Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States. 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, …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Margins Stable Across CyclesOperating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.98), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
ROIC Sustainably Above PeersROIC at 68.8th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks
against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.
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Central Garden & Pet Company ranks #9 of 73
scored companies in Packaged Foods by moat score — the top 12%.
The widest moat in the group is McCormick & Company, Incorporat (MKC-V)
at 79/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near CENT in Packaged Foods
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 62
· 15% of the moat score
A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.
Customer Stickiness
Score 70
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 72
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 74
· 17% of the moat score
Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.
Scale & Market Position
Score 65
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
What is Central Garden & Pet Company's moat score?
Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) scores 72 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #9 of 73 scored companies in Packaged Foods, the top 12%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 72 companies in Packaged Foods. Its strongest defense is Pricing Power (83/100) and its weakest is Cost Advantage (62/100).
How does Central Garden & Pet Company compare with other Packaged Foods companies?
Central Garden & Pet Company ranks #9 of 73 scored companies in Packaged Foods by moat score. The widest moat in Packaged Foods is McCormick & Company, Incorporat (MKC-V) at 79/100. The companies ranked closest are John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (JBSS) at 74 just above it and Central Garden & Pet Company (CENTA) at 72 just below it.
How is the moat score calculated?
Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 72 companies in Packaged Foods. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Central Garden & Pet Company scored with the Corporate Default template?
Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.
Which competitive defenses are measured for Central Garden & Pet Company?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and CENT scores: Pricing Power (83), Cost Advantage (62), Customer Stickiness (70), Capital Efficiency (72), Resilience (74), Scale & Market Position (65). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.
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