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

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

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 Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:SMG traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $66.33. 1,283,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 981,489. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.93. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $75.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.68 and a beta of 1.87.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Key Headlines Impacting Scotts Miracle-Gro

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast fiscal 2027 sales growth of 2%–4% and adjusted EPS of $4.70–$4.90, citing contributions from Black Kow and targeted pricing. The company also said fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS exceeded its guidance, gross margins expanded, and its balance sheet strengthened. Fiscal 2027 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: One valuation analysis estimates SMG could be about 18% undervalued, with the 2027 outlook helping improve sentiment. Valuation analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Scotts declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, payable December 4 to shareholders of record November 20, providing ongoing income support. Dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue was $302.9 million, below the roughly $306.1 million analyst estimate and down 10.9% year over year. The quarterly loss was narrower than expected at $2.16 per share, but the sales decline may weigh on sentiment. Fiscal Q4 results

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,484.55. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.