Quality Investor

Central Garden & Pet Company

Rank #253Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

CENT · Nasdaq · Consumer Defensive

Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) — Rank #253 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.26) · ROE 9.3% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000887733 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States.

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It operates through two segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides dog and cat supplies, such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming items, waste management, and training pads; supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles, and pet birds, including toys, enclosures, habitats, bedding, and food and supplements; products for equine and livestock; animal and household health and insect control products; aquariums and terrariums, including fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, and lighting systems and accessories; and live fish and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions. This segment sells its products under the Aqueon, Cadet, Comfort Zone, Farnam, Four Paws, K&H Pet Products, Kaytee, Nylabone, and Zilla brands. Its Garden segment offers lawn and garden supplies products that include grass seed; vegetable; flower and herb packet seed; wild bird feed, bird feeders, bird houses, and other birding accessories; fertilizers; decorative products; live plants; and weed and grass, as well as other herbicides, insecticide, and pesticide products. This segment sells its lawn and garden supplies products under the Amdro, Ferry-Morse, Pennington, and Sevin brands. The company sells its products to independent distributors, big-box retailers, national and regional retail chains, eCommerce and online retailers, grocery stores, nurseries, and mass merchants.

Central Garden & Pet Company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California.

Industry
Packaged Foods
Sector
Consumer Defensive
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
September 27

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

$2.84B

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

0.9

P/B

1.6

P/OCF (annual)

8.5

Shareholder Yield

4.6%

Employees

6,000

Industry

Packaged Foods

Exchange

Nasdaq

11/12

Flags passed

CENT fails 1 critical flag

Passes 11 of 12 quality flags

  • FAIL
    Revenue declining YoY

    Revenue contracted year over year

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.26
Return on equity
9.3%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.17
Current ratio
3.79×
Net cash
-$196.35M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.7%

Growth

1/2 pass
Revenue growth
-2.2%
Piotroski F-Score
8 / 9
Share dilution
-4.6%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

Warning: Revenue declining YoY · GP/assets 0.26

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.26

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

Return on equity

9.3%

Gross margin

31.9%

Revenue growth (YoY)

-2.2%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

-2.1%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

3.0%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

2.3%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

—

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 79% above net income

Free cash flow

$291.09M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

78.8%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.7%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $196.35M, F-Score 8/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.17

Current ratio

3.79×

Quick ratio

2.58×

Net cash

-$196.35M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

8 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.7 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-4.6%4/5 Strong
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr3/5 Good
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
3.5%4/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Capital Return
Hypergrowth
Value

Price History

CENT+14.2% · +2.7% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR