Stora Enso Oyj's third-quarter 2026 results tell two different stories. Adjusted EBIT rose 28% to €161 million, while its IFRS operating result fell nearly 80% to €47 million. The gap is not a contradiction: the company's October 30 interim report identifies restructuring and other comparability items, alongside fair-value and non-operational effects, that separate its adjusted measure from reported operating profit. Investors assessing the packaging turnaround need to examine both figures rather than choosing one headline.
Adjusted EBIT improved while reported operating profit fell
In its interim report published October 30, 2026, Stora Enso reported third-quarter sales of €2,240 million, down from €2,283 million in Q3 2025. Organic sales increased 2%, however, while reported sales fell 1.9%, reflecting divestments. Organic growth and reported growth describe different scopes and should not be presented as interchangeable.
Adjusted EBIT increased from €126 million to €161 million, a 27.8% improvement. The adjusted EBIT margin rose from 5.5% to 7.2%. Stora Enso attributed the improvement to higher board volumes, lower variable costs and progress in ramping up the new consumer board line at Oulu.
IFRS operating profit moved in the opposite direction, falling from €231 million in Q3 2025 to €47 million in Q3 2026. Reported basic earnings per share fell from €0.25 to €0.01. Earnings per share excluding fair valuations were €0.06 versus €0.26 a year earlier, showing the decline was not limited to fair-value movements. The company's adjustments explain much of the divergence.
How can adjusted operating profit rise 28% when the IFRS operating result falls almost 80% in the same quarter?
What the numbers show
The figures below are from Stora Enso's Q3 2026 interim report. Amounts are in millions of euros unless otherwise indicated; the latest period is shown first.
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 2,240 | 2,283 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 320 | 291 |
| Adjusted EBIT | 161 | 126 |
| Adjusted EBIT margin | 7.2% | 5.5% |
| Items affecting comparability | −63 | +117 |
| Fair valuations and other non-operational items | −51 | −11 |
| Operating result (IFRS) | 47 | 231 |
| Cash flow from operations | 245 | 223 |
| Cash flow after investing activities | 132 | 57 |
| Basic EPS, EUR/share | 0.01 | 0.25 |
| EPS excl. fair valuations, EUR/share | 0.06 | 0.26 |
The 2026 reconciliation is straightforward using the rounded amounts disclosed by the company: €161 million adjusted EBIT, less €63 million of items affecting comparability and €51 million of fair valuations and other non-operational items, equals €47 million of IFRS operating profit.
In Q3 2025, the same categories had a very different effect: adjusted EBIT was €126 million, items affecting comparability added €117 million, and fair valuations and other non-operational items reduced the result by €11 million. The one-million difference from rounding is noted below the table.
Stora Enso describes the €63 million negative comparability items in Q3 2026 as mainly related to impairments, restructuring and disposals. It says the €51 million negative fair-valuation and other non-operational items were mostly related to biological-asset fair valuations. Neither description supports treating the entire €51 million as a single, separately quantified forest revaluation.
Under IAS 41 Agriculture, biological assets such as plantation trees are generally measured at fair value less costs to sell, with changes recognised in profit or loss. That accounting treatment helps explain why a forest-related valuation movement can affect IFRS earnings even though it does not represent an equivalent sale or cash payment in the quarter. Forest land is accounted for separately from standing timber, generally under IAS 16. Our analysis of Nordic forest companies under IAS 41 explains the distinction in more detail. The company-specific amount still has to be read from Stora Enso's disclosures rather than inferred from the standard.
Looking beyond a single quarter reinforces the distinction. For January–September 2026, adjusted EBIT increased to €479 million from €427 million, while IFRS operating profit fell to €148 million from €466 million. The divergence is therefore not confined to the third-quarter headline.
Cash generation offers a third perspective. Q3 operating cash flow increased to €245 million from €223 million, and cash flow after investing activities rose to €132 million from €57 million. The latter is Stora Enso's reported measure, not a universal free-cash-flow definition. These cash-flow figures do not reverse the IFRS profit decline, but they show why investors should not use reported EBIT alone as a proxy for cash generation.
The balance sheet and portfolio changes also matter. Stora Enso reported total forest assets of €8.405 billion at the end of Q3, including leased land and its share of forest assets in associated companies. This is not a standalone valuation of the proposed Swedish forest business. The company plans to separate that business into a listed entity, Bergslagets Skogar, during the first half of 2027, subject to the relevant process.
Stora Enso reported net debt to last-12-month adjusted EBITDA of 2.1 times, versus 2.7 times a year earlier. The company primarily attributed this to debt repayment funded by a hybrid bond classified as equity, rather than solely to stronger operating cash flow.
When adjusted EBIT and IFRS operating profit move in opposite directions, reconstruct the bridge using the company's own adjustment categories. Keep restructuring and disposal effects separate from fair-value movements; then check cash flow and the comparable prior-year adjustments. Do not assume every adjustment is non-cash, recurring or irrelevant to valuation.
What comes next
Stora Enso's fourth-quarter outlook points to mixed demand, higher costs in certain inputs and significant planned maintenance in Consumer Packaging. The Oulu line's ramp-up is expected to continue into 2027. Investors can test whether the improvement in adjusted profitability persists as these operating conditions evolve.
Another comparability factor is emission-rights income: Stora Enso reported approximately €72 million in 2025 but expects €10–20 million for full-year 2026 after changes to free EU ETS allocations. These annual figures are not a quantified Q3 adjustment.
The planned Swedish forest-business separation also makes the composition and valuation of forest assets more relevant. Before attaching a value to the new entity, investors will need its own financial information, the proposed transaction terms and an understanding of which assets and liabilities transfer.
The practical conclusion is narrower than either headline alone. Stora Enso reported better adjusted operating performance and stronger quarterly cash flow, but materially lower IFRS operating profit. The October 30 report provides a reconciliation that makes both statements true. Following that bridge across future quarters is more informative than treating adjusted EBIT as the only measure of earnings quality.
Use Clarifo to compare Stora Enso's reported and adjusted performance across periods and investigate the source disclosures behind its earnings and cash-flow figures.
- Stora Enso — Interim Report January–September 2026: Introducing Bergslagets Skogar while building a stronger Stora Enso, October 30, 2026. Primary source for financial figures, adjustments, cash flow, forest assets, EU ETS commentary and outlook.
- IFRS Foundation — IAS 41 Agriculture, standard overview. Primary standard-setter explanation of biological-asset fair-value accounting.
Not investment advice.