Forensic Analysis · General / Diversified · as of Jun 28, 2026
Clearwater Paper Corp (CLW)
A forensic read on Clearwater Paper Corp built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
C · Mixed — selective
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
4.0
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
-3.1%
ROE
$271M
Market cap
Clearwater Paper Corp earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 4.0, placing it in the Safe zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
-2%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -2% and slipping from 6% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
0.93×Cash conversion.Over FY2023–FY2025, operating cash flow was 0.93× cumulative net income. Cash is lagging reported profit — worth checking what's accruing rather than being collected.
$48MGoodwill impairments.Took $48M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year(s) (FY2025 ($48M)). Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them — worth weighing on capital-allocation skill.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-1.2%
Debt / Equity0.42x
Free Cash Flow$-76.5M
Latest Revenue$1.56B
Return on Equity-2.3%
Revenue Growth YoY+12.4%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on Clearwater Paper Corp:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about CLW's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown