Central Garden & Pet vs Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive reported revenue of $20.4 billion in fiscal 2025, 6.5 times Central Garden & Pet's $3.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Central Garden & Pet's revenue fell 2.2% in its latest year, and Colgate-Palmolive's grew 1.4%. Central Garden & Pet had an operating margin of 8.0%, against 16.2% at Colgate-Palmolive. Free cash flow was $291 million at Central Garden & Pet and $3.6 billion at Colgate-Palmolive. Their fiscal years end in different months (September 27 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Central Garden & Pet | Colgate-Palmolive | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Sep 27, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $3.1B | $20.4B |
| Revenue growth | −2.2% | 1.4% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 3.0% | 4.4% |
| Gross margin | 31.9% | 60.1% |
| Operating margin | 8.0% | 16.2% |
| Net margin | 5.2% | 10.5% |
| Free cash flow | $291M | $3.6B |
| Free cash flow margin | 9.3% | 17.8% |
| Return on capital | 9.7% | 37.3% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.9x | 1.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $155M | $3.0B |
| Change in diluted share count | −4.5% | −1.5% |
| Last close | $45.28 | $93.10 |
| P/E at the last close | 16.8× | 36.8× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $1.3 million | sold $57.1 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 of 9 | 5 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Central Garden & PetColgate-Palmolive
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Central Garden & PetColgate-Palmolive
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Central Garden & PetColgate-Palmolive
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Central Garden & Pet and Colgate-Palmolive pages.