Assay
Financial-condition grades for SEC filers
Company Report · as of Oct 9, 2026
|
| Central Garden & PET Co.CENT · shops | |
|---|---|
| Grade |  B/Con the B/C boundary of 258 graded peers; percentile 42.6, sampling error 2.9 points; lower is stronger |
| Rank | 110 of 258 |
| Profitability | Cpercentile 56.7 |
| Solvency | Bpercentile 29.7 |
| Growth and financing | Cpercentile 53.9 |
| Reliability | 0.94 AUCfailure model, filers with over $2.67B assets; 95% interval 0.88 to 0.97; 61 events, 2020 to 2025 |
| Peer failure rate | 0.52% a yearItem 1.03 bankruptcies, same asset band, 2012 to 2025 |
| Size band | over $2.67B assetstotal assets $3.6B[1] |
| Standard universe | insiderevenue above $1M and assets above $10M[1-2] |
| Warnings | none activenot computable: dilution, distress |
| Inputs computable | 10 of 14 |
| Graded from | filings received through Nov 26, 2025317 days before the rescan; every figure keyed to the SEC receipt date |
| Last close | $40.532026-10-08; market equity $0; iex feed |
| Price used in grade | None |
| Share price, twelve months to the rescansplit-adjusted close; a lollipop at every rescan carries the letter held then; baseline ticks are SEC receipt dates of the inputs; ranges and dragging scroll the full history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Percentile at every rescan on file, Jan 21, 2012 to Oct 9, 2026; stronger toward the top. Hover for the date. Open this report as it stood on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each date opens the report as it stood on that rescan. |
Business, in the company's words. Opening of Item 1 of the 10-K received Nov 26, 2025; the document on sec.gov.
Central Garden & Pet Company (“Central”) is a market leader in the U.S. pet and garden industries. For more than 40 years, we have delivered innovative, trusted solutions that help lawns grow greener, gardens bloom bigger, pets live healthier, and communities grow stronger. We operate through two reportable segments: Pet and Garden. Our Pet segment offers a broad range of products for dog and cat supplies, including treats and chews, toys, beds and containment, grooming items, waste management and training pads.
The Fourteen Inputs [top]
Lower percentile is stronger. Source numbers open the SEC filing; a range that spans filings opens the sources table.
| Input | Percentile, 0 to 100 | Value | Source | Peer median | Percentile | Peers | Period end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability, sleeve percentile 56.7 | |||||||
| Gross profitability | 27.5% | [1,3] | 42.6% | 71.2 | 242 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Return on invested capital | 9.7% | [4-12] | 10.9% | 56.0 | 84 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Accruals ratio | (4.7%) | [1,13-15] | (4.9%) | 56.1 | 287 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Gross margin stability, five years | 1.1 pts | [2-3,16-23] | 1.2 pts | 43.3 | 219 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Solvency, sleeve percentile 29.7 | |||||||
| Twelve-month failure probability | not computable | 0.04% | |||||
| firm-wide XBRL shares cannot be assigned to one ticker class | |||||||
| Altman Z double-prime | not computable | 1.92 | |||||
| one or more required annual facts are missing | |||||||
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.92x | [4,7,9,24] | 1.84x | 38.9 | 100 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Interest coverage | 4.33x | [4,25] | 2.26x | 40.5 | 64 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Current ratio | 3.67x | [26-27] | 1.37x | 9.7 | 295 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Growth and financing, sleeve percentile 53.9 | |||||||
| Revenue growth, three-year compound | (2.1%) | [2,17,19,21] | 1.5% | 67.0 | 269 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Free cash flow growth, three-year compound | not computable | 5.6% | |||||
| current FCF must be positive and base FCF must exceed $100,000 | |||||||
| Reinvestment rate | 11.9% | [4-6,24,26-30] | 7.3% | 47.4 | 152 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Asset growth, three years | 3.4% | [1,15,31-32] | 3.4% | 47.4 | 272 | 2025-09-27 | |
| Net share issuance, one year | not computable | (0.6%) | |||||
| firm-wide XBRL shares cannot be assigned to one ticker class | |||||||
Gross profitability. Revenue less cost of goods sold, over total assets.
Accruals ratio. Net income less operating cash flow, over average assets; lower is stronger.
Gross margin stability, five years. Standard deviation of gross margin; lower is stronger.
Twelve-month failure probability. CHS model; lower is stronger.
Net debt to EBITDA. Lower is stronger.
Net share issuance, one year. Split-adjusted; lower is stronger.
Sleeves are equal-weighted; within a sleeve each computable input carries equal weight. Composite -0.068; sampling error 2.9 percentile points on 258 peers.
Among 258 Peers [top]
Composite score of every graded peer, smoothed. Vertical rules are the letter band edges at the 20th, 40th, 60th and 80th percentiles. Small dots are the six largest peers by market equity.
| Rank | Company | Percentile | Letter | Warnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105 | Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (FND) Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (FND) B/Con the B/C boundary; percentile 40.5 NYSE · Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers market equity $5.0B; last close $46.51 No active warnings; 9 of 14 inputs | 40.5 | B/C | |
| 106 | Sysco Corp. (SYY) Sysco Corp. (SYY) B/Con the B/C boundary; percentile 40.9 NYSE · Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products market equity $37.5B; last close $78.19 No active warnings; 11 of 14 inputs | 40.9 | B/C | |
| 107 | Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) B/Con the B/C boundary; percentile 41.2 Nasdaq · Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies market equity $9.4B; last close $84.58 No active warnings; 12 of 14 inputs | 41.2 | B/C | |
| 108 | Shoe Station Group Inc. (SHOE) Shoe Station Group Inc. (SHOE) B/Con the B/C boundary; percentile 41.6 Nasdaq · Retail-Shoe Stores market equity $355.0M; last close $13.04 No active warnings; 11 of 14 inputs | 41.6 | B/C | |
| 109 | Wingstop Inc. (WING) Wingstop Inc. (WING) B/Con the B/C boundary; percentile 42.0 Nasdaq · Retail-Eating Places market equity $3.2B; last close $118.44 No active warnings; 10 of 14 inputs | 42.0 | B/C | |
| 110 | Central Garden & PET Co. (CENT) Central Garden & PET Co. (CENT) B/Con the B/C boundary; percentile 42.6 Nasdaq · Wholesale-Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods last close $40.53 No active warnings; 10 of 14 inputs | 42.6 | B/C | |
| 111 | Central Garden & PET Co. (CENTA) Central Garden & PET Co. (CENTA) B/Con the B/C boundary; percentile 42.6 Nasdaq · Wholesale-Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods last close $35.00 No active warnings; 10 of 14 inputs | 42.6 | B/C | |
| 112 | H&R Block Inc. (HRB) H&R Block Inc. (HRB) Cmiddle fifth; percentile 43.2 NYSE · Services-Personal Services market equity $5.5B; last close $44.59 No active warnings; 8 of 14 inputs | 43.2 | C | |
| 113 | TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) Cmiddle fifth; percentile 43.6 NYSE · Retail-Family Clothing Stores market equity $152.6B; last close $138.74 No active warnings; 8 of 14 inputs | 43.6 | C | |
| 114 | US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD) US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD) Cmiddle fifth; percentile 44.0 NYSE · Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products market equity $21.0B; last close $97.17 No active warnings; 12 of 14 inputs | 44.0 | C | |
| 115 | LKQ Corp. (LKQ) LKQ Corp. (LKQ) Cmiddle fifth; percentile 44.4 Nasdaq · Wholesale-Motor Vehicles & Motor Vehicle Parts & Supplies market equity $5.6B; last close $22.02 No active warnings; 9 of 14 inputs | 44.4 | C |
| Peer policy | Letter | Percentile | Peers |
|---|---|---|---|
| all graded filers, equal sleeves | B | 33.3 | 2204 |
| sector peers, equal sleeves (the grade) | B/C | 42.6 | 258 |
| same exchange, equal sleeves | B/C | 39.1 | 1219 |
| sector peers, equal inputs | C | 45.7 | 258 |
Each letter is one fifth of the 258 graded peers, about 51 companies. A boundary letter (A/B, B/C, C/D, D/E) marks a percentile within one sampling error of a band edge.
What the Price Implies [top]
Market measures at the 2026-10-08 close. None enters the grade. Percentile among graded peers with the same measure.
| Measure | Value | Peer median | Percentile | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twelve-month price change, skipping the latest month | 31.6% | (0.1%) | 79 | hotter than 79 of 100 peers |
| Distance from 52-week high | (12.9%) | (24.1%) | 73 | closer to its high than 73 of 100 peers |
| EBIT to enterprise value | not computable | 5.3% | required accounting or market input is missing | |
| Free cash flow yield | not computable | 4.2% | required accounting or market input is missing | |
| Book value to price | not computable | 0.36 | required accounting or market input is missing | |
| Sales to price | not computable | 1.75 | required accounting or market input is missing | |
| Composite equity issuance, five years | not computable | (16.7%) | required accounting or market input is missing | |
| Relative strength against the sector, log excess return | 0.30 | 0.02 | 79 | ahead of 79 of 100 peers |
Inputs: EBIT $250.0M; free cash flow $291.1M; book equity $1.7B; sales $3.1B; debt $1.2B; cash $996.7M[33].
Diagnostics [top]
Diagnostics do not feed the grade.
| Piotroski F-score: None of 9, period end 2025-09-27 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Return on assets above zero | 4.6% | ✓ pass[13,15] |
| Operating cash flow above zero | $332.5M | ✓ pass[14] |
| Return on assets improved | 1.4 pts | ✓ pass[13,15,31,34] |
| Operating cash flow exceeds net income | $169.7M | ✓ pass[13-14] |
| Long-term leverage fell | (1.1 pts) | ✓ pass[1,15,31,35-36] |
| Current ratio improved | 0.7 pts | ✓ pass[26-27,29-30] |
| No new shares issued | n/a | |
| Gross margin improved | 2.4 pts | ✓ pass[2-3,16-17] |
| Asset turnover improved | (6.7 pts) | ✗ fail[2,15,17,31] |
| Cash, filings, liquidity | |
|---|---|
| Cash and equivalents | $996.7M[37] |
| Operating cash flow, four quarters | $390.3M[14,37-41] |
| Months of runway | not finite |
| trailing operating cash flow is nonnegative, so runway is not finite | |
| Late filings, two years | 0 |
| NT 10-K or NT 10-Q | |
| Days since last periodic filing | 64 |
| 10-Q received Aug 6, 2026 | |
| Median daily dollar volume | $3.5M |
| 63 sessions | |
| Days since newest grade input | 317 |
Downloads [top]
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Sources [top]
Every citation on this page. Filing opens the SEC index page for that submission; viewer opens the SEC interactive data for the same filing; series opens the SEC XBRL API record for that tag and company.
| # | Concept | XBRL tag | Value | Period end | Received | Form | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $3.6B | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 2 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.1B | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 3 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $997.3M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 4 | operating income | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | $250.0M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 5 | pretax income | us-gaap:IncomeLossFromContinuingOperationsBeforeIncomeTaxesExtraordinaryItemsNoncontrollingInterest | $216.8M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 6 | income tax | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit | $52.8M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 7 | total debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebt | $1.2B | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 8 | book equity | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | $1.6B | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 9 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $882.5M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 10 | total debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebt | $1.2B | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 11 | book equity | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | $1.6B | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 12 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $753.5M | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 13 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $162.8M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 14 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $332.5M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 15 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $3.6B | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 16 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $943.7M | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 17 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.2B | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 18 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $946.8M | 2023-09-30 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 19 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.3B | 2023-09-30 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 20 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $992.3M | 2022-09-24 | 2024-11-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 21 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.3B | 2022-09-24 | 2024-11-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 22 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $970.9M | 2021-09-25 | 2023-11-28 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 23 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.3B | 2021-09-25 | 2023-11-28 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 24 | depreciation amortization | us-gaap:DepreciationDepletionAndAmortization | $84.9M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 25 | interest expense | us-gaap:InterestExpense | $57.7M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 26 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $2.0B | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 27 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $538.8M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 28 | capital expenditure | us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | $41.4M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 29 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $1.9B | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 30 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $515.4M | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 31 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $3.4B | 2023-09-30 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 32 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $3.3B | 2022-09-24 | 2024-11-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 33 | shares outstanding | us-gaap:CommonStockSharesOutstanding | 12,246,751 | 2013-12-28 | 2014-02-06 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 34 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $108.0M | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 35 | long term debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebtNoncurrent | $1.2B | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 36 | long term debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebtNoncurrent | $1.2B | 2024-09-28 | 2025-11-26 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 37 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $996.7M | 2026-06-27 | 2026-08-06 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 38 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $207.6M | 2026-06-27 | 2026-08-06 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 39 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | -$119.9M | 2026-03-28 | 2026-05-07 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 40 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | -$70.2M | 2025-12-27 | 2026-02-05 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 41 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $149.8M | 2025-06-28 | 2026-08-06 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
Limitations [top]
Grade boundary. Percentile 42.6 is 2.6 points from the nearest band edge; sampling error is 2.9 points.
Peer group. Sector assignment from four-digit SIC codes, hand-tuned and published. The grade under three alternative peer policies is tabled above.
Size. Within a sector the letter tracks size. Among graded filers in the smallest asset band, 72% grade E and 0% grade A; in the largest, 13% grade E and 21% grade A. Universe as of Oct 9, 2026.
Failure model. filings 2012-01-01 to 2019-12-31 fit, filings 2020-01-01 to 2025-12-31 test; status post hoc pending confirmation. pre-registered on 2026 filings once their 12-month outcome windows close; supported if the paired per-quintile gain over the pooled model has a lower bound above 0.05.
Input validity. Revenue or total assets at or below $100,000 sets the degenerate-inputs flag. An input whose denominator is at or below $100,000 is left not computable rather than ranked.
Returns. No input on this page has a post-2015 confidence interval on returns that excludes zero. The grade ranks reported financial condition and is not a return forecast.
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