Publicly traded pet companies’ earnings remain resilient, and in many cases their stock outperformed comparable businesses. Nevertheless, pet food equities’ returns fell short of the S&P500 index. According to Cascadia Capital's Pet Industry Insights: Summer 2026 report, aggregate revenue growth among a basket of publicly traded pet companies slowed to negative 0.7% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 8.8% growth during the same period a year earlier.
However, aggregate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 4.9% year over year. Cascadia’s analysts suggested that pet industry companies may have largely protected profitability despite slower sales growth. The slowdown likely reflects normalization following unusually strong pandemic-era demand rather than weakening consumer interest in pet care.
"Taken together, results point to a category defined by resilient earnings and structural demand," the report said, noting that earnings remain near cyclical highs.
Pet food companies outperform broader consumer trends
Nestlé Purina reported 2.7% organic growth in its PetCare business during the first quarter, supported by continued strength in wet cat food, particularly the Purina ONE brand. Company leadership said pet care growth had improved during the previous two quarters after a slower performance through much of 2024 and 2025. Nestlé maintained its full-year guidance of approximately 3% to 4% organic growth. Nestlé shares gained 5.4% over the previous 12 months, trailing the S&P 500's 20.9% return.
Freshpet also delivered strong operating results despite ongoing investor caution surrounding growth investments. First-quarter net sales increased 13.1% year over year to US$297.6 million, driven primarily by volume growth rather than pricing. The company raised its full-year sales outlook to 8% to 11% growth while maintaining its earnings guidance. Despite that performance, Freshpet shares declined 13.0% over the previous year while the S&P 500 gained 20.9%.
Nestlé and Freshpet delivered solid operating performance during the first quarter of 2026, but both companies lagged the broader equity market.
