Suzano Tops Valor 1000 in Pulp and Paper on Record Volume

BRAZIL · COMPANIES

Suzano finished a 70 billion real investment cycle and posted its best sales volume on record. The half-year that followed was harder.

Suzano was named champion of the pulp and paper sector in the 26th edition of the Valor 1000 yearbook, awarded in Sao Paulo on Tuesday 8 September 2026. It ranks 28th among Brazil’s thousand largest companies.

What the Ranking Measures

Valor 1000 is Brazil’s principal business yearbook, ranking the country’s thousand largest companies across 27 sectors. It is produced by the newspaper Valor Economico with Serasa Experian and the Getulio Vargas Foundation’s Sao Paulo business school, which homologates the criteria.

This edition ranks companies on their 2025 results.

Suzano’s 2025 net revenue was 50.1 billion reais, up 5.7 percent. Net income reached 13.4 billion, up 290.7 percent, at a net margin of 26.8 percent and a return on equity of 35.2 percent.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came to 21.9 billion reais, down 11.9 percent. Total assets stood at 167.9 billion.

Klabin is second in the sector, 69th overall, at 20.7 billion reais. Itau Unibanco took the overall Empresa de Valor award.

What Drove the Year

Sales reached 14.2 million tonnes, a company record. Suzano exports about 88 percent of its output.

It concluded a five-year investment cycle of some 70 billion reais.

In July it took 51 percent of Arbex, the tissue joint venture with Kimberly-Clark, in a transaction valued at 3.7 billion dollars. That lifts its mill count to 36, of which 14 are its own, twelve in Brazil and two in the United States.

Capacity stands at 13.4 million tonnes of pulp and around 2 million tonnes of paper.

Chief executive Beto Abreu said that in 2026, because the company consolidates all of Arbex’s result, there will be a relevant increase in revenue from the joint venture entering the portfolio.

The Harder Half-Year

The first half of 2026 was weaker. Revenue fell 9 percent to 22.5 billion reais and net profit fell 46 percent to 6.119 billion.

Abreu attributed it mainly to the exchange rate. Revenue depends on the pulp price and on the currency, he said, and because the company exports heavily, a stronger real can cut revenue measured in reais.

He said the annual comparison should normalise, that volume fell but the principal factor this year is the depreciation of the dollar.

On costs, he said the company has been efficient enough to absorb higher gas and diesel prices and holds derivative instruments that protect it against those increases.

Leverage stands at 3.4 times, against a target of 2.5. Abreu said the strategy is to concentrate all cash generation on reducing it, and that the reduction will come as the investments mature.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What did Suzano win?

Champion of the pulp and paper sector in the 26th edition of the Valor 1000 yearbook, awarded on 8 September 2026.

What are the figures behind it?

Net revenue of 50.1 billion reais in 2025, up 5.7 percent, net income of 13.4 billion, up 290.7 percent, and record sales of 14.2 million tonnes.

How does it compare with its sector?

Klabin, the second-ranked company in the sector, had 20.7 billion reais of net revenue. Suzano is about 2.4 times its size.

How is 2026 going?

Harder. First-half revenue fell 9 percent and net profit 46 percent, which the chief executive attributes mainly to a stronger real against the dollar.

Sources: Valor Economico Valor 1000 26th edition, Valor 1000 ranking dataset, Portal Celulose, Suzano investor relations.

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