Central Garden & Pet Company
Rank #263Capital ReturnCENTA · Nasdaq · Consumer Defensive
Central Garden & Pet Company (CENTA) — Rank #263 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.26) · ROE 9.3% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.
As-of 2026-09-15 · 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
Price History
Company Snapshot
P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.
Market Cap
$2.16B
P/E (annual)
13.5
P/S (annual)
0.7
P/B
1.2
P/OCF (annual)
6.5
Shareholder Yield
4.6%
Employees
6,000
Industry
Packaged Foods
Exchange
Nasdaq
Signal Flags
Quality Profile
Profitability
1/1 passSafety
1/1 passCash Flow
3/3 passGrowth
1/2 passTerry Smith quality gate
Passes 1/5 Terry Smith thresholdsWhat Growth Is Priced In
Implied revenue growth (10Y)
-5.9%
The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).
Buyback tailwind: -4.6% — per-share value needs a total required return of -10.4% once share-count change is priced in.
vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: 0.1%
within its own historyCost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)
r = 8%
-9.4%
r = 10% (base)
-5.9%
r = 12%
-2.9%
Net debt / market cap: 8.9%
Valuation History
Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.
P / E
Price / diluted EPS
P / S
Price / revenue per share
P / B
Price / book value per share
P / GP
Price / gross profit per share
P / FCF
Price / free cash flow per share
Earnings bubble check
Current margins may be above sustainable levels — a P/E based on peak earnings can overstate cheapness.
FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.
Profitability
Gross profitability (GP / assets)
0.26
Primary signal (Novy-Marx).
3rd of 5 SIC 51 peers
Return on equity
9.3%
Gross margin
31.9%
3rd of 5 SIC 51 peers
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)
—
Anti-fragile safety
Balance-sheet safety
Composite anti-fragile check.
Debt / equity
1.17
Current ratio
3.79×
1st of 5 SIC 51 peers
Quick ratio
2.58×
Net cash
-$196.35M
Cash & equivalents minus total debt.
Cash-flow health
Free cash flow
$291.09M
Operating cash flow minus capex.
Positive free cash flow
FCF / net income
0.79
Cash-backing of earnings.
FCF/NI divergence
Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).
Accruals healthy
Cash-backed earnings.
SBC / revenue
0.7%
Stock-based comp intensity.
Piotroski F-Score
F-Score
8 / 9
Fundamental-strength score (0-9).