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
- Website
- central.com
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
- FAILRevenue declining YoY
Revenue contracted year over year
- PASSGross margin holding
- PASSDilution within 2%
- PASSFCF not negative from investment
- PASSDisclosure consistent
- PASSOperating margin holding
- PASSFree cash flow intact
- PASSPasses safety gate
- PASSBalance sheet stable
- PASSNo competitive retreat
- PASSSBC not compressing margin
- PASSNo 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 passSafety
1/1 passCash Flow
3/3 passGrowth
1/2 passFCF 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.
Operating Leverage
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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).
Accruals healthy
Cash-backed earnings.
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.
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
Lifecycle Phase History
Price History
Source filings on SEC EDGAR: 10-K annual reports · 10-Q quarterly reports