Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported ($2.16) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.21) by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $302.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.11 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.63) EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Scotts Miracle-Gro’s conference call:

• Fiscal 2026 sales rose 1% to $3.29 billion, while adjusted EPS increased 18% to $4.48 and free cash flow reached $278 million. Gross margin expanded to 32.4% as branded-product mix and $35 million in supply-chain savings helped offset cost pressures.
• E-commerce branded POS grew 24%, with gains across lawns, gardens and controls, and Miracle-Gro Organic sales grew nearly 18%. The company said its shift toward higher-margin branded products is offsetting planned declines in mulch and commodity products.
• For fiscal 2027, management expects sales growth of 2%-4%, adjusted EPS of $4.70-$4.90, continued adjusted gross-margin expansion and about $275 million in free cash flow. The outlook includes at least $35 million in additional supply-chain savings and a 1%-2% sales contribution from the Black Kow acquisition.
• Management expects roughly $100 million in commodity headwinds and cited higher starting retail inventories as a sales headwind. It expects gross-margin improvement nearer the lower end of its 50-100 basis-point midterm range, with sales growth weighted to the second half.
• The company ended fiscal 2026 at 3.89x net debt to adjusted EBITDA and is targeting leverage of 3x-3.5x by fiscal 2029. It plans to prioritize debt reduction and business investment; further share repurchases are described as opportunistic rather than planned.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 8.7%

NYSE:SMG traded up $5.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,006,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,633. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $75.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 58.47 and a beta of 1.87.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 229.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SMG. UBS Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $60.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.40.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,484.55. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Scotts Miracle-Gro

Here are the key news stories impacting Scotts Miracle-Gro this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SMG reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.16 per share, narrower than the $2.21 loss analysts expected. For fiscal 2026, the company said adjusted EPS exceeded its guidance, gross margins expanded and it significantly strengthened its balance sheet. Fiscal 2026 results and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s fiscal 2027 guidance calls for continued top-line and bottom-line growth, supporting optimism that the company can build on its margin and balance-sheet progress. Fiscal Q4 results and fiscal 2027 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, payable December 4 to shareholders of record November 20. Quarterly dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue was $302.9 million, below the $306.1 million consensus and down 10.9% year over year, tempering the earnings beat. Fourth-quarter earnings results

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a provider of consumer lawn and garden products headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. The company develops and markets products designed to help consumers grow and maintain lawns, gardens, landscapes and indoor plants.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, plant food, gardening products, pest-control solutions, soils and related growing supplies. Key consumer brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat. The company also has a history of serving the controlled-environment agriculture and hydroponics markets through specialized growing products and supplies.

Scotts Miracle-Gro was founded in 1868 and has built a broad distribution network serving retail customers, garden centers and other outlets.