paperboard. Unlike temporary displays, permanent displays are restocked with our customers’ product; therefore, they are constructed primarily from metal, plastic, wood and other durable materials. We provide contract packing services, such as multi-product promotional packing and product manipulation, such as multipacks and onpacks. We manufacture and distribute point of sale material utilizing litho, screen and digital printing technologies. We manufacture lithographic laminated packaging for sale to our customers that require packaging with high quality graphics and strength characteristics.

Our recycling operations primarily procure recovered paper (also known as recycled fiber) from our converting facilities and from third parties, such as factories, warehouses, commercial printers, office complexes, grocery and retail stores, document storage facilities, paper converters and other wastepaper collectors. We handle a wide variety of grades of recovered paper, including old corrugated containers, office paper, box clippings, newspaper and print shop scraps. We operate recycling facilities that collect, sort, grade and bale recovered paper and, after sorting and baling, we transfer it to our containerboard and paperboard mills for processing or sell it principally to manufacturers of paperboard or containerboard in the United States (“U.S.”), as well as manufacturers of tissue, newsprint, roofing products and insulation, and to export markets. We operate a nationwide fiber marketing and brokerage system that serves large regional and national accounts, as well as our containerboard and paperboard mills, and sells scrap materials from our converting businesses and mills. Many of our recycling facilities are located close to our containerboard and paperboard mills, which helps promote the availability of supply with reduced shipping costs. We conduct our recycling operations as a procurement function, focusing on the procurement of low cost, high quality recycled fiber for our mill system and, therefore, we do not record recycling net sales and the margin from these operations has reduced cost of goods sold.

Sales of corrugated packaging products to external customers accounted for 65.4%, 64.6% and 64.2% of our net sales in fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. See “Note 7. Segment Information” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, as well as Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, for additional information.

Consumer Packaging Segment

We operate integrated virgin and recycled fiber paperboard mills and consumer packaging converting operations, which convert items such as folding cartons, interior partitions, inserts and labels. Our integrated system of virgin and recycled mills produces paperboard for our converting operations and third parties. We internally consume or sell to manufacturers of folding cartons and other paperboard products our coated natural kraft, bleached paperboard and coated recycled paperboard, and internally consume or sell to manufacturers of solid fiber interior packaging, tubes and cores, book covers and other paperboard products our specialty recycled paperboard. The mill owned by our Seven Hills Paperboard LLC (“Seven Hills”) joint venture in Lynchburg, VA manufactures gypsum paperboard liner for sale to our joint venture partner.

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We are one of the largest manufacturers of folding cartons in North America. We believe we are the largest manufacturer of solid fiber partitions in North America measured by net sales. Our folding cartons are used to package items such as food, paper, beverages, dairy products, tobacco, confectionery, health and beauty and other household consumer, commercial and industrial products, primarily for retail sale. Our folding cartons are also used by our customers to attract consumer attention at the point-of-sale. We manufacture express mail packages for the overnight courier industry, provide inserts and labels, as well as rigid packaging and other printed packaging products, such as transaction cards (e.g., credit, debit, etc.), brochures, product literature, marketing materials (such as booklets, folders, inserts, cover sheets and slipcases) and grower tags and plant stakes for the horticultural market. For the global healthcare market, we manufacture paperboard packaging for over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Our customers generally use our inserts and labels to provide customer product information either inside a secondary package (e.g., a folding carton) or affixed to the outside of a primary package (e.g., a bottle). Folding cartons typically protect customers’ products during shipment and distribution, and employ graphics to promote them at retail. We manufacture folding cartons from recycled and virgin paperboard, laminated paperboard and various substrates with specialty characteristics, such as grease masking and microwaveability. We print, coat, die-cut and glue the cartons to customer specifications and ship finished cartons to customers for assembling, filling and sealing. We employ a broad range of offset, flexographic, gravure, backside printing, coating and finishing technologies, as well as iridescent, holographic, textured and dimensional effects to provide differentiated packaging products, and support our customers with new package development, innovation and design services and package testing services. We manufacture and sell our solid fiber and corrugated partitions and die-cut paperboard components principally to glass container manufacturers, producers of beer, food, wine, spirits, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and the automotive industry.

Sales of consumer packaging products to external customers accounted for 34.6%, 35.3% and 35.7% of our net sales in fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. See “Note 7. Segment Information” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, as well as Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, for additional information.

Land and Development Segment

During fiscal 2020, we completed the monetization of the various real estate holdings that we owned that were concentrated in the Charleston, SC region. Sales in our Land and Development segment to external customers accounted for 0.1% and 0.1% of our net sales in fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively. See “Note 7. Segment Information” for additional information. Following completion of the monetization of these assets, we ceased reporting the results of the Land and Development segment as a separate segment.

Seasonality

While our businesses are not materially impacted by seasonality, there is some variability in demand that occurs from quarter to quarter, with net sales in the first quarter of each fiscal year typically being the lowest. As such, we disclose net sales, segment income and shipment data by segment by quarter in Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”. Generally, we expect more of our earnings and cash flows to be generated in the second half of the fiscal year than in the first half of the fiscal year due to these variations and other factors, including the timing of scheduled mill maintenance outages.

Raw Materials

The primary raw materials used by our mill operations are recycled fiber at our recycled containerboard and paperboard mills and virgin fiber from hardwoods and softwoods at our virgin containerboard and paperboard mills. Certain of our virgin containerboard is manufactured with some recycled fiber content. Our overall fiber sourcing for all of our mills is approximately 65% virgin and 35% recycled. See “Item 2. Properties” for additional information. Recycled fiber prices and virgin fiber prices can fluctuate significantly.

Containerboard and paperboard are the primary raw materials used by our converting operations. Our converting operations use many different grades of containerboard and paperboard. We supply substantially all of our converting operations' needs for containerboard and paperboard from our own mills and through the use of trade swaps with other manufacturers. These arrangements allow us to optimize our mill system and reduce freight costs. Because there are other suppliers that produce the necessary grades of containerboard and paperboard used in our converting operations, we believe we would be able to source significant replacement quantities from other suppliers in the event that we incur production disruptions for recycled or virgin containerboard and

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paperboard. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We May Face Increased Costs For, or Inadequate Availability of, Raw Materials, Energy and Transportation”.

Energy

Energy is one of the most significant costs of our mill operations. The cost of natural gas, coal, oil, electricity and wood by-products (biomass) at times has fluctuated significantly. In our coated and uncoated recycled paperboard mills, we use primarily natural gas and electricity to generate steam used in the paper making process. In our integrated kraft paper mills, we use natural gas, biomass, fuel oil and some coal to generate steam used in the pulping and paper making processes and to generate some or all of the electricity used on site. We primarily use electricity and natural gas to operate our converting facilities. We generally purchase these products from suppliers at market or tariff rates. See Item 1. “Business — Governmental Regulation — Environmental” for additional information. See also Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We May Face Increased Costs For, or Inadequate Availability of, Raw Materials, Energy and Transportation”. See also Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — “Energy” and “Derivative Instruments / Forward Contracts” for additional information regarding our energy consumption.

Transportation

Inbound and outbound freight is a significant cost for us. Factors that influence our freight expense are distance between our shipping and delivery locations, distance from our facilities to our customers and suppliers, mode of transportation (rail, truck, intermodal and ocean) and freight rates, which are influenced by supply and demand and fuel costs. We experienced higher freight costs in fiscal 2021 following a decline in fiscal 2020. The principal markets for our products are in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We May Face Increased Costs For, or Inadequate Availability of, Raw Materials, Energy and Transportation”.

Sales and Marketing

None of our external customers individually accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated net sales in fiscal 2021. We generally manufacture our products pursuant to our customers’ orders. We believe that we have good relationships with our customers. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We Depend on Certain Large Customers”.

As a result of our vertical integration, our mills’ sales volumes may be directly impacted by changes in demand for our packaging products. During fiscal 2021, approximately two-thirds of our coated natural kraft tons shipped, approximately three-fifths of our coated recycled paperboard tons shipped and approximately one-fifth of our bleached paperboard tons shipped were delivered to our converting operations, primarily to manufacture folding cartons, and approximately four-fifths of our containerboard tons shipped, including trade swaps and buy/sell transactions, were delivered to our converting operations to manufacture corrugated products. Under the terms of our Seven Hills joint venture arrangement, our joint venture partner is required to purchase all of the qualifying gypsum paperboard liner produced by Seven Hills. Excluding the production from Seven Hills and from our Aurora, IL mill, which is converted into book covers and other products, approximately one-third of our specialty recycled paperboard tons shipped in fiscal 2021 were delivered to our converting operations, primarily to manufacture interior partitions. We have the ability to move our internal sourcing among certain of our mills to optimize the efficiency of our operations.

As a result of our broad portfolio of differentiated and sustainable paper and packaging solutions, we serve more than 15,000 customers, including 188 customers who bought at least $1 million from each of our Corrugated Packaging and Consumer Packaging segments in fiscal 2021. We believe that our ability to leverage our full portfolio of differentiated solutions and capabilities enables us to set ourselves apart from our competitors.

We market our products primarily through our own sales force. We also market a number of our products through independent sales representatives and independent distributors. We generally pay our sales personnel a combination of base salary, commissions and annual bonus. We pay our independent sales representatives on a commission basis. Orders from our customers generally do not have significant lead times. We discuss foreign net sales to unaffiliated customers and other non-U.S. operations’ financial and other segment information in “Note 7. Segment Information” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Competition

We operate in a competitive global marketplace and compete with many large, well established and highly competitive manufacturers and service providers. Our business is affected by a range of macroeconomic conditions, including industry capacity changes, global competition, economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad, as well as fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

The industries in which we operate are highly competitive, and no single company dominates any of those industries. Our containerboard and paperboard operations compete with integrated and non-integrated national and regional companies operating primarily in North America, and to a limited extent, manufacturers outside of North America. Our competitors include large and small, vertically integrated companies and numerous smaller non-integrated companies. In the corrugated packaging and folding carton markets, we compete with a significant number of national, regional and local packaging suppliers in North America and abroad. In the solid fiber interior packaging, promotional point-of-purchase display and converted paperboard products markets, we primarily compete with a smaller number of national, regional and local companies offering highly specialized products.

Since all of our businesses operate in highly competitive industry segments, we regularly discuss sales opportunities for new business or for renewal of existing business with customers. Our packaging products compete with packaging made from other materials, including plastics. The primary competitive factors we face include price, design, product innovation, quality, service and sustainability, with varying emphasis on these factors depending on the product line and customer preferences. Our machinery solutions represent one example of how we compete by providing differentiated solutions that create value for our customers. We believe that we compete effectively with respect to each of these factors and we obtain feedback on our performance with periodic customer surveys, among other means.

The industries in which we operate have undergone consolidation. Within the packaging products industry, larger customers, with an expanded geographic presence, have tended to seek suppliers that can, because of their broad geographic presence, efficiently and economically supply all or a range of their packaging needs. In addition, our customers continue to demand higher quality products meeting stricter quality control requirements. Increasing demand for more sustainable products is also impacting our industry. See Item 1. “Business — Sustainability” for additional information.

See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We Face Intense Competition” and “Risk Factors — We May Be Adversely Affected by Factors That Are Beyond Our Control, Such as U.S. and Worldwide Economic and Financial Market Conditions, and Social and Political Change”.

Governmental Regulation

Health and Safety

Our business involves the use of heavy equipment, machinery and chemicals and requires the performance of activities that create safety exposures. The health and safety of our teammates is our most important responsibility, and our goal is to create a 100% safe work environment for our team members. Our safety strategy focuses on People, Process, Prevention and Performance. We seek to reduce exposures and eliminate life changing events through engagement, execution of targeted, results-driven activities, and implementing systems that promote continuous improvement. Our commitment to safety is reinforced by our use of the WestRock Safety Excellence Management System, a robust safety program and training curriculum.

We are subject to a broad range of foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to occupational health and safety, and our safety program includes measures required for compliance. We have incurred, and will continue to incur, capital expenditures to meet our health and safety compliance requirements, as well as to continually improve our safety systems. We believe that future compliance with occupational health and safety laws and regulations will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (“COVID-19”) continues to evolve and the extent of its effect on our operational and financial performance in future periods will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration, scope and severity of the pandemic (including due to new variants such as Delta), the actions taken to contain or mitigate its impact (including the

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distribution and effectiveness of vaccines), and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and related containment measures and government responses, among others.

On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a plan directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) to issue an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) requiring all private employers with 100 or more workers to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or a weekly test for all employees. The ETS was issued on November 5, 2021. On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order staying enforcement and implementation of the ETS. We are assessing the anticipated requirements and monitoring future developments. We cannot currently assess the impact it will have on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows and it is possible that the operational impact and cost of compliance with the ETS may be substantial. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — Our Business Has Been, and Will Continue to Be, Impacted by the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus”.

Certain governmental authorities in locations where we do business have established asbestos standards for the workplace. Although we do not use asbestos in manufacturing our products, asbestos containing material (“ACM”) is present in some of the facilities we lease or own. For those facilities where ACM is present and ACM is subject to regulation, we have established procedures for properly managing it.

Environmental

Environmental compliance requirements are a significant factor affecting our business. We employ manufacturing processes that involve discharges to water, air emissions, water intake and waste handling and disposal activities. These processes are subject to numerous federal, state, local and international environmental laws and regulations, as well as the requirements of environmental permits and similar authorizations issued by various governmental authorities. Complex and lengthy processes may be required to obtain and renew approvals, permits, and licenses for new, existing or modified facilities. Additionally, the use and handling of various chemicals or hazardous materials require release prevention plans and emergency response procedures. Our integrated chemical pulping mills in the U.S. and Brazil are subject to numerous and more complex environmental programs and regulations, but all of our manufacturing facilities have environmental compliance obligations. We have incurred, and expect that we will continue to incur, significant capital, operating and other expenditures to comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations, including, for example, projects to replace and/or upgrade our air pollution control devices, wastewater treatment systems, and other environmental infrastructure. Changes in these laws, as well as litigation relating to these laws, could result in more stringent or additional environmental compliance obligations for the Company that may require additional capital investments or increase our operating costs.

We are involved in various administrative and other proceedings relating to environmental matters that arise in the normal course of business, and we may become involved in similar matters in the future. Although the ultimate outcome of these proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty and we cannot at this time estimate any reasonably possible losses based on available information, we do not believe that the currently expected outcome of any environmental proceedings and claims that are pending or threatened against us will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

We face potential liability under federal, state, local and international laws as a result of releases, or threatened releases, of hazardous substances into the environment from various sites owned and operated by third parties at which Company-generated wastes have allegedly been deposited. Generators of hazardous substances sent to off-site disposal locations at which environmental contamination exists, as well as the owners of those sites and certain other classes of persons, are liable for response costs for the investigation and remediation of such sites under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”) and analogous laws. While joint and several liability is authorized under CERCLA, liability is typically shared with other potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) and costs are commonly allocated according to relative amounts of waste deposited and other factors.

In addition, certain of our current or former locations are being investigated or remediated under various environmental laws, including CERCLA. Based on information known to us and assumptions, we do not believe that the costs of these investigation and remediation projects will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. However, the discovery of contamination or the imposition of additional obligations, including natural resources damages at these or other sites in the future, could impact our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

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We believe that we can assert claims for indemnification pursuant to existing rights we have under certain purchase and other agreements in connection with certain remediation sites. In addition, we believe that we have insurance coverage, subject to applicable deductibles or retentions, policy limits and other conditions, for certain environmental matters. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful with respect to any claim regarding these insurance or indemnification rights or that, if we are successful, any amounts paid pursuant to the insurance or indemnification rights will be sufficient to cover all our costs and expenses. We also cannot predict with certainty whether we will be required to perform remediation projects at other locations, and it is possible that our remediation requirements and costs could increase materially in the future and exceed current reserves. In addition, we cannot currently assess with certainty the impact that future changes in cleanup standards or federal, state or other environmental laws, regulations or enforcement practices will have on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We are Subject to a Wide Variety of Laws, Regulations and Other Requirements That are Subject to Change and May Impose Substantial Compliance Costs”.

We estimate that we will invest approximately $21 million for capital expenditures during fiscal 2022 in connection with matters relating to environmental compliance. It is possible that our capital expenditure assumptions and project completion dates may change, and our projections are subject to change due to items such as the finalization of ongoing engineering projects or changes in environmental laws and regulations.

Climate Change

Some of our paper mills, our most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities, burn renewable biomass to generate more than 60 percent of their energy needs based on overall fuel mix. Most of these facilities also self-generate the steam and power needed for their manufacturing processes using combined heat and power or “cogeneration” systems. Our recycling operations help to divert approximately seven to eight million tons of paper and packaging from landfills where it would otherwise degrade and release greenhouse gases in the form of methane. Our fiber procurement activities create economic incentives for landowners and family tree farmers to maintain their holdings as working forests that sequester carbon and provide many other environmental benefits, including protection for fresh water supplies and habitats for diverse species of plants and animals.

In 2015, we established a goal to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions per ton of production by 20% from a 2015 baseline by 2025. As of our September 30, 2020 reporting, we achieved a 14% reduction of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) per ton of production and an absolute reduction of 22% from our baseline. We have accomplished GHG reductions in our business primarily by displacing coal with natural gas and investing in new biomass boilers at our Covington, VA and Demopolis, AL mills. In June 2021, the Company announced that it will be working with the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”) to set a new GHG emissions reduction target that is aligned with current climate science.

Our Executive Leadership Team is actively involved in setting and executing our sustainability strategy, including climate-related initiatives such as setting a science-based GHG target. Board-level oversight of climate-related and other corporate sustainability matters resides with the Nominating & Governance Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors. The corporate sustainability team works with the Company’s operational and functional groups to incorporate sustainability and climate objectives into operations. The team also oversees the development of our sustainability report, which includes data on performance against climate-related targets. The corporate sustainability team reports to the President, Innovation, Commercial & Sustainability, who reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

Addressing issues related to climate change presents opportunities for our business. For example, we produce renewable energy and generate renewable energy credits (“RECs”) at our integrated kraft mills. We have sold RECs in the past and may sell them in the future. The RECs we generate are flexible, market-based tools that support the renewable energy market. Our recycling activities also may present the opportunity to generate offsets that could be used to meet climate-related obligations for ourselves or others.

Climate change also presents potential risks and uncertainties for us. With respect to physical climate risks, our manufacturing operations may be impacted by weather-related events, such as hurricanes and floods, potentially resulting in lost production, supply chain disruptions and increased material costs. Unpredictable weather patterns also may impact virgin fiber supplies and prices, which may fluctuate during prolonged periods of

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heavy rain or drought. On the other hand, changes in climate also could result in more accommodating weather patterns for greater periods of time in certain areas, which may create favorable fiber market conditions. We incorporate a review of meteorological forecast data into our fiber procurement decisions and strategies. To the extent that climate-related risks materialize, and we are unprepared for them, we may incur unexpected costs, which could have a material effect on our financial results of operations.

Responses to climate change may result in regulatory risks as new laws and regulations aimed at reducing GHG emissions come into effect. These rules and regulations could take the form of cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, or GHG reductions mandates for utilities that could increase the cost of purchased electricity. New climate rules and regulations also may result in higher fossil fuel prices or fuel efficiency standards that could increase transportation costs. Certain jurisdictions in which we have manufacturing facilities or other investments have already taken actions to address climate change. In the U.S., the EPA has issued the Clean Air Act permitting regulations applicable to certain facilities that emit GHG. The EPA also has promulgated a rule requiring certain industrial facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent per year to file an annual report of their emissions. While we have facilities subject to existing GHG permitting and reporting requirements, the impact of these requirements has not been material to date.

In addition to these national efforts, some U.S. states in which we have manufacturing operations, including Washington, New York and Virginia, are taking measures to reduce GHG emissions, such as requiring GHG emissions reporting or developing regional cap-and-trade programs. In addition, several of our international facilities are located in countries that have already adopted GHG emissions trading programs. Other countries in which we conduct business, including China, European Union member states and India, have set GHG reduction targets in accordance with the agreement signed in April 2016 among over 170 countries that established a framework for reducing global GHG emissions (also known as the “Paris Agreement”), which became effective in November 2016 and to which the United States formally rejoined in February 2021.

Regulation related to climate change continues to develop in the areas of the world where we conduct business. We have systems in place for tracking the GHG emissions from our energy-intensive facilities, and we carefully monitor developments in climate related laws, regulations and policies to assess the potential impact of such developments on our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and disclosure obligations. Compliance with climate programs may require future expenditures to meet GHG emission reduction obligations in future years. These obligations may include carbon taxes, the requirement to purchase GHG credits, or the need to acquire carbon offsets. Also, we may be required to make capital and other investments to displace traditional fossil fuels, such as fuel oil and coal, with lower carbon alternatives, such as biomass and natural gas.

Sustainability

At WestRock, we say sustainability is in every fiber of our company. Our vision, Imagining and Delivering on the Promise of a Sustainable Future, is represented by three pillars:

We deliver our fiber-based packaging solutions by way of our core purpose, Connecting People to Products®.

WestRock is an example of the circular economy in action, from the renewable resources we use to manufacture our paperboard, to the recyclable packaging we make for our customers. Our recycling operations bring the process full circle by collecting recovered fiber that is used by our own paper mills and by others to produce new paper products. We have a long history of recycling and are one of the largest recyclers in the paper industry. We recover approximately seven to eight million tons annually of paper and other recyclable materials that might otherwise go into landfills.

All of our North American virgin fiber sourcing regions are certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI®) Fiber Sourcing standard. Our forestland in Brazil is certified to the Brazilian Forest Certification Programme (CERFLOR®), the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC®) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®). To provide traceability for the virgin fiber used in our operations, we have certified more than 95 percent of our wholly owned, fiber-based manufacturing facilities to three, internationally recognized chain-of-custody standards: SFI®, PEFC® and FSC®.

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WestRock has been recognized for our sustainability efforts through, among other things, industry award programs and inclusion in the Dow Jones World and North American Sustainability Indices and the FTSE 4 Good index. We are committed to our vision of Imagining and Delivering on the Promise of a More Sustainable Future to create long-term value for our people, communities, customers and the planet.

Patents and Other Intellectual Property

We hold a substantial number of foreign and domestic trademarks, trademark applications, trade names, patents, patent applications and licenses relating to our business, our products and our production processes. Our patent portfolio consists primarily of utility and design patents relating to our products and manufacturing operations. Our portfolio also includes exclusive rights to substantial proprietary packaging system technology in the U.S. and other licenses obtained from a third-party. Our brand name and logo, and certain of our products and services, are protected by domestic and foreign trademark rights. Our patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights, particularly those relating to our converting operations, are important to our operations as a whole. Our intellectual property has various expiration dates.

Employees

At September 30, 2021, we employed approximately 49,900 people, of which approximately 78% were located in the U.S. and Canada and 22% were located in Europe, South America, Mexico and Asia Pacific. Of the approximately 49,900 employees, approximately 71% were hourly and 29% were salaried. Approximately 56% of our hourly employees in the U.S. and Canada are covered by collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”), which typically have four to six-year terms. Approximately 26% of those employees covered under CBAs are operating under agreements that expire within one year and approximately 16% of those employees are working under expired contracts.

While we have experienced isolated work stoppages in the past, we have been able to resolve them, and we believe that working relationships with our employees are generally good. While the terms of our CBAs vary, we believe the material terms of the agreements are customary for the industry, the type of facility, the classification of the employees and the geographic location covered.

In December 2019, the United Steelworkers Union (“USW”) ratified a new master agreement that applies to substantially all of our U.S. facilities represented by the USW. The agreement has a four-year term and covers a number of specific items, including wages, medical coverage and certain other benefit programs, substance abuse testing, and safety. Individual facilities will continue to have local agreements for subjects not covered by the master agreement and those agreements will continue to have staggered terms. The master agreement permits us to apply its terms to USW employees who work at facilities we acquire during the term of the agreement, including most former MeadWestvaco Corporation, KapStone and other acquired facilities. The master agreement covers approximately 65 of our U.S. operating locations and approximately 8,900 of our employees.

See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We May Be Adversely Impacted By Work Stoppages and Other Labor Relations Matters”.

Human Capital

Human Capital Management

The attraction, retention and development of exceptional teammates is critical to our success. We accomplish this, in part, by developing the capabilities of our team members through our continuous learning, development and performance management programs. These programs include our safety, six sigma, supply chain, Leadership Excellence, Commercial Excellence and Manager Fundamentals programs. We sponsor early in career rotations and college hire programs that support our functions and local operations. We build partnerships with schools, universities and associations to promote future careers in manufacturing.

The capabilities of our workforce have evolved as our business and strategy have evolved. We have established new roles reflecting the talent and capabilities needed by our business, both now and for what we expect in the future. We created the roles of Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Innovation Officer, reflecting our evolving go-to-market strategy and our focus on innovation and organic growth. We invested in roles and

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capabilities in our workforce to support our business strategy, including hiring a new Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President of Science and Innovation. We have invested in our e-commerce and digital technology capabilities through new roles, talent and programs. These investments reflect our focus on enhancing our capabilities in the areas of sustainability, organic growth, innovation and material science. As our business evolves, we will remain focused on having the right human capital capabilities, systems and processes in place to support our strategy.

Nevertheless, the market for both hourly workers and professional workers was particularly challenging in fiscal 2021 and we expect that the market for both hourly workers and professional workers will remain challenging at least through fiscal 2022. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We Operate in a Challenging Market for Talent and May Fail to Attract, Motivate, Train and Retain Qualified Personnel, Including Key Personnel”.

Culture

WestRock’s culture is grounded in our values:

At the core of our employee listening systems is our bi-annual engagement survey, which is augmented with employee pulse checks after hire and promotion, and exit interviews/surveys. These pulse checks/surveys enable us to gather feedback directly from our workforce to inform our programs and employee needs globally. Approximately 86% of team members globally participated in our fiscal 2021 WestRock engagement survey, which covers topics such as company strategy and direction, leadership, inclusion, safety, culture, pay and benefits, and learning and development.

Safety

The health and safety of our teammates is our most important responsibility, and our goal is to create a 100% safe work environment for our team members. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we have remained focused on protecting the health and safety of our team members while meeting the needs of our customers. Shortly after the outset of COVID-19, we were an early adopter of enhanced safety measures and practices across our facilities to protect employee health and safety and ensure a reliable supply of essential products to our customers. We monitor and track the impact of the pandemic on our teammates and within our operations, and proactively modify or adopt new practices to promote their health and safety.

We implemented a wide variety of measures to protect the health and well-being of our employees, suppliers, and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We made substantial modifications to travel policies and implemented office and manufacturing protocols to include quarantine, cleaning and sanitizing, and childcare support. We reconfigured manufacturing processes and lines to create distance and improved ventilation, where needed. We also provided on-site flu and COVID vaccination clinics and extended our existing Employee Assistance Program and other community resources to help with personal and family care. See Item 1. “Business — Governmental Regulation — Health & Safety” for more information on safety.

Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging

Our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging objective is to be a company where each of us genuinely belongs, is respected and valued, and can do our best work, and where diversity, inclusion and equity are competitive advantages.

At September 30, 2021, 21% of our global workforce was comprised of females and 33% of our U.S. based workforce was comprised of people of color. Our board of directors includes four females (representing 36% of directors) and one person of color (representing 9% of directors). We have implemented a multi-year Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging action plan that we expect will increase our workforce diversity, advance inclusion,

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equity and belonging at all our locations, accelerate the development and career movement of diverse talent and ensure diverse succession plans such that we continue to create future opportunities for all of our teammates. For instance, in October 2020, management recommended, and the board of directors approved, several actions aimed at increasing our diversity and advancing our inclusive environment. One program that has contributed to our overall progress involves the internal and external posting of our open positions and the inclusion of female and racially or ethnically diverse candidates on our recruitment slates. In addition, we adopted an approach where new management-supported director nominees and chief executive officers recruited from outside WestRock are chosen by the board of directors. We set a four-year goal for gender and ethnic representation that aligns with our long-term expectations for creating a truly diverse and inclusive organization – one that reflects our customers and communities.

We included a diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging modifier in our fiscal 2021 short-term incentive plan for our top 12 executives. The modifier was tied to the achievement of certain performance measures under our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging action plan. We expect the diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging modifier to be applied to approximately 100 of our top executives and leaders in fiscal 2022.

In collaboration with organizations, such as the Executive Leadership Council, Pathways and Signature, we are providing external development opportunities for our diverse talent. To connect and develop team members within WestRock, we support highly engaged resource groups for early in career, women, racial and ethnic minorities, military, people with different abilities, or who identify as LGBTQI+, where team members can go for support, networking, and community-building.

We conduct pay equity analyses annually in the U.S., Great Britain and France to help identify any unsupported distinctions in pay between team members of different races, gender and/or age, as permitted by local law. We adjust base pay, where appropriate.

Talent Attraction, Retention and Development

During fiscal 2021, we continued investing in people, programs and systems to meet the increased talent demand in a dynamic marketplace. We have expanded our relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Manufacturers and other partners and associations. To retain critical operational talent in hyper labor markets and businesses, we have restructured work schedules, updated work rules, and provided retention bonuses, where needed.

To ensure team members get off to a fast start, we provided new employee orientations to over 10,000 new hires in fiscal 2021, covering a range of topics including company values, culture, diversity and inclusion and Standards of Business Conduct. In fiscal 2021, WestRock launched our on-line learning library with over 1,000 courses in five languages, and with over 200 playlists by topic area or experience/skill set.

We invest in our senior leadership through a leadership excellence program, and developed new front-line management pilot programs to be launched in fiscal 2022. Commercial team members participate in an assessment and development workshop which focuses on the capabilities needed today and tomorrow, ensuring we are able to anticipate and meet our customers’ changing requirements. We continue to invest in our technical development curriculum with a focus on building the best technical, engineering, operational talent.

Focused on our core company values, all team members complete required learning programs like Standards of Business Conduct, Privacy, and preventing harassment courses.

International Operations

Our operations outside the U.S. are conducted through subsidiaries located in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Sales attributable to non-U.S. operations were 18.5%, 17.7% and 18.2% of our net sales in fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, some of which were transacted in U.S. dollars. See “Note 7. Segment Information” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. See also Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We are Exposed to Risks Related to International Sales and Operations”.

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Available Information

Our Internet address is www.westrock.com. Our Internet address is included herein as an inactive textual reference only. The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference herein and should not be considered part of this report. We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements (and any amendments thereto) and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and we make available free of charge most of our SEC filings through our Internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after filing with the SEC. You may access these SEC filings via the hyperlink that we provide on our website to a third-party SEC filings website. We also make available on our website our board committee charters, as well as the corporate governance guidelines adopted by our board of directors, our Code of Conduct for employees, our Code of Conduct and Ethics for the Board of Directors and our Code of Ethical Conduct for Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Senior Financial Officers. Any amendments to, or waiver from, any provision of these codes that are required to be disclosed will be posted on our website. We will also provide copies of these documents, without charge, at the written request of any stockholder of record. Requests for copies should be mailed to: WestRock Company, 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30328, Attention: Corporate Secretary. 

Forward-Looking Information

This report contains statements that relate to future, rather than past, events. These statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements made in this report often address our expected future business and financial performance and financial conditions, and often contain words such as “may”, “will”, “could”, “would”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “estimate”, “project”, “plan”, “believe”, “expect”, “target” and “potential”, or refer to future time periods. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and our current expectations, beliefs, plans or forecasts, and include statements made in this report regarding, among other things:

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Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and our current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events. You should not rely on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to future events, risks and uncertainties — many of which are beyond our control, dependent on actions of third parties or currently unknown to us — as well as potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. Particular uncertainties that could cause our actual results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements include among others: our ability to respond effectively to the impact of COVID-19; our ability to achieve benefits from acquisitions and the timing thereof, including synergies, performance improvements; our ability to successfully implement capital projects; adverse legal, reputational and financial effects on the Company resulting from cyber incidents and the effectiveness of the Company’s business continuity plans during a ransomware incident; the level of demand for our products; our ability to successfully identify and make performance and productivity improvements; anticipated returns on our capital investments; the possibility of and uncertainties related to planned and unplanned mill outages or production disruptions; investment performance, discount rates, return on pension plan assets and expected

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compensation levels; fluctuations in energy, raw materials, shipping and capital equipment costs; fluctuations in selling prices and volumes; intense competition; the impact of operational restructuring activities; potential liability for outstanding guarantees and indemnities and the potential impact of such liabilities; the potential loss of key customers; changes in law, economic and financial conditions, including interest and exchange rate volatility, commodity and equity prices; our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so; the amount and timing of our cash flows and earnings and other conditions, which may affect our ability to pay our quarterly dividend at the planned level or to repurchase shares at planned levels; our capital allocation plans, as such plans may change including with respect to the timing and size of share repurchases, acquisitions, joint ventures, dispositions and other strategic actions; the impact of announced price increases or decreases and the impact of the gain and loss of customers; compliance with governmental laws and regulations, including those related to the environment; the scope, and timing and outcome of any litigation, claims, or other proceedings or dispute resolutions and the impact of any such litigation, claims or other proceedings or dispute resolutions on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows; the scope, costs, timing and impact of any restructuring of our operations and corporate and tax structure; income tax rates, future deferred tax expense and future cash tax payments; future debt repayment; the occurrence of severe weather or natural disasters or other unanticipated problems, such as labor difficulties, equipment failure or unscheduled maintenance and repair, which could result in operational disruptions, including those related to COVID-19; and other factors that are discussed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors”.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update these statements other than as required by law. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our periodic filings with the SEC.

We are subject to certain risks and events that, if one or more occur, could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”). In evaluating us, our business and a potential investment in our securities, you should consider the following risk factors and the other information presented in this report, as well as the other reports and registration statements we file from time to time with the SEC. The risks addressed below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could also adversely impact our business.

Industry Risks

We May Experience Pricing Variability

Our businesses have experienced, and are likely to continue experiencing, cycles relating to industry capacity and general economic conditions. The length and magnitude of these cycles have varied over time and by product. Prices for our products are driven by many factors, including general economic conditions, demand for our products and competitive conditions in the industries within which we compete, and we have little influence over the timing and extent of price changes, which may be unpredictable and volatile. If supply exceeds demand, prices for our products could decline, and our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock could be adversely affected. For example, we believe that the trading price of our Common Stock has been adversely affected in the past due, in part, to concerns about announcements by certain of our competitors of planned additional capacity in the North American containerboard market, as well as the subsequent implementation of certain of those plans.

Certain published indices (including those published by Pulp and Paper Week (“PPW”)) contribute to the setting of selling prices for some of our products. PPW is a limited survey that may not accurately reflect changes in market conditions for our products. Changes in how PPW is maintained, or other indices are established or maintained, could adversely impact the selling prices for these products.

Our Earnings Are Highly Dependent on Volumes

Because our operations generally have high fixed operating cost components, our earnings are highly dependent on volumes, which tend to fluctuate. These fluctuations make it difficult to predict our financial results with any degree of certainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our operational and financial performance to varying degrees and the extent of its effect on our operational and financial performance will continue to depend on

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future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration, scope and severity of the pandemic (including due to new variants, such as Delta), the actions taken to contain or mitigate its impact (including the distribution and effectiveness of vaccines), and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and related containment measures and government responses, among others. Any failure to maintain volumes may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We May Face Increased Costs For, or Inadequate Availability of, Raw Materials, Energy and Transportation

We rely heavily on the use of certain raw materials, energy sources and third-party companies to transport our goods.

The costs of recycled fiber and virgin fiber, the principal externally sourced raw materials for our paper mills, are subject to pricing variability due to market and industry conditions. Demand for recycled fiber has fluctuated and may increase due to, among other factors, increased consumption of recycled fiber, including through additions of new recycled paper mill capacity, increasing demand for products packaged in packaging produced from paper manufactured from 100% recycled fiber and the shift by manufacturers of virgin paperboard, tissue, newsprint and corrugated packaging to the production of products with some recycled fiber content. In 2021, we experienced periods of increased recycled fiber costs due primarily to market demand and availability.

The market price of virgin fiber varies based on availability and source of virgin fiber, and the availability of virgin fiber may be impacted by, among other factors, wet weather conditions. In addition, costs for key chemicals used in our manufacturing operations fluctuate, which impacts our manufacturing costs. Certain published indices contribute to price setting for some of our raw materials and future changes in how these indices are established or maintained could adversely impact the pricing of these raw materials.

The cost of natural gas, which we use in many of our manufacturing operations, including many of our mills, and other energy costs (including energy generated by burning natural gas, fuel oil, biomass and coal) has at times fluctuated significantly. In fiscal 2021, the price of the natural gas that we consume in our manufacturing operations increased significantly compared to the prior year period. Energy costs have increased, and in the future could increase, our operating costs and have made, and in the future could make, our products less competitive compared to similar or alternative products offered by competitors.

We distribute our products primarily by truck and rail, although we also distribute some of our products by cargo ship. The reduced availability of trucks, rail cars or cargo ships could adversely impact our ability to distribute our products in a timely manner. In fiscal 2021, we experienced significantly higher freight costs compared to freight costs incurred in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019. High transportation costs have made, and in the future could make, our products less competitive compared to similar or alternative products offered by competitors.

Because our businesses operate in highly competitive industry segments, we may not be able to recoup past or future increases in the cost of raw materials, energy or transportation through price increases for our products. The failure to obtain raw materials, energy or transportation services at reasonable market prices (or the failure to pass on price increases to our customers) or a reduction in the availability of raw materials, energy or transportation services due to increased demand, significant changes in climate or weather conditions, or other factors could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We Face Intense Competition

We compete in industries that are highly competitive. Our competitors include large and small, vertically integrated companies and numerous smaller non-integrated companies. We generally compete with companies operating in North America, although we have operations spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Factors affecting our ability to compete include the entry of new competitors into the markets we serve, increased competition from overseas producers, our competitors’ pricing strategies, the introduction by our competitors of new technologies and equipment, our ability to anticipate and respond to changing customer preferences and our ability to maintain the cost-efficiency of our facilities. In addition, changes within these industries, including the consolidation of our competitors and customers, may impact competitive dynamics. If our competitors are more successful than we are with respect to any key competitive factor, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock, could be adversely affected.

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Our products also compete, to some extent, with various other packaging materials, including products made of paper, plastics, wood and various types of metal. Customer shifts away from containerboard and paperboard packaging to packaging made from other materials could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

Operating Risks

Our Business Has Been, and Will Continue to Be, Impacted by the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus

The global impact of COVID-19 continues to evolve. COVID-19 has impacted our operations and financial performance to varying degrees and the extent of its effect on our operational and financial performance in future periods will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration, scope and severity of the pandemic (including due to new variants such as Delta), the actions taken to contain or mitigate its impact (including the distribution and effectiveness of vaccines), and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and related containment measures and government responses, among others.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, governmental authorities implemented numerous measures to try to contain the virus, including travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place and work from home orders, and shutdowns of so-called “nonessential” businesses. These measures have impacted, and may further impact, our workforce and operations, as well as those of our customers, vendors and suppliers that in turn may impact us. We have manufacturing operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China and in Europe, and each of these countries or regions has been affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 and taken various measures to try to contain it. Among other impacts to our business from the outbreak of COVID-19:

Our business has been, and will continue to be, impacted by COVID-19 and these impacts may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial conditions, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

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We May Be Unsuccessful in Making and Integrating Mergers, Acquisitions and Investments, and Completing Divestitures

We have completed a number of mergers, acquisitions, investments and divestitures in the past and we may acquire, invest in or sell, or enter into joint ventures with additional companies. We may not be able to identify suitable targets or purchasers or successfully complete suitable transactions in the future, and completed transactions may not be successful. These transactions create risks, including, but not limited to, risks associated with:

Mergers, acquisitions and investments may not be successful and may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock. Among the benefits we expect from potential, as well as completed, acquisitions and joint ventures are synergies, cost savings, growth opportunities or access to new markets (or a combination thereof), and in the case of divestitures, the realization of proceeds from the sale of businesses and assets to purchasers that place higher strategic value on these businesses and assets than we do. For acquisitions, our success in realizing these benefits and the timing of realizing them depend on the successful integration of the acquired businesses and operations with our business and operations. Even if we integrate these businesses and operations successfully, we may not realize the full benefits we expected within the anticipated timeframe, or at all, and the benefits may be offset by unanticipated costs or delays.

We May Incur Business Disruptions

The operations at our manufacturing facilities have in the past and may in the future be interrupted or impaired by various operating risks, including, but not limited to, risks associated with:

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For example, operations at several of our facilities located in the south and southeastern U.S. have been interrupted in recent years by hurricanes and severe winter weather, resulting in, among other things, lost mill production.

Business disruptions have impaired, and may in the future impair, our production capabilities and adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We May Fail to Anticipate Trends That Would Enable Us to Offer Products That Respond to Changing Customer Preferences

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to offer differentiated solutions, and we must continually develop and introduce new products and services to keep pace with technological and regulatory developments and changing customer preferences. The services and products that we offer customers may not meet their needs as their business models evolve. Also, our customers may decide to decrease their use of our products, use alternative materials for their product packaging or forego the packaging of certain products entirely. Regulatory developments can also significantly alter the market for our products. For example, a move to electronic distribution of disclaimers and other paperless regimes could adversely impact our healthcare inserts and labels businesses. Similarly, certain states and local governments have adopted laws banning single-use paper bags or charging businesses or customers fees to use paper bags. These and similar developments could adversely impact demand for certain of our products.

Consumer preferences for products and packaging formats are constantly changing based on, among other factors, cost, convenience, and health, environmental and social concerns and perceptions. For example, changing consumer dietary habits and preferences have slowed the sales growth for certain of the food and beverage products that we package. Also, there is an increasing focus among consumers to ensure that products delivered through e-commerce are packaged efficiently. For instance, in 2019 Amazon began requiring all items sold through Amazon that are larger than a specified size to be designed and certified as ready-to-ship. Our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock, could be adversely affected if we fail to anticipate trends that would enable us to offer products that respond to changing customer preferences.

Our Capital Expenditures May Not Achieve the Desired Outcomes or May Be Achieved at a Higher Cost than Anticipated

We regularly make capital expenditures and many of our capital projects are complex, costly and/or implemented over an extended period of time. Our capital expenditures for particular capital projects could be higher than we anticipated, we may experience unanticipated business disruptions and/or we may not achieve the desired benefits from the capital projects, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock. In addition, disputes between us and contractors who are involved with implementing capital projects could lead to time-consuming and costly litigation.

We are Exposed to Risks Related to International Sales and Operations

We derived 18.5% of our net sales in fiscal 2021 from outside the U.S. through international operations, some of which were transacted in U.S. dollars. In addition, certain of our domestic operations have sales to foreign customers. Our operating results and business prospects could be adversely affected by risks related to the countries outside the U.S. in which we have manufacturing facilities or sell our products. Specifically, Brazil, China, Mexico and India are exposed to varying degrees of economic, political and social instability. In addition, these countries’ economies and operating environments have been, and likely will continue to be, adversely impacted to varying degrees by COVID-19. We are exposed to risks of operating in those countries, as well as others, including, but not limited to, risks associated with:

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We are also subject to taxation in the U.S. and numerous non-U.S. jurisdictions, and have several ongoing audit examinations covering multiple years with various tax authorities. We base our tax returns on our interpretation of tax laws and regulations in effect; however, governing tax bodies may disagree with certain of our tax positions, which could result in a higher tax liability.

Any one or more of these risks could adversely affect our international operations and our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We Cannot Operate Our Joint Ventures Solely For Our Benefit, Which Subjects Us to Risks

We have invested in joint ventures and may form additional joint ventures in the future. Our participation in joint ventures is subject to risks, including, but not limited to, risks associated with:

We May Produce Faulty or Contaminated Products Due to Failures in Quality Control Measures and Systems

Our failure to produce products that meet safety and quality standards could result in adverse effects on consumer health, litigation exposure, loss of market share and adverse financial impacts, among other potential consequences, and we may incur substantial costs in taking appropriate corrective action (up to and including recalling products from end consumers) and to reimburse customers and/or end consumers for losses that they suffer as a result of these failures. Our actions or omissions with respect to product safety and quality could lead to regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and/or prosecutions, and result in adverse publicity, which may damage our reputation. Any of these results could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

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We provide guarantees or representations in certain of our contracts that our products are produced in accordance with customer specifications. If the product contained in packaging manufactured by us is faulty or contaminated, the manufacturer of the product may allege that the packaging we provided caused the fault or contamination, even if the packaging complies with contractual specifications. If our packaging fails to function properly or to preserve the integrity of its contents, we could face liability from our customers and third parties for bodily injury or other damages. These liabilities could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We Depend on Certain Large Customers

We have large customers, the loss of which could adversely affect our sales and, depending on the significance of the loss, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock. In particular, because our businesses operate in highly competitive industry segments, we regularly bid for new business or for the renewal of existing business. The loss of business from our larger customers, or the renewal of business on less favorable terms, may adversely impact our financial results.

We are Subject to Cyber-Security Risks, Including Related to Customer, Employee, Vendor or Other Company Data

We use information technologies to securely manage operations and various business functions. We rely on various technologies, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information. In addition, we facilitate a variety of business processes and activities, including reporting on our business and interacting with customers, vendors and employees. We also collect and store data, including proprietary business information, and may have access to confidential or personal information that is subject to privacy and security laws, regulations and customer-imposed controls. Our systems are subject to recurring attempts by third parties to access information, manipulate data or disrupt our operations. Despite our security design and controls, and those of our third-party providers, we have in the past experienced, and may in the future become subject to, system damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to any number of causes, including cyber-attacks, data breaches, employee error or malfeasance, power outages, telecommunication or utility failures, systems failures, service provider failures, natural disasters or other catastrophic events. For example, in January 2021, we detected a ransomware attack impacting certain of our systems (the “Ransomware Incident”). In response, we proactively shut-down a number of our systems, which impacted certain of our operations, including our ability to produce and ship paper and packaging. Due to these actions, our mill system production was approximately 115,000 tons lower than planned for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and we estimate the pre-tax income impact of the lost sales and operational disruption of this incident, as well as ransomware recovery costs, at approximately $80 million. In response to the Ransomware Incident, we accelerated information technology investments that we had previously planned to make in future periods in order to further strengthen our information security and technology infrastructure. As a result, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur, significant costs as we enhance our data security and take further steps to prevent unauthorized access to, or manipulation of, our systems and data. Despite these efforts, we may not have identified and remediated all of the potential causes of the Ransomware Incident and similar incidents may occur in the future. In particular, the Ransomware Incident may embolden individuals or groups to target our systems.

The cyber-security-related vulnerabilities that we face may also remain undetected for an extended period of time. We may face other challenges and risks during our integration of acquired businesses and operations as we upgrade and standardize our information technology systems. We maintain contingency plans and processes to prevent or mitigate the impact of these events; however, these events could result in operational disruptions like those we suffered in connection with the Ransomware Incident or the misappropriation of sensitive data, and depending on their nature and scope, could lead to the compromise of confidential information, improper use of our systems and networks, manipulation and destruction of data, defective products, production downtimes, operational disruptions and exposure to liability. Such disruptions or misappropriations and the resulting repercussions, including reputational damage and legal claims or proceedings, may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We May Be Adversely Impacted By Work Stoppages and Other Labor Relations Matters

A significant number of our union employees are governed by CBAs. Expired contracts are in the process of renegotiation and others expire within one year. We may not be able to successfully negotiate new union contracts without work stoppages or labor difficulties or renegotiate them on favorable terms. We have experienced work

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stoppages in the past and may experience them in the future. If we are unable to successfully renegotiate the terms of any of these agreements, or if we experience any extended interruption of operations at any of our facilities as a result of strikes or other work stoppages, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock, could be adversely affected. In addition, our businesses rely on vendors, suppliers and other third parties that have union employees. Strikes or work stoppages affecting these vendors, suppliers and other third parties could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We Operate in a Challenging Market for Talent and May Fail to Attract, Motivate, Train and Retain Qualified Personnel, Including Key Personnel

Our success depends on our ability to attract, motivate, train and retain employees with the skills necessary to understand and adapt to the continuously developing needs of our customers. The increasing demand for qualified personnel makes it more difficult for us to attract and retain employees with requisite skill sets, particularly employees with specialized technical and trade experience. Changing demographics and labor work force trends also may result in a loss of knowledge and skills as workers with more tenure and experience retire. The market for both hourly workers and professional workers was particularly challenging in fiscal 2021. The market for hourly workers was, and remains, very competitive. In certain locations where we operate, the demand for labor has exceeded the supply of labor, resulting in higher costs. Despite our focused efforts to attract and retain employees, including by offering higher levels of compensation in certain instances, we experienced attrition rates within our hourly workforce in fiscal 2021 that exceeded historical levels and we incurred higher operating costs at certain of our facilities in the form of higher levels of overtime pay. The market for professional workers was, and remains, similarly challenging. Many of our professional workers continue to work from home as part of our COVID-19 protocols and, although in most instances we expect to offer flexible working arrangements in the future, we may experience higher levels of attrition within our professional workforce. In addition, in September 2021, President Biden issued an executive order directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create rules requiring U.S. employers with 100 or more employees to require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly employee testing before coming to work. OSHA issued the ETS on November 5, 2021. On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order staying enforcement and implementation of the ETS. Implementation of these rules could cause us to experience additional challenges in retaining our employees. We expect that the market for both hourly workers and professional workers will remain challenging at least through fiscal 2022. If we fail to attract, motivate, train and retain qualified personnel, or if we experience excessive turnover, we may experience declining sales, manufacturing delays or other operating inefficiencies, increased recruiting, training and relocation costs and other difficulties, and our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock may be adversely impacted.

We rely on key executive and management personnel to manage our business efficiently and effectively. The loss of these employees, particularly during a challenging market for attracting and retaining employees, could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock may be adversely impacted.

We May Be Subject to Physical, Operational and Financial Risks Associated with Climate Change

Our physical assets and infrastructure may be subject to risks from volatile and damaging weather patterns. For example, extreme, weather-related events, such as hurricanes, tornados, extreme storms, wildfires, and floods, could result in physical damage to our facilities and lost production. Unpredictable weather patterns also may result in supply chain disruptions and increased material costs. The ability to harvest the virgin fiber used in our manufacturing operations may be limited, and prices for this raw material may fluctuate, during prolonged periods of heavy rain or during tree disease or insect epidemics that may be caused by variations in climate conditions. Other climate-related business risks that we face include risks related to the transition to a lower-carbon economy, such as increased prices for certain fuels, including natural gas; the introduction of a carbon tax; increased regulations; and more stringent and/or complex environmental and other permitting requirements. To the extent that climate-related risks materialize, and we are unprepared for them, we may incur unexpected costs, which could have a material effect on our financial results of operations.

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Financial Risks

We May Be Adversely Affected by Factors That Are Beyond Our Control, Such as U.S. and Worldwide Economic and Financial Market Conditions, and Social and Political Change

Our businesses may be adversely affected by a number of factors that are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:

For example, we may experience lower demand for our products and the products of our customers that utilize our products if economic conditions in the U.S. and globally (including in Europe, Brazil and Mexico) deteriorate and result in higher unemployment rates, lower family income, unfavorable currency exchange rates, lower corporate earnings, lower business investment or lower consumer spending. In addition, changes in trade policy, including renegotiating or potentially terminating, existing bilateral or multilateral agreements, as well as the imposition of tariffs, could impact demand for our products and the costs associated with certain of our capital investments. Macro-economic challenges may also lead to changes in tax laws or tax rates that may have a material impact on our future cash taxes, effective tax rate or deferred tax assets and liabilities. For example, the Biden Administration has proposed significant changes to the U.S. tax laws, including an increase to the federal corporate tax rate, limiting deductions where certain conditions exist, and several proposals that would have the combined effect of increasing the U.S. taxation on profits earned outside the U.S. We are not able to predict with certainty economic and financial market conditions, and social and political change, and our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock, could be adversely affected by adverse market conditions and social and political change.

We Have Had Significant Levels of Indebtedness in the Past and May Incur Significant Levels of Indebtedness in the Future, Which Could Adversely Affect Our Financial Condition and Impair Our Ability to Operate Our Business

At September 30, 2021, we had $8.2 billion of debt outstanding compared to $9.4 billion at September 30, 2020. The level of our indebtedness could have important consequences, including:

Certain of our variable rate debt uses the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as a benchmark for establishing the interest rate. In March 2021, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority announced that all LIBOR settings will either cease to be provided by any administrator or no longer be representative immediately after December 31, 2021 for sterling, euro, Swiss franc and Japanese yen settings, and the one-week and two-month

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U.S. dollar settings and immediately after June 30, 2023 for the remaining U.S. dollar settings. In instances where we have not yet incorporated LIBOR-replacement provisions into the credit agreements governing our variable rate debt that uses LIBOR as an interest rate benchmark, we will need to do so before June 30, 2023. The discontinuation and replacement of LIBOR or any other benchmark rates may have an unpredictable impact on contractual mechanics in the credit markets or cause disruption to the broader financial markets. Uncertainty as to the nature of such potential discontinuation and replacement, including that any benchmark replacement may not be the economic equivalent of LIBOR or not achieve market acceptance similar to LIBOR, may negatively impact the cost of our variable rate debt.

We are subject to agreements that require us to meet and maintain certain financial ratios and covenants and may restrict us from, among other things, disposing of assets and incurring additional indebtedness. These restrictions may limit our flexibility to respond to changing market conditions and competitive pressures.

Credit Rating Downgrades Could Increase Our Borrowing Costs or Otherwise Adversely Affect Us

Some of our outstanding indebtedness has received credit ratings from rating agencies. Our credit ratings could change based on, among other things, our results of operations and financial condition. Credit ratings are subject to ongoing evaluation by credit rating agencies and may be lowered, suspended or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency or placed on a “watch list” for a possible downgrade or assigned a “negative outlook”. Actual or anticipated changes or downgrades in our credit ratings, including any announcement that our ratings are under review for a downgrade or have been assigned a negative outlook, could increase our borrowing costs, which could in turn adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock. If a downgrade were to occur or a negative outlook were to be assigned, it could impact our ability to access the capital markets to raise debt and/or increase the associated costs. In addition, while our credit ratings are important to us, we may take actions and otherwise operate our business in a manner that adversely affects our credit ratings.

We sell short-term receivables from certain customer trade accounts on a revolving basis. Any downgrade of the credit rating or deterioration of the financial condition of these customers may make it more costly or difficult for us to engage in these activities, which could adversely affect our cash flows and liquidity.

We Have a Significant Amount of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets and a Write-Down Would Adversely Impact Our Operating Results and Shareholders’ Equity

At September 30, 2021, the carrying value of our goodwill and intangible assets was $9.3 billion. We review the carrying value of our goodwill for impairment annually, or more frequently when impairment indicators exist. The impairment test requires us to analyze a number of factors and make estimates that require judgment. In fiscal 2021, our reporting units had fair values that exceeded their carrying values by more than 20% each. Future changes in the cost of capital, expected cash flows, changes in our business strategy and external market conditions, among other factors, could require us to record an impairment charge for goodwill, which could lead to decreased assets and reduced net income. If a significant write down were required, the charge could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and shareholders’ equity, and could impact the trading price of our Common Stock. In fiscal 2020, we recorded a pre-tax non-cash goodwill impairment of approximately $1.3 billion in our Consumer Packaging reporting unit.

We May Incur Additional Restructuring Costs and May Not Realize Expected Benefits from Restructuring

We have previously restructured portions of our operations and likely will engage in future restructuring initiatives. Because we are not able to predict with certainty market conditions, including changes in the supply and demand for our products, the loss of large customers, the selling prices for our products or our manufacturing costs, we may not be able to predict with certainty the appropriate time to undertake restructurings. The cash and non-cash costs associated with these activities vary depending on the type of facility impacted, with the non-cash cost of a mill closure generally being more significant than that of a converting facility due to the higher level of investment. Restructuring activities may divert the attention of management, disrupt our operations and fail to achieve the intended cost and operations benefits.

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We May Utilize Our Cash Flow or Incur Additional Indebtedness to Increase our Investment in Gondi, S.A. de C.V. (“Grupo Gondi”) or We May Decrease our Investment in Grupo Gondi

In connection with our investment in the joint venture with Grupo Gondi, we entered into an option agreement pursuant to which we and certain other shareholders of Grupo Gondi agreed to future put and call options with respect to the equity interests in the joint venture held by each party. We own 32.3% of the joint venture. Pursuant to the option agreement, our joint venture partners may call our 32.3% equity interest at a predetermined price between October 1, 2021 and April 1, 2022. At any time after April 1, 2022, we may elect to sell, and upon such election our joint venture partners will be obligated to buy, all of our equity interest at a price as determined under the provisions of the agreement. Any arrangement pursuant to which we decrease our ownership in Grupo Gondi would reduce the geographical diversity of our business and may limit our growth opportunities in Mexico. Any arrangement pursuant to which we increase our ownership in Grupo Gondi may require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow to satisfy our payment or investment obligations, which may reduce the amount of funds available for our operations, capital expenditures and corporate development activities or require us to incur additional indebtedness or issue equity securities.

We May Incur Withdrawal Liability and/or Increased Funding Requirements in Connection with MEPPs

We participate in several MEPPs. Our contributions to any particular MEPP may increase based on the declining funded status of a MEPP and legal requirements, such as those of the Pension Act, which require substantially underfunded MEPPs to implement a funding improvement plan (“FIP”) or a rehabilitation plan (“RP”) to improve their funded status. The funded status of a MEPP may be impacted by, among other items, a shrinking contribution base as a result of the insolvency or withdrawal of other companies that currently contribute to these plans, the inability or failure of companies withdrawing from the plan to pay their withdrawal liability, low interest rates, changes in actuarial assumptions and/or lower than expected returns on pension fund assets.

We believe that certain of the MEPPs in which we participate or have participated, including PIUMPF, have material unfunded vested benefits. We submitted formal notification to withdraw from MEPPs in the past and have recorded withdrawal liabilities, including an estimate of our portion of PIUMPF’s accumulated funding deficiency. We may withdraw from other MEPPs in the future. At September 30, 2021, we had $247.1 million of withdrawal liabilities, including liabilities associated with PIUMPF’s accumulated funding deficiency demands. In July 2021, PIUMPF filed suit against us in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia claiming the right to recover our pro rata share of the pension fund’s accumulated funding deficiency. The impact of increased contributions, future funding obligations or future withdrawal liabilities may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock. See “Note 5. Retirement Plans — Multiemployer Plans” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

We are Subject to a Wide Variety of Laws, Regulations and Other Requirements That are Subject to Change and May Impose Substantial Compliance Costs

We are subject to a wide variety of federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and other requirements, including those relating to the environment, product safety, competition, corruption, occupational health and safety, labor and employment, data privacy, tax and health care. These laws, regulations and other requirements may change or be applied or interpreted in ways that will require us to modify our equipment and/or operations, subject us to enforcement risk, expose us to reputational harm or impose on or require us to incur additional costs, including substantial compliance costs, which may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our Common Stock.

We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant capital, operating and other expenditures to comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations. Our environmental expenditures include those related to air and water quality, waste disposal and the cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater, including situations where we have been identified as a PRP. Because environmental laws and regulations are constantly evolving, we will continue to incur costs to maintain compliance and our compliance costs could increase materially. Future compliance with existing and new laws and requirements has the potential to disrupt our business operations and may require significant expenditures, and our existing reserves for specific matters may not be adequate to cover future costs. In particular, our manufacturing operations consume significant amounts of energy, and we may in the future incur additional or increased capital, operating and other expenditures from changes due to new or increased

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climate-related and other environmental requirements. We could also incur substantial liabilities, including fines or sanctions, enforcement actions, natural resource damages claims, cleanup and closure costs, and third-party claims for property damage and personal injury under environmental and common laws.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and local anti-bribery laws, including those in Brazil, China, Mexico, India and the United Kingdom (where we maintain operations directly or through a joint venture), prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of influencing official decisions. Our internal control policies and procedures, or those of our vendors, may not adequately protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed or alleged to have been committed by our employees, agents or vendors. Any such violations could lead to civil or criminal monetary and non-monetary penalties and/or could damage our reputation.

We are subject to a number of labor and employment and occupational health and safety laws and regulations that could significantly increase our operating costs and reduce our operational flexibility. Additionally, changing privacy laws in the United States (where, among others, the California Consumer Privacy Act became effective in 2020 and its successor, the California Privacy Rights Act, which will be effective January 1, 2023), Europe (where the General Data Protection Regulation became effective in 2018), Brazil (where the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados became effective in 2020), China (where the Personal Information Protection Law became effective on November 1, 2021) and elsewhere have created new individual privacy rights, imposed increased obligations on companies handling personal data and increased potential exposure to fines and penalties.

There are no unresolved SEC staff comments.

We operate locations in North America, including the majority of U.S. states, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. We lease our principal offices in Atlanta, GA. We believe that our existing production capacity is adequate to serve existing demand for our products and consider our plants and equipment to be in good condition.

Our corporate offices, significant regional offices and operating facilities as of September 30, 2021 are summarized below:

The tables that follow show our annual production capacity in thousands of tons by mill at September 30, 2021, unless stated otherwise. Our mill system production levels and operating rates may vary from year to year due to changes in market and other factors, including weather-related events. Our simple average mill system operating rates for the last three years averaged 91%. We own all of our mills. At September 30, 2021, we also own approximately 135,000 acres of forestlands in Brazil.

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Corrugated Packaging Mills - annual production capacity in thousands of tons

Consumer Packaging Mills - annual production capacity in thousands of tons

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The production at our Lynchburg, VA mill is gypsum paperboard liner and the paper machine at this mill is owned by our Seven Hills joint venture. Our overall fiber sourcing for all of our mills is approximately 65% virgin and 35% recycled.

We are a defendant in a number of lawsuits and claims arising out of the conduct of our business. While the ultimate results of such suits or other proceedings against us cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe the resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

See “Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Not applicable.

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PART II: FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Common Stock

Our Common Stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “WRK”. As of November 5, 2021, there were approximately 6,145 stockholders of record of our Common Stock. The number of stockholders of record includes one single stockholder, Cede & Co., for all of the shares of our Common Stock held by our stockholders in individual brokerage accounts maintained at banks, brokers and institutions.

Dividends

Our short-term goal has been to reduce debt and leverage and return capital to stockholders through a competitive annual dividend. Our longer-term capital allocation priorities include (i) investing in our business, (ii) consistently growing our dividend, (iii) maintaining our investment grade profile, (iv) pursuing tuck-in acquisitions that align to our strategy and generate attractive returns, and (v) opportunistic share repurchases.

In October 2021, our board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a $1.00 per share annualized dividend or an increase of 25% since our February 2021 dividend. The recent decisions to increase our dividend reflect the confidence we have in our business and our ability to generate strong cash flows, as well as the progress we have made in reducing debt since we began implementing the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan in May 2020. In fiscal 2021, we paid an annual dividend of $0.88 per share compared to $1.33 per share in fiscal 2020 and $1.82 per share in fiscal 2019. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Cash Flow Activity”, for additional information.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

See Part III, Item 12 of this Form 10-K and “Note 19. Stockholders’ Equity” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Stock Repurchase Plan

The following table presents information with respect to purchases of our Common Stock that we made during the three months ended September 30, 2021:

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OVERVIEW

We are a multinational provider of sustainable fiber-based paper and packaging solutions. We partner with our customers to provide differentiated, sustainable paper and packaging solutions that help them win in the marketplace. Our team members support customers around the world from our operating and business locations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Organization

On November 2, 2018, we completed the KapStone Acquisition. As a result, among other things, the Company became the ultimate parent of WRKCo, KapStone and their respective subsidiaries, and the Company changed its name to “WestRock Company” and WRKCo changed its name to “WRKCo Inc.”. See “Note 3. Acquisitions and Investments” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Presentation

We report our financial results of operations in the following two reportable segments: Corrugated Packaging, which consists of our containerboard mills, corrugated packaging and distribution operations, as well as our merchandising displays and recycling procurement operations; and Consumer Packaging, which consists of our consumer mills, food and beverage and partition operations. Prior to the completion of our monetization program in fiscal 2020, we had a third reportable segment, Land and Development, which previously sold real estate, primarily in the Charleston, SC region. Following completion of the monetization of these assets, we ceased reporting the results of the Land and Development segment as a separate segment. We have not included a discussion of the Land and Development segment below as its net sales and segment income are not significant. See “Note 7. Segment Information” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for certain disclosures with respect to our former Land and Development segment.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2022, we expect to realign our segments and will disclose three reportable segments: Packaging, which will consist of our converting operations and associated integrated profit from our mill system; Paper, which will consist of third-party paper sales and associated profit from our mill system; and Distribution, which will consist of our distribution business combined with our merchandising display assembly operations.

A detailed discussion of the fiscal 2021 year-over-year changes can be found below and a detailed discussion of fiscal 2020 year-over-year changes can be found in Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020.

Acquisitions

From time to time, we have completed acquisitions that have expanded our product and geographic scope, allowed us to increase our integration levels and impacted our comparative financials. We expect to continue to evaluate similar potential acquisitions in the future, although the size of individual acquisitions may vary. Below we summarize certain of these acquisitions.

On November 2, 2018, we completed the KapStone Acquisition. KapStone was a leading North American producer and distributor of containerboard, corrugated products and specialty papers, including liner and medium containerboard, kraft papers and saturating kraft. KapStone also owned Victory Packaging, a packaging solutions distribution company with facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. We have included the financial results of KapStone in our Corrugated Packaging segment since the date of the acquisition.

See “Note 3. Acquisitions and Investments” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. See also Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We May Be Unsuccessful in Making and Integrating Mergers, Acquisitions and Investments, and Completing Divestitures”.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In fiscal 2021, we continued to pursue our strategy of offering differentiated, sustainable paper and packaging solutions that help our customers win. As a result of our broad portfolio, 188 customers bought at least $1 million from each of our Corrugated Packaging and Consumer Packaging segments in fiscal 2021. Net sales of $18,746.1 million for fiscal 2021 increased $1,167.3 million, or 6.6%, compared to fiscal 2020 primarily due to higher selling price/mix and higher volumes. In the second quarter of fiscal 2021, we experienced lost sales associated with the Ransomware Incident and winter weather events (the “Events”) and we estimate these Events decreased net sales by approximately $189.1 million. Additionally, we experienced aggregate favorable impact of foreign currency across our segments. Volumes in fiscal 2020 were negatively impacted by COVID-19, primarily in the last half of the fiscal year.

Segment income increased $211.3 million in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020, primarily due to higher Consumer Packaging and Corrugated Packaging segment income. A detailed review of our performance appears below under “Results of Operations”.

We generated $2,279.9 million of net cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2021, compared to $2,070.7 million in fiscal 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $141.0 million net decrease in the use of working capital compared to the prior year period, including the payment of certain fiscal 2020 bonuses and the Company’s 401(k) match and annual company contribution (i.e. up to 5% and 2.5%, respectively) in the form of stock, rather than cash, and deferral of certain payroll taxes in connection with the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan. See “COVID-19 RESPONSE — WestRock Pandemic Action Plan” for more information. We invested $815.5 million in capital expenditures in fiscal 2021 while returning $233.8 million in dividends to our stockholders and repurchasing $122.4 million of Common Stock. We believe our strong balance sheet and cash flow provide us the flexibility to continue to invest to sustain and improve our operating performance. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” for more information. 

Earnings per diluted share was $3.13 in fiscal 2021 compared to loss per diluted share of $2.67 in fiscal 2020. Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share were $3.39 and $2.75 in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. The loss per diluted share in fiscal 2020 was driven by a pre-tax non-cash goodwill impairment of $1,333.2 million in our Consumer Packaging reporting unit.

A detailed review of our fiscal 2021 and 2020 performance appears below under “Results of Operations”.

Ransomware Incident

As previously disclosed, on January 23, 2021, we detected a ransomware incident impacting certain of our systems. Promptly upon our detection of this incident, we initiated response and containment protocols and our security teams, supplemented by leading cyber defense firms, worked to remediate this incident. These actions included taking preventative measures, including shutting down certain systems out of an abundance of caution, as well as taking steps to supplement existing security monitoring, scanning and protective measures. We notified law enforcement and contacted our customers to apprise them of the situation.

We undertook extensive efforts to identify, contain and recover from this incident quickly and securely. Our teams worked to maintain our business operations and minimize the impact on our customers and teammates. In our second quarter Form 10-Q, we announced that all systems were back in service. All of our mills and converting locations began producing and shipping paper and packaging at pre-ransomware levels in March 2021 or earlier. Our mill system production was approximately 115,000 tons lower than planned for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 as a result of this incident. While shipments from some of our facilities initially lagged behind production levels, this gap closed as systems were restored during the second quarter of fiscal 2021. In locations where technology issues were identified, we used alternative methods, in many cases manual methods, to process and ship orders. We systematically brought our information systems back online in a controlled, phased approach.

We estimate the pre-tax income impact of the lost sales and operational disruption of this incident on our operations in the second quarter of fiscal 2021 was approximately $50 million, as well as approximately $20 million of ransomware recovery costs, primarily professional fees. In addition, we incurred approximately $9 million of ransomware recovery costs in the third quarter of fiscal 2021. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, we recorded a $15 million credit for preliminary recoveries – approximately $10 million as a reduction of selling, general, and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) excluding intangible amortization and approximately $5 million as a reduction of

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cost of goods sold. We expect to recover substantially all of the remaining ransomware losses from cyber and business interruption insurance in future periods. Disputes over the extent of insurance coverage for claims are not uncommon, and there will be a time lag between the incurrence of costs and the receipt of any insurance proceeds.

In response to the ransomware event, we accelerated information technology investments that we had previously planned to make in future periods in order to further strengthen our information security and technology infrastructure. We engaged a leading cybersecurity defense firm that completed a forensics investigation of the ransomware incident and we are taking appropriate actions in response to the findings. For example, in the short-term, we reset all credentials Company-wide and strengthened security tooling across our servers and workstations. Longer term, in collaboration with our strategic partners, we established a roadmap to advance the maturity and effectiveness of our information security and resiliency capabilities. This roadmap includes initiatives to further strengthen our information security posture across the Company, and to enable us to potentially detect, respond to and recover from security and technical incidents in a faster and more effective manner. More specifically, we are progressing projects to bolster our security monitoring capabilities, strengthen our access controls, reduce risks associated with third-parties, and to enhance the information security of our mills and plants.

See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We are Subject to Cyber-Security Risks, Including Related to Customer, Employee, Vendor or Other Company Data”.

Expectations for the First Quarter of Fiscal 2022 and Fiscal 2022

In the first quarter of fiscal 2022, we expect a sequential decline in net sales and earnings from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 reflecting the normal season sequential volume declines in many of our businesses and scheduled mill maintenance outages. We expect lower volume with three fewer shipping days during the first quarter of fiscal 2022, although in line with shipping days in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. Due to delays in mill maintenance in fiscal 2021 for items such as COVID-19 and the Ransomware Incident, we expect approximately 200,000 tons of maintenance downtime, the peak maintenance outage period for fiscal 2022. We expect sequential cost inflation driven primarily by higher natural gas, transportation, and recycled and virgin fiber costs along with increased health insurance costs prior to the annual reset of employee deductibles. However, we expect the flow through of the previously published price increases we are implementing to more than offset inflation.

In fiscal 2022, we expect solid demand across most of our end markets and continued flow through of the previously published price increases. We expect record sales and operating profit despite continued commodity input cost inflation and productivity unavoidably affected by supply chain challenges and higher labor costs that may persist through the fiscal year. We expect the implementation of previously published price increases will outpace inflation despite our expectation for higher recycled fiber, energy, virgin fiber, chemical and transportation costs. In addition, we expect to benefit from the fiscal 2021 completion of strategic investments such as the new paper machine at our Florence, SC mill and our Tres Barras mill upgrade. We expect our planned mill maintenance outage schedule will be approximately 100,000 tons higher than in fiscal 2021.

With the completion of certain of our strategic projects in fiscal 2021, including the paper machine at our Florence, SC mill and the Tres Barras mill upgrade project, we expect capital expenditures of approximately $1.0 billion in fiscal 2022.

COVID-19 RESPONSE

WestRock Pandemic Action Plan

Given the uncertainties associated with the severity and duration of the pandemic, in May 2020 we announced, and began implementing, the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan. We are continuing to focus on the protection, safety and well-being of our teammates and continuing to match our supply with our customers’ demand. We have modified the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan as the impact of COVID-19 has evolved. For example, we changed our capital expenditure assumptions, increased our May 2021 dividend, and in October 2021, announced an

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incremental increase to our November 2021 dividend, in each case as described below. We expect that the actions that we have undertaken and will continue to undertake pursuant to the plan will provide an additional approximately $1 billion in cash through the end of calendar 2021 that we will be able to use to reduce our outstanding indebtedness. In fiscal 2020, we achieved more than $350 million of the approximately $1 billion goal set forth in the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan, as modified. As of September 30, 2021, we had achieved more than $975 million of the approximately $1 billion goal. The ultimate level achieved has been impacted by modifications such as increased capital investments and increased dividends as we modified the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan.

Pursuant to the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan, we took a series of actions that were designed to protect the safety and well-being of our teammates and preserve cash that could be used to pay down our outstanding debt, all while continuing to match our supply with our customers’ demand. For example, we committed to (i) reducing discretionary expenses, (ii) using Common Stock to make Company funded 401(k) match and annual contribution (i.e. up to 5% and 2.5%, respectively) from July 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021 (final period funded in October 2021), (iii) targeting a reduction of fiscal 2021 capital investments to a range of $800 million to $900 million, up from an initial range of $600 to $800 million (we invested $815.5 million in fiscal 2021), and (iv) resetting our quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share for an annual rate of $0.80 per share, which we did in May 2020. We paid quarterly dividends of $0.24 per share in May 2021 and August 2021 and in October 2021, our board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a $1.00 per share annualized dividend or an increase of 25% since our February 2021 dividend. The recent decisions to increase our dividend reflects the confidence we have in our business and our ability to generate strong cash flows, as well as the progress we have made in reducing debt since we began implementing the WestRock Pandemic Action Plan.

In addition to the items addressed above, we (i) decreased the salaries of our senior executive team by up to 25% from May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 and decreased the retainer for members of our board of directors by 25% for the third and fourth calendar quarters of 2020, (ii) used Common Stock to pay our annual incentive for fiscal 2020 for nearly all participants and set the payout level at 50% of the target opportunity subject to a safety modifier, as well as for Company funded 401(k) match and our annual contribution as noted above, and (iii) postponed $116.5 million of employment taxes incurred through the end of calendar year 2020, pursuant to relief offered under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. We also reduced fiscal 2020 capital investments to $978.1 million after targeting to reduce them by approximately $150 million to approximately $950 million. We expect to pay the employment taxes deferred under the CARES Act as required, 50% by December 2021 and the remaining 50% by December 2022.

During fiscal 2021, we recorded $38.4 million of expense related to COVID-19, including $22.0 million of relief payments to employees in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The balance was for increased costs for safety, cleaning and other items related to COVID-19. During fiscal 2020, we provided one-time COVID-19 recognition awards to our teammates who work in manufacturing and operations and recognized expense of $31.6 million for those awards. During fiscal 2020, we also incurred an additional expense of $32.4 million for cleaning, safety supplies and equipment, screening resources and other items. We began tracking the impact of costs related to COVID-19 in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. We expect to continue to incur expenses for these items as needed in the future.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following table summarizes our consolidated results for the two years ended September 30, 2021:

Net Sales (Unaffiliated Customers)

Net sales in fiscal 2021 increased $1,167.3 million, or 6.6%, compared to fiscal 2020 primarily due to higher selling price/mix and higher volumes. In the second quarter of fiscal 2021, we experienced lost sales associated with the Events that we estimate decreased net sales by approximately $189.1 million. Additionally, we experienced aggregate favorable impact of foreign currency across our segments. Volumes in fiscal 2020 were negatively impacted by COVID-19, primarily in the last half of the fiscal year. The change in net sales by segment is outlined below in “Results of Operations — Corrugated Packaging Segment” and “Results of Operations — Consumer Packaging Segment”.

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold increased to $15,315.8 million in fiscal 2021 compared to $14,381.6 million in fiscal 2020. Cost of goods sold as a percentage of net sales was 81.7% in fiscal 2021 compared to 81.8% in fiscal 2020. The increase in cost of goods sold in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was primarily due to higher volumes, increased cost inflation and other items, including operational disruption associated with the Events. These items were partially offset by productivity improvements and other items. In fiscal 2020, we incurred approximately $4.5 million of direct costs and property damage associated with Hurricane Michael, and received Hurricane Michael-related insurance proceeds of $32.3 million and recorded a reduction of cost of goods sold of $32.1 million in connection with an indirect tax claim in Brazil, primarily in the Corrugated Packaging segment. The Hurricane Michael-related insurance proceeds were for $20.6 million of direct costs and property damage and for $11.7 million for business interruption recoveries. In fiscal 2021, we recorded costs of goods sold of $35.4 million related to COVID-19 primarily for relief payments to employees and increased costs for safety, cleaning and other items related to COVID-19. We began to track and report the impact of COVID-19 on fiscal 2020 in the third fiscal quarter. Fiscal 2020 includes costs of goods sold of $56.5 million associated with COVID-19, including one-time recognition awards to our teammates who work in manufacturing and operations recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, increased costs for safety, cleaning and other items related to COVID-19. We expect to continue to

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incur additional costs related to safety, cleaning and other items related to COVID-19 as needed in the foreseeable future. We discuss these items in greater detail below in “Results of Operations — Corrugated Packaging Segment” and “Results of Operations — Consumer Packaging Segment”.

Selling, General and Administrative, Excluding Intangible Amortization

SG&A excluding intangible amortization increased $134.9 million to $1,759.3 million in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 primarily due to a $119.8 million increase in bonus and stock-based compensation expense as a result of expected fiscal 2021 payments being higher than fiscal 2020 payments, including a $9.6 million acceleration of stock-based compensation in connection with the departure of our former Chief Executive Officer in the second quarter of fiscal 2021. In addition, we incurred increased aggregate costs for consulting, professional and legal fees of $21.2 million compared to the prior year period, primarily associated with the Ransomware Incident. These increases were partially offset by a $29.4 million decrease in bad debt expense compared to the prior year period, as well as a $18.4 million reduction in travel and entertainment associated with prolonged shelter-in-place orders in response to the ongoing effects of COVID-19. SG&A excluding intangible amortization as a percentage of net sales increased in fiscal 2021 to 9.4% from 9.2% in fiscal 2020.

Selling, General and Administrative Intangible Amortization

SG&A intangible amortization was $357.1 million and $400.5 million in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decline was primarily attributable to certain intangibles from prior acquisitions reaching full amortization.

Restructuring and Other Costs

We recorded aggregate pre-tax restructuring and other costs of $31.5 million and $112.7 million for fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. These amounts are not comparable since the timing and scope of the individual actions associated with each restructuring, acquisition, integration or divestiture vary. We generally expect the integration of a closed facility’s assets and production with other facilities to enable the receiving facilities to better leverage their fixed costs while eliminating fixed costs from the closed facility. See “Note 4. Restructuring and Other Costs” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information, including a description of the type of costs incurred. We have restructured portions of our operations from time to time and it is likely that we will engage in additional restructuring opportunities in the future. See also Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We May Incur Additional Restructuring Costs and May Not Realize Expected Benefits from Restructuring”.

Goodwill Impairment

In fiscal 2020, we recorded a pre-tax non-cash goodwill impairment of $1,333.2 million in our Consumer Packaging reporting unit. The impairment was driven by the expected lower volumes and cash flows related to certain external SBS end markets, including commercial print, tobacco and plate and cup stock markets. In fiscal 2021, no impairments were recorded as all reporting units that have goodwill have a fair value that exceeded their carrying values by more than 20% each.

Interest Expense, net

Interest expense, net was $372.3 million and $393.5 million for fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decrease was primarily due to lower debt levels in the current fiscal year that was partially offset by higher interest rates in the current fiscal year. Additionally, fiscal 2020 was impacted by $20.5 million of interest income recorded in connection with an indirect tax claim in Brazil partially offset by a $15.0 million increase in interest expense associated with the remeasurement of our multiemployer pension liabilities. See “Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies — Indirect Tax Claim” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — We Have Had Significant Levels of Indebtedness in the Past and May Incur Significant Levels of Indebtedness in the Future, Which Could Adversely Affect Our Financial Condition and Impair Our Ability to Operate Our Business”.

Pension and Other Postretirement Non-Service Income

Pension and other postretirement non-service income was $134.9 million and $103.3 million in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increase was primarily due to the increase in plan asset balances used to determine the

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expected return on plan assets for fiscal 2021. Customary pension and other postretirement (income) costs are included in segment income. See “Note 5. Retirement Plans” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

Other Income, net

Other income, net was $10.9 million and $9.5 million in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. Fiscal 2021 primarily included a $16.5 million gain on sale of the Summerville, SC sawmill and a $16.0 million gain on sale of a legacy cost method investment, which were partially offset by a $22.5 million charge associated with not exercising an option to purchase an additional equity interest in Grupo Gondi.

Equity in Income of Unconsolidated Entities

We recorded equity in income of unconsolidated entities of $40.9 million in fiscal 2021 compared to $15.8 million in fiscal 2020. The increase was driven by earnings improvement across the portfolio, most notably, our joint venture with Grupo Gondi.

Provision for Income Taxes

We recorded income tax expense of $243.4 million for fiscal 2021 at an effective tax rate of 22.4%, compared to an income tax expense of $163.5 million at an effective tax rate of (31.3)% in fiscal 2020, due to the loss before income tax in fiscal 2020. See “Note 6. Income Taxes” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information, including a table reconciling the statutory federal tax rate to our effective tax rate. Excluding the effect of the goodwill impairment, which was largely not tax deductible, our effective tax rate was 22.5% in fiscal 2020.

Hurricane Michael

In October 2018, our containerboard and pulp mill located in Panama City, FL sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Michael. We shut down the mill’s operations in advance of the hurricane’s landfall. Repair work was completed on the two paper machines and related infrastructure during June 2019. In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, we settled our property damage and business interruption insurance claim for $212.3 million (net of our $15 million deductible) and received the remaining $32.3 million of insurance proceeds (we received $180.0 million in fiscal 2019 that consisted of $55.3 million of business interruption recoveries and $124.7 million for direct costs and property damage). The insurance proceeds received in fiscal 2020 consisted of $11.7 million of business interruption recoveries and $20.6 million for direct costs and property damage.

Corrugated Packaging Segment

Corrugated Packaging Shipments

Corrugated Packaging shipments are expressed as a tons equivalent, which includes external and intersegment tons shipped from our Corrugated Packaging mills plus Corrugated Packaging container shipments converted from billion square feet (“BSF”) to tons. We have presented the Corrugated Packaging shipments in two groups: North American and Brazil / India because we believe investors, potential investors, securities analysts and others find this breakout useful when evaluating our operating performance. The table below reflects shipments in thousands of tons, BSF and millions of square feet (“MMSF”) per shipping day. The number of shipping days vary by geographic location.

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North American Corrugated Packaging Shipments

Brazil / India Corrugated Packaging Shipments

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Corrugated Packaging Segment – Net Sales and Income

Net Sales (Aggregate) — Corrugated Packaging Segment

Net sales before intersegment eliminations for the Corrugated Packaging segment increased $924.5 million in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 primarily reflecting $675.7 million of higher selling price/mix and $298.0 million of higher volumes that was partially offset by $25.2 million of unfavorable impact of foreign currency. Volumes were negatively impacted by an estimated $77.0 million and $39.9 million due to the Ransomware Incident and winter weather, respectively, in the second quarter of fiscal 2021. Volumes in fiscal 2020 were negatively impacted by COVID-19, primarily in the last half of the fiscal year. Record North American per day box shipments during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021 increased 5.2% compared to the prior fiscal year.

Segment Income — Corrugated Packaging Segment

Segment income attributable to the Corrugated Packaging segment in fiscal 2021 increased $79.1 million compared to fiscal 2020, primarily due to $686.5 million of margin impact from higher selling price/mix, $93.7 million of higher volumes excluding the Events, $24.8 million of lower depreciation and amortization, primarily due to accelerated depreciation incurred in the prior year period associated with the Florence, SC paper machine project and the North Charleston, SC reconfiguration project, an estimated $19.9 million of lower economic downtime and other items, including higher segment income related to our North Charleston, SC mill and the Florence, SC mill following last year’s reconfiguration and paper machine projects. The impact of COVID-19 recognition awards to our manufacturing and operations teammates and increased costs for safety, cleaning and other items related to COVID-19 for fiscal 2020 was $33.5 million compared to $20.8 million in fiscal 2021. These items were partially offset by an estimated $553.3 million of net cost inflation, an estimated $69.6 million of lower productivity, $42.6 million of estimated impact from the Ransomware Incident, $27.8 million of Hurricane Michael insurance recoveries net of direct costs and $29.1 million of decreased indirect tax claims in Brazil both in the prior year period, $15.9 million of estimated impact from winter weather in the second quarter of fiscal 2021 and other items. Net cost inflation consisted primarily of higher recovered fiber, wage and other, energy, freight, chemical and virgin fiber costs compared to the prior fiscal year.

Consumer Packaging Segment

Consumer Packaging Shipments

Consumer Packaging shipments are expressed as a tons equivalent, which includes external and intersegment tons shipped from our Consumer Packaging mills plus Consumer Packaging converting shipments converted from BSF to tons. The shipment data table excludes gypsum paperboard liner tons produced by Seven Hills since it is not consolidated.

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Consumer Packaging Segment – Net Sales and Income