Since it's the largest plastics processor in North America, and publicly traded, we keep a close eye on Berry Global Group Inc. It's noteworthy that in the midst of a global pandemic and an economic recession, Berry just recorded strong results for the quarter that ended June 27.
Berry's net sales were up 50 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago, while its operating profit was up 61 percent and operating EBITDA was up 67 percent.
Looking beyond the numbers, Chairman and CEO Tom Salmon says the pandemic is bringing the Berry team closer together.
"The first thing that the pandemic has done has increase the level of morale, believe it or not, inside our company to heights that it hasn't been in a long time by the way these teams are caring for one another, caring for their communities and caring for their customers," Salmon said on a July 31 call with analysts.
Has Berry been a good investment in 2020? The company's stock price started the year at $47.52, dropped to $26.99 on March 16, and it's now at $49.99. So it's up about 4 percent in 2020, but if you bought it when everyone was panicking, you're up more than 82 percent.
Those numbers had a few of us speculating: Berry seems to be a steady, recession-resistant stock. Could it be doing even better if some investors weren't scared away by the "global war on plastic"?
Plastic have to be considered part of a sustainable future. Our question: Do investors understand that?
