What Central Garden & Pet Co. told the SEC could break it.

Central's cost structure is exposed to fluctuations in market prices for grains, grass seed, chemicals, fertilizer ingredients and pet-treat ingredients. It uses fixed purchase commitments (≈$108.1 million as of September 27, 2025) to manage price and availability, and estimates a 10% commodity price change would swing pretax results by about $10.8 million as related inventory is sold. The exposure is real and bidirectional — e.g., a ~$20 million fiscal 2024 grass-seed inventory write-down driven by a sharp drop in grass-seed prices and an industry oversupply. A specific, quantified multi-input agricultural/chemical commodity dependence.

“We are exposed to fluctuations in market prices for grains, grass seed, chemicals, fertilizer ingredients and pet treat ingredients.”

Central is exposed to U.S. import tariffs and a potential global trade war: in fiscal 2025 less than 15% of cost of goods sold came from products or materials sourced outside the U.S., primarily from China, Brazil and Mexico, while the U.S. imposed tariffs ranging from a 10% baseline to much higher rates. New or additional tariffs on these countries (or retaliatory measures) could significantly raise the cost of imported products; if it cannot pass through higher input/import costs (including shipping containers) or re-source, it could face organic sales, gross-margin and operating-income declines. A quantified-share, China/Brazil/Mexico trade-policy exposure (bounded by <15% imported COGS).

“In fiscal 2025, less than 15% of our cost of goods sold was from products or materials sourced from outside the United States, primarily from China, Brazil and Mexico.”

While Central sources most raw materials from multiple suppliers, one key input used to manufacture (S)-Methoprene — an insect growth regulator used in its flea/tick and pest-control pet products — is obtained from a single supplier. It mitigates by holding inventory of both (S)-Methoprene and the raw material, but a prolonged supply disruption could temporarily delay product shipments and adversely affect Pet segment financial performance. A specific, named-input sole-source dependence (supplier unnamed, so a risk rather than a named edge).

“We source most of our raw materials from multiple suppliers; however, one key input used to manufacture (S)-Methoprene is obtained from a single supplier.”