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Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.

NGVC · Consumer Discretionary · $689M mkt cap · FY2025 filings · · not refreshed in 35 days · Narrow moat ·

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The five investor questions

92

2021–2025 (latest 5 aligned FYs; v3 window cap 5): revenue $1.1B to $1.3B, increasing; diluted EPS 0.91 to 2.00, increasing.

49

Median gross margin 27.8% over 10y, very stable.

63

Median ROIC 14.7%, above the 12% hurdle in 60% of years.

73

Net debt/EBITDA n/ax, interest coverage 20x.

76

Owner earnings changed +17.0%/yr over up to the ten most recent annual observations.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today
160% above value if growth stopped today
$23.9M
$11.55
$18.71
$30.01
160% above value if growth stopped today

What today’s price assumes: owner earnings growing ~21%/yr over 5 years. The zero-growth estimate assumes owner earnings stay flat (0% growth).

How to read this

We solve for the constant annual change in owner earnings that would make the five-year zero-growth estimate equal today’s price. This keeps the existing model inputs and calculation unchanged; it is an expectations lens, not a forecast.

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. The recent FY revenue series does not trigger the three-consecutive-declines flag.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 239% above the zero-growth estimate across 48 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Jul 26, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, META, MEDP, IBEX, MSFT, GOOGL, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, VEEV, GRMN, SSD, MNST, DOCS, MCO, CPRT, NTAP, LRCX, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, RMD, ROL, PAYC, IRMD, INTU, DECK, MORN, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, CTAS, LOPE, MRK, CMG, FAST, BKNG, ORLY

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF, BKNG.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 4% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

16 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. booked $1.3B of revenue in FY2025 in the Consumer Discretionary sector and kept 29.9% of it as gross profit — a moderate-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 3.5% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $265M (FY2011) to $1.3B (FY2025) — about 12.2% a year compounded over 14 years.

It earned 25.0% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2025. Across the full 15-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was 15.7%. Over the v3 recent window (10 measurable filed years), median ROIC was 14.7%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 63/100.

NGVC's latest filed year, FY2025, doesn't disclose total debt in a form the methodology can use, so current leverage is treated as unmeasured — never assumed to be zero.

Put together: Business Trend is the strongest of the five filters (92/100) and Pricing Power the weakest (49/100), which is how NGVC lands at 70/100 — a Narrow moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2010–FY2025 · 16 fiscal years, normalized from NGVC’s SEC filings

Sales, as filed$1.3B FY2025
$0$500M$1B2010201520202025
Revenue kept after cost of goods29.9% FY2025
0%20%2010201520202025
Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICROIC 25.0% FY2025
0%20%2010201520202025
Cash an owner could take out$47.1M FY2025
$0$20M$40M2010201520202025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in NGVC’s filings for that year. The series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Flagship explainer

How Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. makes its money

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.'s filing does not supply enough comparable lines for a truthful flow chart — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of revenueSource
$1.3B100%
$398M30%
$62M5%
Income before tax$58.9M4%
Income tax$12.5M1%
$46.4M3%
Source: · event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. owns — and owes

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.'s filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of assetsSource
Total assets$671M100%
Cash and equivalents$17.1M3%
Stockholders’ equity$212M32%
Source: · event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont return on equity factor treeReturn on equity branches into tax burden, interest burden, operating margin, asset turnover, and the equity multiplier.Return on equity24%Tax burden79%net income ÷ pretax incomeInterest burden95%pretax ÷ operating incomeOperating margin5%operating income ÷ revenueAsset turnover2.01×revenue ÷ average assetsEquity multiplier3.43×average assets ÷ average equityAs of 2025-09-30 · 2 SEC filing sourcesBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com
DuPont source inputs
InputValueFiscal yearSource
$46.4MFY2025
Income before tax$58.9MFY2025
Operating income$62MFY2025
$1.3BFY2025
Ending assets$671MFY2025
Beginning assets$655MFY2024
$212MFY2025
$174MFY2024
Source:
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001437749-24-037351
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001437749-25-037556
· event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

Where Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.'s cash went

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of cash from operationsSource
Cash from operations$55.3M100%
Depreciation and amortization$31.8M58%
Source: · event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q2—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

0 holding0 exited1 not holding1/19 resolved18 not retrieved

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
ManagerReported positionQuarter-over-quarterFiling accession
Markel / Markel-GaynerNo position reportedNo position reported
Abrams CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Akre CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Baupost GroupNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Berkshire HathawayNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Brave Warrior AdvisorsNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Dodge & CoxNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
First EagleNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
FundsmithNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gardner Russo & QuinnNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gates Foundation TrustNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Mairs & PowerNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Oakmark / Harris AssociatesNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Pershing SquareNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Polen CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Sequoia / Ruane CunniffNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Southeastern Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Tweedy, BrowneNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Yacktman Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source: · event Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026

Flagship explainer

What Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. insiders reported

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Aug 30, 2026.

Partial coverage: the incomplete Form 4 walk cannot establish no activity, an activity date, or zero counts.

Moat Score history

15 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale70.4 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026Jul 26, 2026

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

Tier changesSame-methodology and same-normalizer crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

  1. Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)moat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
  2. Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0moat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
  3. Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0moat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record cannot be reconstructed retroactively, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

This machine-readable surface covers SEC ownership filings from 2003; it does not represent earlier paper-era records.

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Aug 30, 2026.

Trailing-12-month totals and the 90-day cluster result are withheld because this issuer walk is incomplete.

No reported Form 4 rows were captured for NGVC; the incomplete walk cannot establish zero activity, zero counts, or a negative cluster result.

A filing source-event date will appear when a Form 4 row is captured.

Retrieved .

Track record

How Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

Point-in-time scores 2013–2025, one methodology version · reconstructed from filings on file each Dec 31 — never with hindsight

Point-in-time Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored NGVC on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatPoint-in-time Moat Score50100200Indexed price · log scale (2013 = 100)201320162019202220252026

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the reconstructed history shown, NGVC did not rate Wide-moat in any year, so there is no wide-moat track record to report. That absence is itself the honest answer — we don’t manufacture a comparison where the rating never earned one.

Consumer Discretionary context

#75 of 487 scored Consumer Discretionary companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #73HLT Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.70.9Narrow moat
  2. #74GAP GAP, INC70.7Narrow moat
  3. #76MCD McDONALD’S CORPORATION69.9Narrow moat
  4. #77COLM COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY69.4Narrow moat

Compare NGVC with its nearest peers →All Consumer Discretionary companies on the Index →

Common questions about NGVC

Does Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NGVC) 70.4 out of 100 — a Narrow moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 92, pricing power 49, returns on capital 63, balance-sheet safety 73, capital allocation 76.
Is NGVC trading below the conservative owner-earnings estimate?
The value if growth stopped today — a zero-growth baseline — is $11.55 per share. It capitalizes normalized owner earnings at a 9% rate and assumes 0% growth. Versus a recent price of $30.01, that is 160% above value if growth stopped today. The model also publishes a capped-growth comparison, but the zero-growth estimate is the cautious baseline. It assumes trailing owner earnings persist and is unreliable for declining businesses. This is an educational estimate from primary SEC filings, not intrinsic value as a fact or investment advice.
How has NGVC's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 15 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 70.4 out of 100 (narrow moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell NGVC. See the disclaimer.