Are pet stocks a good investment?

Yes, pet stocks can be a good investment. Though they have mostly struggled since the end of the pandemic, many are longtime winners on the stock market. Pet stocks have a number of advantages: They are recession-resistant, and trends in the industry like the humanization of pets support long-term growth.

What is the largest pet food company?

By market cap, the largest pet food company is Chewy, which currently has a market cap of $8.5 billion as of July 2026. Its 2025 revenue of $12.6 billion also likely makes it the largest pet food company by revenue.

Is the pet industry booming?

The pet industry was booming during the pandemic, but then hit a lull afterwards as consumers returned to pre-pandemic spending habits. More recently, pet spending has started to recover. It's growing steadily, but it would be inaccurate to say it's booming.

Is Pet Valu a good stock to buy?

Pet Valu, a Canadian company, is a chain of pet products with a similar business model to Petco. Revenue growth has been modest in recent quarters, and it's unclear if it has a competitive advantage.

Do pet food companies pay dividends?

Some pet food companies pay dividends. However, the growth stocks in the industry like Chewy do not.

How do pet food companies generate revenue?

Most pet food companies generate revenue from selling products, but some sell subscriptions, offer services, and have different business models.

Should I invest in pet food stocks or ETFs?

Pet food stocks have delivered strong results at times. However, investors should be aware that performance in the sector has been underwhelming in recent years due to a slowdown post-pandemic.

Best Pet Food Stocks of 2026: Are They Right for Your Portfolio?

Here's a primer on how to play the pet products industry.

By Jeremy Bowman – Updated Jul 9, 2026 at 6:43 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Pet spending remains resilient, fueled by trends like pet humanization and necessity-driven purchases.
Investors can explore top pet stocks such as Chewy, Freshpet, or Zoetis which lead in e-commerce, fresh food, and pharma.
New investment avenues include pet insurance and health products, reflecting ongoing industry growth and diversification.

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Top pet food stocks to consider

Top pet stocks on the market include one-stop shops like Petco, Central Garden and Pet, and Chewy, specialized pet foot companies like Freshpet, subscription services like Bark, pet insurance companies like Trupanion, and pet pharmaceutical companies like Zoetis.

As you can see, there are a wide range of options for investors in the pet industry.

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Ticker Information Table
Name and ticker	Market capMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.	Current price	Industry
Chewy (NYSE:CHWY)	$8.8 billion	$20.93	Specialty Retail
Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)	$2.8 billion	$56.64	Food Products
Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF)	$762.5 million	$2.66	Specialty Retail
Bark (NYSE:BARK)	$83.4 million	$9.29	Specialty Retail
Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT)	$2.8 billion	$43.61	Household Products
Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP)	$1.1 billion	$26.73	Insurance
Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS)	$32.2 billion	$76.56	Pharmaceuticals

Data as of Jul 17, 2026. Showing 7 of 7 total entries.

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Top pet stocks to buy in 2026

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1. Chewy

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NYSE: CHWY

Chewy

Today's Change

(-2.79%) $-0.60

Current Price

$20.93

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$8.8B

Day's Range

$20.84 - $21.68

52wk Range

$17.40 - $43.50

Volume

5.5M

Avg Vol

9.5M

Gross Margin

28.87%

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Chewy (CHWY -3.02%) has probably gotten more attention than any other pet food stock in recent years, and for good reason. The company has become synonymous with e-commerce in the pet products sector for customers and investors alike, and Chewy's success shows why it's a top pet food stock and why the industry is so appealing.

Most Chewy customers purchase products on a subscription basis, or what it calls autoship, by signing up to get items at recurring intervals. In 2025, autoship customers represented 82% of its sales, up from 68% in 2020, showing it continues to gain traction.

The autoship program is both a revenue driver and a customer retention tool for Chewy. Autoship sales generate higher operating margins since they require little incremental marketing spend from Chewy.

The company has recently turned profitable, and its margins are improving as it gains scale.

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2. Freshpet

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NASDAQ: FRPT

Freshpet

Today's Change

(-0.51%) $-0.29

Current Price

$56.64

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$2.8B

Day's Range

$54.47 - $57.78

52wk Range

$46.45 - $86.00

Volume

1.2M

Avg Vol

1.6M

Gross Margin

39.10%

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Freshpet (FRPT -0.51%) was a top performer on the stock market for much of its history since its 2014 initial public offering (IPO), riding trends that include an increasing interest in natural and organic foods for humans and pets. More recently, the stock has pulled back due to slowing growth and intensifying competition.

Still, the company remains the leader in fresh and refrigerated pet food, and Freshpet fridges have become common in both pet stores and supermarkets. The company finished 2025 with fridges in more than 39,000 stores across North America.

It's also begun expanding internationally, starting with the U.K., and is increasing manufacturing capacity to meet an expected rise in demand. The company has room for growth; only 13 million of more than 85 million pet-owning households in North America are Freshpet customers, and it aims to expand its North American customer base to 20 million households by 2027, potentially doubling its revenue.

After 20% revenue growth or better for several years, Freshpet's growth has moderated of late, but its profitability has improved, showing the business entering a more mature phase.

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3. Petco

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NASDAQ: WOOF

Petco Health and Wellness

Today's Change

(-0.38%) $-0.01

Current Price

$2.66

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$762M

Day's Range

$2.63 - $2.71

52wk Range

$2.24 - $4.50

Volume

1.1M

Avg Vol

1.9M

Gross Margin

36.26%

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Petco (WOOF -0.38%) is not a new company, but it is a new stock. The big-box pet products retailer was founded in 1965 but went public in early 2021, taking advantage of increased interest in pets and pet stocks during the pandemic.

Today, it has about 1,500 locations around the country and seeks to be a one-stop shop for pet owners by providing a wide range of products such as food, treats, and toys, as well as services such as insurance, veterinary care, and training and grooming.

The company is one of two large pet products chains in the U.S., along with PetSmart. The ability to house clinics inside its stores for vet care and grooming gives Petco an advantage over e-commerce companies that can't provide such services. According to a Lippincott survey the company cites, half of pet owners prefer a one-stop experience for their pet needs.

Petco's growth has been sluggish in the aftermath of the pandemic since it doesn't have the same growth potential as Chewy or Freshpet. Petco has turned profitable on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, due to cost cuts and improvements in gross margin, but it still has a large debt balance.

The company's strategy of adding veterinary clinics to stores should help improve profitability. It expects to return to sales growth in 2026, and revenue was up 0.2% in the first quarter.

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4. BARK

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NYSE: BARK

Bark

Today's Change

(-2.11%) $-0.20

Current Price

$9.29

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$83M

Day's Range

$9.14 - $9.49

52wk Range

$8.15 - $22.60

Volume

24K

Avg Vol

80.8K

Gross Margin

58.96%

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The Original BARK Company (BARK -2.11%) may be better known by the name of its best-known product, Barkbox, a monthly subscription service that provides premium toys and treats for dogs. The company went public through a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a merger completed in June 2021.

Revenue growth has faded from the pandemic boom, and fell 18.5% in fiscal 2026, which ended in March 2026, to $394.8 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was also down, falling from $5.4 million to $0.2 million as the company's subscriber base appears to be eroding.

Bark offers a number of subscription products, including Bark Eats, a monthly meal plan; Bark Bright, a health subscription that starts with a dental kit; and Super Chewer, durable dog toys for larger dogs.

Bark aims to continue growing by expanding to new categories, increasing brand awareness, and broadening its subscriber base. With an attractive business model and a unique subscription program that selects products for customers, Bark could have a promising future ahead, despite its recent struggles.

The company has received multiple buyout offers to go private, though the board chose not to move forward with those offers. However, a buyout is a possibility if the company continues to struggle.

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5. Central Garden & Pet Company

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NASDAQ: CENT

Central Garden & Pet

Today's Change

(-2.00%) $-0.89

Current Price

$43.61

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$2.8B

Day's Range

$43.27 - $45.02

52wk Range

$28.77 - $45.78

Volume

67.5K

Avg Vol

73.1K

Gross Margin

31.40%

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Most pet food companies focus on dogs and cats, but Central Garden & Pet (CENT -2.00%) has a broader reach by also selling food for birds and small animals such as rodents, fish, reptiles, and others.

Founded as a distribution company, Central Garden & Pet has made more than 50 acquisitions over its history, giving it an impressive portfolio of proprietary products, as well as a widespread distribution network that serves more than 10,000 retailers and more than 6,000 veterinary offices.

That strategy has helped Central Garden & Pet deliver steady top-line growth and also margin improvement over its history, though its recent growth has been flat.

While the company may not offer the disruptive potential of other pet stocks, its history of acquisitions and entrenched relationships with major retailers make it a good bet for steady growth in the pet industry.

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6. Trupanion

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NASDAQ: TRUP

Trupanion

Today's Change

(1.42%) $0.38

Current Price

$26.73

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.1B

Day's Range

$26.10 - $26.92

52wk Range

$21.16 - $57.00

Volume

12.4K

Avg Vol

392.1K

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Trupanion (TRUP +1.33%) is a leader in an often-overlooked niche in the pet products industry: insurance.

Pet insurance is a growth market, and Trupanion remains the pure-play leader in the market. It now has more than 1.6 million pets enrolled in its service, and 1.1 million in its subscription-based insurance program. Trupanion only serves cats and dogs, which likely eliminates the risk and hassle of dealing with the wide range of animals that vets see.

In 2025, revenue rose 12% to $1.44 billion, showing Trupanion is outgrowing many of its pet industry peers.

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7. Zoetis

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NYSE: ZTS

Zoetis

Today's Change

(-0.46%) $-0.35

Current Price

$76.56

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$32B

Day's Range

$75.68 - $78.05

52wk Range

$71.47 - $160.48

Volume

7.5M

Avg Vol

7.3M

Gross Margin

70.43%

Dividend Yield

2.68%

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Like Trupanion, Zoetis (ZTS -0.46%) is also a market leader in its niche of the pet products industry. Zoetis dominates the animal pharmaceuticals market. While some of its business comes from livestock, most of it goes to pets, a reflection of how much the pet industry has grown.

In 2025, revenue grew 2% to $9.47 billion, and its companion animal segment made up all of the growth with revenue up 5% to $4.22 billion. The livestock segment fell 5% to $2.77 billion. Zoetis is also highly profitable, with a net income of $2.67 billion in 2024. Competition and regulatory scrutiny seem to be sapping its growth, as well as declining visits to the veterinarian. In the U.S., revenue was flat in 2025 at $5.1 billion.

Despite those headwinds, Zoetis seems well-positioned to continue to benefit from the humanization of pets trend.

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How to invest in the pet food stocks

Investing in pet food stocks isn't much different from buying other stocks. Just follow the steps below.

Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments. If you don't have one yet, take a look at our favorite brokers and trading platforms.
Search for the pet food stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

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Benefits and risks of investing in pet stocks

Like any other stock market sector, investing in pet stocks has its own set of benefits and risks. Let's take a look at a few of the most prominent ones.

Benefits:

The pet sector is stable, and even recession-proof. Pet spending continued to grow during the Great financial crisis, even as most industries declined.
The humanization of pets trend should encourage increased spending on both pet products and services.
As the success of companies like Chewy and Freshpet has shown, there are opportunities for disruption in the pet sector.

Risks:

The post-COVID hangover has been brutal for the pet industry. While the major players have mostly returned to growth, it shows that the industry is still vulnerable to a Black Swan event.
Some valuations in the sector are high, reflecting the sector's strength, but that can also put pressure on stock prices.
Competition in the industry is heating up as start-ups and big corporations recognize the opportunity in the pet sector.

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Methodology: How these stocks were chosen

These seven stocks represent a wide range of options in the pet industry, giving investors a number of different ways to get exposure to pet food, products, and services.

The sector boomed during the pandemic and has mostly struggled since then, but those headwinds are starting to fade, and the long-term trends in the industry, including the humanization of pets, should start to drive growth in the sector once again.

While these stocks have faced a variety of challenges in recent years, most of them are leaders in their respective segments: Chewy in e-commerce, Zoetis in animal pharma, Petco in omnichannel, Trupanion in insurance, and Freshpet in fresh pet food. Segment leadership generally connotes a competitive advantage.

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The bottom line

With Americans spending $157 billion on pets in 2025, it's clear the pet industry is big business, and it's growing, with spending per pet increasing by about $100 each year.

The growth trends supporting the industry and the demand for pets among millennials are not going away. The humanization of pets and the willingness to spend on them -- including on organic food, insurance, grooming, and wellness products -- should ensure the industry continues to experience solid growth and presents a number of appealing opportunities for investors.

While the industry continues to evolve with new competition and changing consumer trends, the pet sector is a good place to look to find long-term winners.

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FAQ

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FAQ: Pet stocks

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About the Author

Jeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011. Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

TMFHobo

@TMFBowman

Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chewy, Freshpet, Trupanion, and Zoetis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Best Pet Food Stocks to Buy in 2026: Are They Right for Your Portfolio?

Here's a primer on how to play the pet products industry.

Key Points

Top pet food stocks to consider

Top pet stocks to buy in 2026

1. Chewy

Key Data Points

2. Freshpet

Key Data Points

3. Petco

Key Data Points

4. BARK

Key Data Points

5. Central Garden & Pet Company

Key Data Points

6. Trupanion

Key Data Points

7. Zoetis

Key Data Points

How to invest in the pet food stocks

Benefits and risks of investing in pet stocks

Methodology: How these stocks were chosen

The bottom line

Related investing topics

Best Consumer Discretionary Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

Best Luxury Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

Best Fast-Food Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Investing in Restaurant Stocks

FAQ

FAQ: Pet stocks

About the Author

Stocks Mentioned

Motley Fool Stock Advisor’s Latest Pick

Premium Investing Services

Key Data Points

Top pet food stocks to consider

1. Chewy

2. Freshpet

3. Petco

4. BARK

5. Central Garden & Pet Company

6. Trupanion

7. Zoetis

How to invest in the pet food stocks

Benefits and risks of investing in pet stocks

Methodology: How these stocks were chosen

The bottom line

Top pet stocks to buy in 2026

Best Consumer Discretionary Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

Best Luxury Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

Best Fast-Food Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Investing in Restaurant Stocks

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

FAQ: Pet stocks

Are pet stocks a good investment?

What is the largest pet food company?

Is the pet industry booming?

Is Pet Valu a good stock to buy?

Do pet food companies pay dividends?

How do pet food companies generate revenue?

Should I invest in pet food stocks or ETFs?

Related investing topics

FAQ