Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) Stock Analysis

Central Garden & Pet is a defensive consumer-products company with a balanced Pet/Garden portfolio, approximately 58% and 42% of FY25 sales respectively. Its brands and distribution infrastructure serve more than 10,000 retail locations and 5,600 veterinary offices, while consumable products support repeat purchasing. **The central investment case is a structural margin-reset story**: the company is exiting lower-margin pet distribution, closing 16 legacy facilities through Project Horizon, and concentrating on branded products. Q3 FY26 sales declined 8.2% to $882.4 million because of the divestiture, but organic sales increased 2.0%, gross margin expanded 130 basis points to 35.9%, and adjusted EBITDA margin rose 100 basis points to 18.3%. Management raised FY26 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $2.85 or better. **TRIXIE is the primary catalyst**, potentially expanding international sales to approximately 10% and providing a European pet platform. At $39.06, the shares trade at 13.02x forward earnings versus a 14.10x-14.12x consumer-staples average; the DCF indicates $45.64 intrinsic value and the probability-weighted five-year target is $52.88.