If you’re hunting for St Joe Paper Company stock because you think you’re investing in cardboard boxes or office reams, I’ve got some news for you. You’re about twenty-five years too late for the timber.
The name is a bit of a ghost. While many old-school tickers and dusty ledgers still refer to it as the "St. Joe Paper Company," the business actually rebranded to The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) back in 1997. They haven't operated a paper mill since Bill Clinton was in office.
Honestly, what you’re looking at today is a massive, pure-play real estate bet on the Florida Panhandle. And as of January 2026, that bet is looking pretty interesting.
The Identity Crisis That Created a Land Giant
St. Joe was born in 1936, funded by the estate of Alfred I. duPont. For decades, it was an industrial beast. It owned more than a million acres of Florida timber, ran its own railroads, and operated a massive paper mill in Port St. Joe.
Everything changed in 1996. Peter Rummell, a former Disney executive, took the wheel and realized that the dirt was worth way more than the trees growing on it. He didn’t want to be a paper tycoon; he wanted to be a community builder.
Fast forward to now. The company has shed its industrial skin. It sold the mills. It sold the sugar operations. It even sold off nearly 380,000 acres in a single "one-off" deal in 2014. What’s left is a highly concentrated, strategic portfolio of roughly 171,000 acres, primarily nestled between the Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
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Where the Money Actually Comes From
You’ve got to think of JOE not as a stock, but as a master-planned ecosystem. They don't just sell a lot and walk away. They build the lifestyle that makes people want to buy the lot in the first place.
Their revenue is split into three main buckets:
- Residential Real Estate: Selling homesites to builders.
- Hospitality: Running luxury hotels like the Camp Creek Inn and private clubs like the Watersound Club.
- Leasing: Owning the shopping centers where residents buy their groceries.
The growth is staggering. In late 2025, they announced the development of a 50,000-square-foot Publix at Watersound West Bay Center. Why does a grocery store matter to a stock? Because it anchors a planned 500,000-square-foot commercial space. People move to Florida, they need bread and milk, and St. Joe collects the rent.
The 2026 Numbers You Need to Know
Let's talk cold, hard cash. As of mid-January 2026, the stock is trading around $65.40. It’s been on a bit of a tear lately, climbing nearly 7% in the first two weeks of the year.
The market cap sits at roughly $3.78 billion. For a company that owns 171,000 acres of prime Florida real estate, that number often sparks debates between "value" investors and "growth" bulls.
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Dividends and Yields
They aren't exactly a dividend aristocrat, but they’re trying. In late 2025, the board hiked the quarterly dividend by 14% to $0.16 per share. That brings the annual payout to $0.64, giving it a yield of about 1.00%. It’s modest, sure. But the payout ratio is only around 35%, meaning they’re keeping plenty of cash to keep the bulldozers moving.
Operational Momentum
In their mid-2025 reports, real estate revenue jumped 27% year-over-year. They sold 225 homesites in a single quarter at an average price of $122,000. Contrast that with their joint venture, Latitude Margaritaville Watersound. That community is a beast of its own, with nearly 2,000 occupied homes and another 3,500 planned in the first phase alone.
Why People Get St. Joe Wrong
The biggest mistake people make with St Joe Paper Company stock (the "new" JOE) is treating it like a homebuilder.
It’s not.
Homebuilders are subject to the whims of lumber prices and labor shortages. St. Joe is a land developer. They own the land at a cost basis that is, quite frankly, absurdly low because they’ve held it for nearly a century. When they sell a lot for $150,000, their gross margins often hover between 45% and 52%.
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Another misconception? That Florida is "full."
While the national housing market has seen some softening, the "migration to the sun" hasn't stopped. Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP)—which sits on land St. Joe donated—recently announced expanded daily flights to New York’s LaGuardia. Accessibility drives demand. Demand drives price.
The Risks: It’s Not All Sunshine
You can’t talk about Florida real estate without talking about hurricanes. A major storm hitting the Panhandle isn't just a possibility; it’s an eventuality. While the company has shown resilience (it basically rebuilt itself after Hurricane Michael in 2018), insurance costs and construction delays are real threats to the bottom line.
There’s also the valuation. A P/E ratio north of 36.0 is rich for a real estate play. You’re paying for the future, not just the present cash flow. If migration slows down or interest rates stay stubbornly high, that premium might evaporate.
Actionable Steps for Investors
If you're looking to play the long-term Florida growth story, keep these specific triggers in mind for your watchlist:
- Monitor the Commercial Occupancy: As of late 2025, their 1.1 million square feet of commercial space was 97% leased. Any dip here is a red flag for the "recurring revenue" story.
- Watch the "Third" Golf Course: Construction is wrapping up on "The Third," a new 18-hole course designed by Davis Love III. High-end amenities like this are what drive the membership growth in the Watersound Club, which is a high-margin revenue stream.
- Check the Share Count: Management is aggressive with buybacks. They’ve retired over 37% of outstanding shares in the last decade. Fewer shares mean your slice of the 171,000-acre pie gets bigger every year.
- Ignore the "Paper" Name: Don't let old search terms confuse you. If you see news about "St. Joe Paper," make sure it's not a historical archive. The modern story is about hotels, margaritas, and zip codes.
The transition from a 1930s paper mill to a 2020s luxury developer is one of the weirdest and most successful pivots in American corporate history. Whether you buy the stock or not, it’s a masterclass in asset realization.