An AI-powered review of Petfood Industry’s suppliers’ directory found companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and compared their performance to the S&P 500.
Five NYSE-listed pet food industry suppliers beat the S&P 500 over the 52 weeks ending Sept. 3, 2026. Darling Ingredients returned 106.1%, followed by SLB at 64%, Ralliant at 48.4%, ADM at 36.7% and Sensient Technologies at 20.5%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, or SPY, gained 20.1% during the same period. All five companies also outperformed SPY so far this year (see infographic below).
However, these companies’ pet food activities range from direct ingredient and finished-product operations to processing equipment and instrumentation. Their share-price performance reflects the companies’ complete operations and cannot be attributed solely to pet food.
Darling Ingredients
Darling Ingredients recorded the group’s strongest 2026 performance. Its share price rose from $36 on Dec. 31, 2025, to $65.75 on Sept. 3, 2026, an 82.6% gain that exceeded SPY by 69.3 percentage points. That represented a sharp reversal from the comparable 2025 period, when Darling declined 5.3% while SPY gained 9.8%.
Darling transforms materials from animal agriculture and food production into feed, food and fuel products. Through its Sonac business, the company supplies pet food manufacturers with animal-origin proteins, fats and minerals designed to support nutrition, texture, palatability and animal health.
Darling maintained an industry presence as a silver sponsor of the 2026 American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) Pet Food Conference.
SLB
SLB shares gained 49.6% from Dec. 31, 2025, through Sept. 3, 2026, outperforming SPY by 36.2 percentage points. During the corresponding 2025 period, SLB declined 8.7%, trailing the benchmark by 18.5 percentage points. Like Darling, SLB moved from a sizable market deficit to substantial outperformance.
The company’s pet food connection is indirect. SLB’s M-I SWACO organization includes SWECO, which makes particle-separation and size-reduction equipment, including separators, sifters, screens, centrifuges and grinding systems. These technologies can be used for screening, classifying and processing powders and other materials in food and pet food production.
No separate SWECO- or SLB-specific news report was located on Petfood Industry for the reviewed year. However, the publication’s SWECO supplier profile identifies the business as a supplier serving the industry.
Ralliant
Ralliant shares rose 23.2% between Dec. 31, 2025, and Sept. 3, 2026, beating SPY by 9.9 percentage points. A comparable 2025 year-to-date return is unavailable because Ralliant did not begin regular-way NYSE trading until June 30, 2025, following its separation from Fortive.
Ralliant’s connection to pet food comes through Anderson-Negele, which develops hygienic sensors and instrumentation for sanitary food-processing environments. Its technologies monitor variables such as flow, pressure, temperature and product levels — functions relevant to wet pet food and other operations requiring sanitary controls.
An August 2026 Petfood Industry review of supplier diversity and inclusion programs identified Ralliant as Anderson-Negele’s parent and noted the use of Anderson-Negele instrumentation in wet pet food and other sanitary processing environments.
ADM
ADM shares gained 46.8% through Sept. 3, 2026, exceeding SPY by 33.4 percentage points. ADM also beat the benchmark during the corresponding 2025 period, gaining 22.2% compared with SPY’s 9.8% increase. The company therefore expanded its margin over the index in 2026.
ADM’s pet nutrition business provides ingredients, flavors, colors, treats, supplements, formulation support and finished-product manufacturing. Its portfolio includes plant- and insect-based proteins, functional nutrition products and branded dog and cat foods in several international markets.
The company’s recent regional record has been mixed. ADM opened a $39 million wet pet food plant in Mexico in 2025 to manufacture its Ganador and Minino brands. However, it closed its Três Corações pet food operation in Brazil that year, a withdrawal examined in a 2026 Petfood Industry analysis of profitability in the Brazilian market.
Sensient Technologies
Sensient Technologies gained 45.1% from Dec. 31, 2025, through Sept. 3, 2026, beating SPY by 31.7 percentage points. Sensient also outperformed during the comparable 2025 period, when its shares rose 58.8% against SPY’s 9.8%. Although its absolute return slowed in 2026, it remained substantially ahead of the benchmark.
Through Sensient Colors, the company supplies natural, clean-label and conventional color systems for kibble, wet pet food and treats. Its portfolio includes heat-stable colors designed for extrusion and baking, along with formulation, regulatory and Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)-compliance support.
The most recent direct company-specific product coverage located on Petfood Industry reported Sensient’s introduction of Vertafine natural green colorant in 2023. The botanical color was developed to withstand high-temperature processes such as extrusion, baking and injection molding.
Methodology
The five-company group was identified by matching businesses in Petfood Industry’s suppliers directory with their current NYSE-listed parent companies, then comparing their unadjusted closing share prices for the 52 weeks from Sept. 3, 2025, through Sept. 3, 2026. Year-to-date returns were calculated from the Dec. 31, 2025, close through the Sept. 3, 2026, close; prior-year comparisons used Dec. 31, 2024, through Sept. 3, 2025. Daily closing prices were obtained from Yahoo Finance and checked against additional market-data displays; each return equals the ending close divided by the starting close, minus one, with results rounded to one decimal place. SPY served as a tradable proxy for the S&P 500. Dividends were excluded, and Ralliant received no prior-year comparison because its regular NYSE trading began June 30, 2025.
