Greif, Inc. (GEF): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're digging into Greif, Inc. right now, trying to map out how their pivot to a higher-margin industrial packaging core is actually working after those big asset sales. Honestly, after posting total annual revenue from continuing operations of about $4.29 billion in fiscal 2025, the strategy is clearly taking shape, supported by a $50 million run-rate savings achievement. I've distilled their entire blueprint-from securing steel and resin supply chains to their focus on specialized IBCs-into the nine building blocks you need to see. Check out the full Business Model Canvas below to see exactly how Greif, Inc. is positioned for the next chapter.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the ecosystem supporting Greif, Inc.'s global packaging operations as of late 2025. These relationships are critical, especially given the company's exposure to commodity pricing and its stated commitment to sustainability targets.

Strategic raw material suppliers for steel, plastic resins, and fiber form the bedrock of Greif, Inc.'s production across its Durable Metal Solutions, Customized Polymer Solutions, and Sustainable Fiber Solutions segments. The company's reliance on these inputs means supplier alignment on quality and sustainability is paramount. For instance, Greif achieved its Fiscal Year 2024 target of assessing sustainability performance for 61% of its supplier spend, up from a prior target of 60%.

The company actively manages its supply base, communicating expectations via its Supplier Code of Conduct, with an update scheduled for 2025. The list of key partners recognized for Excellence in Direct Materials in the 2024 supply year included ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Products, MaxSteel, Borçelik, ExxonMobil, Nalco/EcoLab, Dow, Aalterpaint, and Berger Global. Greif, Inc. also reported working with key steel suppliers in 2024 to trial steel made by electric arc furnace technology, supporting its lower-carbon future goals.

The operational scale is significant; Greif, Inc. has a workforce of over 14,000 colleagues spread across more than 250 facilities in 37 countries. This scale necessitates strong logistics coordination to move raw materials and finished goods globally.

The following table summarizes key supplier and logistics categories, using the latest confirmed partner examples from the 2024 supply year, as specific 2025 partner announcements weren't immediately available:

For distribution, Greif, Inc. leverages global logistics providers to ensure its packaging products integrate effectively into customer supply chains. Partners recognized for Excellence in Logistics in the 2024 supply year included C.H. Robinson, Cowan Systems, LLC, Menzies Distributions Solutions, LTD, and GLM Transport, Inc. This coordination supports the company's overall operational capacity across its industrial packaging and logistics functions.

Recycling and sustainability partners are central to Greif, Inc.'s strategy, which focuses on advancing a circular economy. The company has set ambitious targets to support these efforts:

• Make 100% of its Products Recyclable by 2030.
• Achieve an average of 60% Recycled Raw Material Content Across Products by 2030.
• Reach Zero Waste to Landfill at 97% of its Production Facilities by 2030.

Greif, Inc. actively uses Post-Consumer Resin (PCR) in products like IBCs, small and large plastic drums, jerrycans, and pallets, aiming to increase this recycled content. The company's commitment to circularity and responsible operations contributed to its naming on Newsweek's America's Most Responsible Companies 2026 list for the seventh consecutive year.

Regarding Technology partners for deploying AI to improve operational efficiency (OEE), while specific vendor names weren't detailed, the focus on efficiency is quantified through internal work streams and savings. As of the second quarter of 2025, Greif, Inc. had over 70 work streams in flight targeting areas like operating efficiency gains. The company reported achieving $10 million in run-rate savings toward its full-year commitment of $15 million to $25 million in efficiency initiatives compared to its 2024 baseline. This operational discipline is reflected in the raised Fiscal 2025 Adjusted EBITDA guidance, now expected to be at least $725 million, and the raised Adjusted Free Cash Flow guidance to $280 million.

The Q2 2025 results showed Adjusted EBITDA of $213.9 million and Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $109.6 million. These numbers show the tangible financial outcomes tied to operational execution, which is supported by these internal and external efficiency partnerships.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core actions Greif, Inc. is taking right now to reshape its business for the next phase of growth, which involves some major asset sales and a big internal efficiency push. Honestly, the sheer volume of change in fiscal 2025 makes tracking these activities essential.

Manufacturing of industrial packaging (drums, IBCs, jerrycans)

Greif, Inc. maintains its manufacturing base across a global footprint, operating in over 35 countries to serve customers with localized supply. The company delivers tailored solutions across its material-based sectors, which, following reorganization, focus on Customized Polymer, Sustainable Fiber, and Durable Metal packaging. While the overall macroeconomy was described as not robust, management pointed to volume performance in specific areas as proof the strategy is working.

Segment sales performance for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, focusing only on continuing operations, showed distinct trends:

• Polymers unit sales increased nearly 8% year over year.
• Metals sales dipped 5.7% year over year.
• Fiber sales dropped 5.4% year over year.

The company also made structural changes to its manufacturing capacity, announcing the closure of two mills, which reduced total capacity by ~190,000 tons.

Executing the $120 million cost optimization program through 2027

Greif, Inc. is actively driving efficiency through a multi-year cost optimization program, which management initially framed around a \$100 million target through 2027. The execution is accelerating. As of the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the company had already identified \$13.0 million in annual run-rate savings. By the end of the third quarter, run-rate savings reached \$20.0 million. Management reported achieving \$50 million in run-rate savings during fiscal 2025 alone, leading to an acceleration of the cumulative target for fiscal 2027 to a range of \$100 million to \$120 million. This initiative aligns with the Greif Business System 2.0 to enhance efficiency.

Global supply chain management and raw material procurement

Managing a global supply chain across over 40 countries is a key activity, supported by efforts to streamline operations and reduce overhead. The company leverages tools like its global logistics control tower and practices such as Lean Six Sigma to improve efficiency. This focus helps in managing input costs, though the company remains exposed to fluctuations in raw materials like steel. The goal is enhanced visibility and optimized working capital across global operations.

Portfolio reshaping by divesting non-core, lower-margin assets

A major activity in late 2025 involved significant divestitures to sharpen the portfolio toward higher-growth, higher-margin areas like pharmaceuticals and food & beverage. The gross proceeds from these sales totaled approximately \$2.3 billion, which was used to reduce debt, pushing the leverage ratio under 1x.

Here are the details on the major transactions that closed or were set to close around the end of fiscal 2025:

These moves represent a strategic shift away from cyclical markets, though the absence of prior-year divestiture gains, like the \$46.1 million gain from the Delta Petroleum divestiture in Q3 2024, impacted year-over-year reported net income comparisons for continuing operations. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets Greif, Inc. (GEF) relies on to execute its strategy as of late 2025. These aren't just line items; they are the physical and financial foundations supporting their global industrial packaging operations.

Global Footprint and Manufacturing Assets

The physical scale of Greif, Inc. is a primary resource. The company maintains a significant global presence to serve its diverse customer base across various geographies.

• Workforce of over 14,000 colleagues.
• Operations spanning 37 countries.
• A global network comprising more than 250 facilities.

These facilities house specialized manufacturing assets critical for their core segments. Greif, Inc. focuses its operational strength on specific product lines where it sees the greatest opportunity for growth and margin expansion, particularly after the strategic divestitures completed in fiscal 2025.

The company's manufacturing capabilities are concentrated in areas like Durable Metal and Polymer Solutions. For instance, the focus on the agrochemicals market is serviced by specific assets producing small containers and jerrycans, where Greif, Inc. has consolidated a global leadership position.

Financial Strength and Balance Sheet

Following strategic portfolio reshaping, including the divestiture of the Containerboard Business, the balance sheet is a key resource cited for resilience. The company used proceeds from divestitures to aggressively pay down debt.

Here's the quick math on the debt reduction as of the end of the fiscal year 2025, which now ends on September 30:

• Adjusted net debt as calculated under the 2022 Credit Agreement stood at $908.3 million as of September 30, 2025.
• This resulted in a pro forma leverage ratio of below 1.0x.
• The company reported a strong free cash flow conversion rate of nearly 50% for fiscal 2025.

This significantly deleveraged position provides capital efficiency built for resilience, which is a critical resource heading into fiscal 2026.

Intellectual Property and Customer Focus

While less tangible than facilities or cash, intellectual property related to product design and customer service capability underpins the value proposition. This includes proprietary knowledge related to closure systems and the engineering behind customized packaging designs for specific end-markets.

The company's focus on customer service is quantified by its latest Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey result, which is a measure of customer loyalty and satisfaction, a key intangible asset:

• The most recently completed NPS survey returned a net score of 72.
• This score is recognized as a world-class score within the manufacturing industry.

This high score suggests strong customer relationships and service execution, which helps retain business in commoditized packaging categories.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core reasons why customers choose Greif, Inc. over competitors, which are deeply tied to their scale and focus on specialized, essential packaging. Honestly, it's about reliability when the contents are critical.

High-quality, durable packaging for hazardous and sensitive materials.

Greif, Inc. delivers packaging designed to protect what matters most, serving end markets like agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and specialty chemicals. This commitment to quality underpins their entire offering, from steel drums in Durable Metal Solutions to plastic containers in Customized Polymer Solutions. The focus isn't just on the container itself, but on the protection it offers for high-value or hazardous contents.

Global footprint serving multinational customers across 37 countries.

The sheer scale of Greif, Inc.'s operations is a major value driver, ensuring global consistency for multinational clients. They maintain a presence in 37 countries, supported by over 250 facilities globally. This extensive network helps manage complex international supply chains for customers who need standardized packaging everywhere they operate. This global reach supports their vision of being the best customer service company in the world.

Here's a quick look at the scale and financial context supporting these value propositions for the fiscal year 2025:

Integrated Solutions for container reconditioning and life cycle management.

Greif, Inc. moves beyond just selling new containers by offering services that extend product life and manage waste responsibly. This includes reconditioning, remanufacturing, and recycling services, which are key components of their Integrated Solutions segment. For example, they expanded their IBC reconditioning services through acquisitions in late 2024. This circular approach helps customers meet their own sustainability goals while optimizing operational efficiency.

Focus on higher-margin, specialized products like Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs).

The strategic shift toward specialized, higher-margin packaging is evident in segment performance. The Customized Polymer Solutions segment, which houses many of these specialized items including IBCs, showed strong growth. In Q3 2025, this segment reported sales of $339.80 million, marking a 7.9% year-over-year sales increase. This focus is a deliberate move to capture better profitability, even when the broader industrial market faces contraction.

The value proposition is built on these pillars:

• Protecting sensitive materials with durable designs.
• Serving customers consistently across 37 countries.
• Offering full container life cycle management services.
• Driving profitability through specialized polymer solutions.

Finance: draft the Q4 2025 cash flow forecast incorporating the latest A/FCF guidance by next Tuesday.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're managing relationships for a global industrial packaging leader, so you know that service isn't just about delivery; it's about being an indispensable partner. Greif, Inc. (GEF) grounds its strategy in delivering legendary customer service, which is essential given its fiscal year 2025 revenue of $4.29 billion.

Dedicated sales and service teams managing long-term contractual agreements.

The commitment to customer-driven results is evident in the structure supporting the client base of over 14,000 colleagues worldwide. While a specific percentage for long-term contracts isn't public, the focus on durable, high-margin growth suggests a reliance on stable, recurring revenue streams. The company recognized this dedication in early 2025 by introducing the new Greif Sales Excellence Award to reward contributions to the sales organization. Furthermore, the company's cost optimization program achieved $50 million in run-rate savings in fiscal year 2025, which helps ensure operational discipline that underpins service reliability.

High customer satisfaction, reflected in an improved Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 72.

The proof of this customer-centric approach shows up clearly in the metrics. Greif, Inc. reported an improved Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 72 in the fourth quarter of 2025. That represents a 3-point improvement from the prior year, a score considered world-class in the industrial packaging segment. This feedback is gathered from a massive base; for instance, the 2024 NPS survey included feedback from more than 4,400 customers globally. The company actively engages with respondents, especially those rating Greif poorly, to develop customer-specific improvement strategies.

Strategic, consultative relationships for customized packaging solutions.

Greif, Inc. moves beyond transactional sales by embedding its sustainability strategy into strengthening these relationships. They focus on consultative selling, particularly in high-return areas. For example, the Customized Polymer Solutions segment, which includes plastic drums and Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), saw success driven by specialized markets like agrochemicals, food and beverage, and pharma. This focus on specialized, high-value packaging demonstrates a strategic alignment with customer needs for customized solutions that enhance their own environmental performance initiatives.

Digital tools for order tracking and supply chain visibility.

You see the tangible application of their customer service vision through digital investment. By the end of 2024, Greif completed the implementation of Greif+, its online customer digital platform, across legacy Global Industrial Packaging (GIP) sites in North America. This platform gives customers real-time visibility into order status, streamlines communications, and improves online ordering. For North American customers, Greif+ offers 24/7 availability to submit, modify, and track orders. Looking ahead to 2025, the company planned to launch an online version of the Greif Green Tool, designed to visually present sustainability metrics during customer consultations and generate detailed PDF reports.

Here's a quick look at the key relationship metrics as of late 2025:

The company's Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) score was 94 in 2024, with a goal for each segment to achieve 95 or greater.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

The Channels block for Greif, Inc. (GEF) centers on its massive physical footprint and direct engagement with large industrial clients.

Direct sales engagement is critical for securing large industrial and multinational customer accounts, which are the backbone of the business that reported fiscal year 2025 net sales of more than $5.4 billion.

Customer relationship quality, a proxy for channel effectiveness with these large partners, is evidenced by a world-class Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 70, reported in April 2025.

The physical infrastructure supporting these channels is extensive, enabling global reach and local service delivery:

Greif, Inc. (GEF) actively builds local-to-local supply chains, a strategy reinforced by empowering local leaders and removing unnecessary layers across its operations in those 40 countries.

This focus on localized logistics and product design directly addresses tariff and freight volatility by optimizing product density for transport. For example, the design of Greif's Knock Down Drums (KDDs) allows for significant transportation efficiency improvements:

• A 40 F Container can fit up to 1720 KDDs versus only 80 large steel drums.
• This design results in 88 percent savings in CO2e emissions from a transportation perspective compared to fully assembled drums.

The Integrated Solutions segment, which includes services like closures, continues to win new business, with its products contributing to Q3 2025 sales of $339.80 million for the Customized Polymer Solutions segment, which grew sales 7.9% year-over-year.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core of Greif, Inc.'s business-who they sell their essential packaging to across the globe as of late 2025. Greif, Inc. serves a diverse set of industrial customers, operating in over 35 countries with approximately 12,000 employees as of late 2025.

The company's customer base is segmented by the type of packaging solution they provide, which directly maps to the industries you listed. For instance, the Customized Polymer Solutions segment, which focuses on plastic drums and Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), is a direct link to chemical and agrochemical customers.

Here is a look at the financial performance of the segment most closely tied to the chemical and agrochemical markets, based on the third quarter of fiscal 2025:

The customer segments you identified are served through Greif, Inc.'s optimized structure, which includes several key areas:

• Global chemical and petrochemical manufacturers: These customers rely heavily on the Durable Metal Solutions (steel drums) and Customized Polymer Solutions (plastic drums, IBCs) segments for safe transport.
• Food, beverage, and pharmaceutical companies requiring high-purity packaging: This need is met by specialized offerings within the Polymer and Metal segments, where purity standards are paramount.
• Agrochemicals market: This is explicitly called out as a key growth area for the polymer segment.
• Industrial and specialty product manufacturers: This broad group is served across all primary packaging segments, including Sustainable Fiber Solutions for dry goods and Innovative Closure Solutions.

The company's focus on service quality is also a key element for retaining these customers; they recently achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 72, which is recognized as world-class within the manufacturing industry, based on feedback from nearly 5,000 global customers as of October 2025.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

Raw material costs, specifically for steel, plastic resins, and recycled fiber, represent a primary cost component for Greif, Inc. Gross profit in some segments was positively impacted by lower raw material costs, while other segments experienced gross profit pressure from higher raw material costs.

Manufacturing and operating expenses support Greif, Inc.'s global footprint, which spans over 35 countries. Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses included $28 million in operating costs specifically linked to the Containerboard Business divestment, which are excluded from EBITDA calculations.

The cost structure is being actively managed through a significant optimization program. Greif, Inc. achieved $50.0 million in run-rate savings from this program by the end of fiscal year 2025, exceeding initial commitments. This acceleration led to an increased total cost optimization commitment of $120.0 million.

Capital expenditures (CapEx) for 2025 were projected to be approximately $155 million.

Key financial figures related to the cost and savings structure for the fiscal year 2025 period include:

The company's efforts to manage operating expenses also involved workforce adjustments:

• Eliminated roughly 8% of professional roles in fiscal Q4 2025.
• This reduction amounted to approximately 190 positions.

Further details on cash use related to these structural changes include:

• Approximately $40 million of cash restructuring related to cost optimization and pension costs.
• Working capital assumed a source of $50 million, driven by volume assumptions and optimization gains.

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core ways Greif, Inc. brings in money as of late 2025. This is all about the sales of their industrial packaging products across their main divisions, keeping in mind that the Containerboard Business is now treated as discontinued operations for these continuing results.

The top-line number for the eleven-month fiscal year 2025, which ended September 30, 2025, for continuing operations, was approximately $4.29 billion. That's the total sales figure we are working with for the core business this period.

Here's a look at how the segments are performing based on the latest available financial metrics for the two-month fourth fiscal quarter of 2025, which covered August and September 2025, focusing only on continuing operations. Remember, these are Adjusted EBITDA figures, not revenue, but they show the financial contribution from each area.

The company also reports revenue through an Integrated Solutions segment, which delivered $17 million in Adjusted EBITDA for the same two-month period. This shows how Greif, Inc. structures its income generation across its primary packaging manufacturing and service lines.

To give you a clearer picture of the financial activity across these streams in that recent quarter, here are the reported Adjusted EBITDA contributions from the continuing operations segments:

• Sales of Durable Metal Solutions: Data point not a dollar amount, but noted as lower.
• Sales of Customized Polymer Solutions: $53 million Adjusted EBITDA.
• Sales of Sustainable Fiber Solutions: $80 million Adjusted EBITDA.
• Integrated Solutions: $17 million Adjusted EBITDA.

The total annual revenue from continuing operations was approximately $4.29 billion in fiscal 2025. That's the big number that ties all these product sales together.

For the eleven-month fiscal 2025 period, the combined Adjusted EBITDA for all continuing operations reached $511.3 million. That's the operational profit metric before certain adjustments across the entire continuing business.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.