It’s been a sad week for Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT), who’ve watched their investment drop 12% to US$34.09 in the week since the company reported its third-quarter result. Revenues US$961m disappointed slightly, at3.5% below what the analysts had predicted. Profits were a relative bright spot, with statutory per-share earnings of US$1.52 coming in 11% above what was anticipated. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company’s performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. With this in mind, we’ve gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
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NasdaqGS:CENT Earnings and Revenue Growth August 10th 2025
Following last week’s earnings report, Central Garden & Pet’s five analysts are forecasting 2026 revenues to be US$3.12b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to surge 24% to US$2.73. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$3.21b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.68 in 2026. So it looks like the analysts have become a bit less optimistic after the latest results announcement, with revenues expected to fall even as the company is supposed to maintain EPS.
View our latest analysis for Central Garden & Pet
The consensus has reconfirmed its price target of US$42.33, showing that the analysts don’t expect weaker revenue expectations next year to have a material impact on Central Garden & Pet’s market value. There’s another way to think about price targets though, and that’s to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Central Garden & Pet analyst has a price target of US$50.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$35.00. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Central Garden & Pet shareholders.
Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It’s pretty clear that there is an expectation that Central Garden & Pet’s revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2026 expected to display 0.1% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 2.2% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 2.8% annually. So it’s pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Central Garden & Pet.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that there’s been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. The consensus price target held steady at US$42.33, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company’s earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Central Garden & Pet going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.
It might also be worth considering whether Central Garden & Pet’s debt load is appropriate, using our debt analysis tools on the Simply Wall St platform, here.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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