Central Garden & Pet Q3 sales miss estimates on exit of pet distribution; lifts FY forecast

Central Garden & Pet

05/08/2026 21:13

Overview
U.S. pet and garden goods maker's preliminary fiscal Q3 net sales fell 8%, missing analyst expectations
GAAP diluted EPS for fiscal Q3 declined to $1.45 from $1.52 a year ago
Company raised fiscal 2026 non-GAAP EPS outlook and agreed to acquire 80% of TRIXIE

Outlook
Central Garden & Pet raises fiscal 2026 non-GAAP diluted EPS outlook to $2.85 or better
Company projects fiscal 2026 capital expenditures of about $50 mln
Outlook assumes competitive retail environment, value-oriented consumers, and inflation in select commodities

Result Drivers
BUSINESS EXIT IMPACT - Co said overall sales decline was primarily due to exit of pet distribution business, while organic sales grew 2%
MARGIN IMPROVEMENT - Co attributed margin expansion to exit of pet distribution business and disciplined execution
GARDEN SEGMENT GROWTH - Sales growth in Garden segment driven by Wild Bird, Fertilizer and Controls, and Grass Seeds

Company press release: ID:nBw46GWSFa

Key Details
Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q3 Sales
Miss
$882 mln
$895.76 mln (5 Analysts)
Q3 EPS
 
$1.45
 
Q3 Net Income
 
$90 mln
 
Q3 Operating Income
Miss
$126 mln
$134.80 mln (4 Analysts)
Q3 Gross Profit
 
$317 mln
 

Analyst Coverage
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 4 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the food processing peer group is "buy"
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Central Garden & Pet Co is $50.00, about 13.5% above its August 4 closing price of $44.07
The stock recently traded at 14 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 13 three months ago

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Aug 3 - Clorox forecasts upbeat annual sales as demand improves

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)