Operator

Good day, everyone. Thank you for joining Packaging Corporation of America's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Results Conference Call. Your host for today will be Mark Kowlzan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PCA. Upon conclusion of his narrative, there will be a Q&A session. Please also note today's event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the floor over to Mr. Kowlzan. Please proceed when you're ready.

Mark Kowlzan
Chairman of the Board & CEO

Thanks, Jamie, and good morning, everyone. Thank you all for participating in Packaging Corporation of America's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Release Conference Call. Again, I'm Mark Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO of PCA. And with me on the call today is Tom Hassfurther, President; and Kent Pflederer, our Chief Financial Officer. As usual, I'll begin the call with an overview of the first quarter results, and then I'll be turning the call over to Tom and Kent, who will provide further details. And then I'll be wrapping things up, and then we'll be glad to take questions after.

Yesterday, we reported first quarter net income of $171 million or $1.91 per share. Excluding special items, first quarter 2026 net income was $215 million or $2.40 per share compared to the first quarter 2025 net income of $208 million