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Scotts Miracle-Gro Company SMG

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company scores weak on business quality (4.4 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.

Last price$49.86Oct 9, 2026
Business qualityWeak
Next earningsNov 4, 2026, after the close
Insiders, 90 daysSelling

Why it matters

  1. What Scotts Miracle-Gro Company does

    Scotts Miracle-Gro manufactures and sells consumer lawn, garden, and hydroponic products, making money through major retailers who stock brands like Miracle-Gro and Scotts. Retail partnerships anchor its distribution network, serving home gardeners and cultivators.

  2. What it does best

    Scotts dominates consumer lawn and garden retail distribution, holding a gross margin of 32.5% that outpaces peer MOS at 11.0%. This edge stems from entrenched retailer relationships and category dominance that leave shelf space difficult for new entrants to capture.

  3. The main risk

    Heavy debt threatens the equity base, with net debt sitting at $2.1 billion against a negative return on equity of 109.8%. If consumer demand softens further, debt servicing costs will consume cash flow needed for operations and refinancing.

Quality, check by check

Scored against its own industry, from company filings.

ProfitabilityWeak

Operating margin sits at 14.6% while free cash flow margin tracks lower, pointing to compressed profitability overall. The business struggles to expand margins as volume contracts, stalling scale benefits.

MoatFair

Brand power and dominant retail placement lock in everyday consumers and major hardware chains. Its gross margin sits in the 62nd sector percentile, supported by high switching costs for big-box retail shelf space.

GrowthSlow

Revenue is shrinking at 3.9% annually, falling from $3.5 billion to $3.4 billion. This decline marks a fading trajectory compared to historical periods when sales reached $4.9 billion.

Financial healthFair

Net debt sits at $2.1 billion with interest coverage at 4.3x, leaving very thin room for error. Free cash flow dropped to $267 million from $584 million previously, showing a softer financial reality.

Insiders

Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.

3 sold $2.2M outside pre-planned sales.

Our sealed record on SMG

Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.

The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.

Questions

Is SMG a good business?

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.4 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.

Are insiders buying SMG?

In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 3 sold $2.2M outside pre-planned sales.

When does SMG report earnings?

Nov 4, 2026, after the close.

For members

See SMG today

  • Today's verdict on SMG, and why
  • Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
  • The exact price that would change the verdict
  • Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (SMG)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/smg/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.