Should You Invest In Chewy Or Others In The Pet Industry?

It’s been a rough year in the market for pet-care companies. But at the end of the day, Americans love their pets, and they’re still spending an enormous amount of money taking care of them – $158 billion in 2025 to be exact, per the American Pet Products Association. The organization expects that figure to reach $165 billion in 2026.

Part of what’s driving this growth is that most owners consider their pets to be part of the family. As such, they’re often willing to spend nearly any amount of money on premium food, health care and specialty treats. 

With a $150-plus billion market, there are plenty of ways to invest in pet care. Here are three.

Read: Even in a rough economy, people still spend on their pets

Chewy: Making Money From Repeat Pet Purchases

Certain pet purchases are recurring almost by default. Just like humans, pets need food every day, and their owners are going to provide it without fail. Others need medications on a regular basis, and certain pets even get toys quite regularly.

Chewy, trading under the ticker CHWY, aims to benefit from these repeating purchases by selling these exact products through its online store. The company is something of a one-stop-shop when it comes to everything pet-related, and it benefits in particular from its Autoship program, which delivers products automatically at regular intervals.

Investors also like the recurring nature of the Autoship division, which represented 84.6% of the company’s total sales in Q2 2026 and brought in revenue of $2.82 billion, an increase of 83% from the same period a year earlier.

Autoship isn’t the only contributor to Chewy’s business, however. Overall, quarterly revenue rose by 7.3%. The company’s active customer count grew 3.8%, reaching approximately 21.7 million.

That doesn’t mean the company is immune to business risk.

Some customers are still uncomfortable with making purchases online and simply prefer to shop at traditional pet stores or large retailers. Others may prefer different online sellers.

And no company is immune to the overall business cycle. When inflation is rising faster than wages, for example, consumers tend to reduce their discretionary purchases. While pet owners will still buy food, they might not pony up for toys or other more discretionary purchases. 

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Zoetis: Investing in Animal Health and Medicine

Zoetis is something of the polar opposite of Chewy, even though they both operate in the pet industry. Rather than selling directly to consumers through an online storefront, Zoetis actually focuses on the science side of the equation, manufacturing and selling medications, vaccines and diagnostic tools.

The biggest distinction is who they sell to and what animals they cover. Zoetis, trading under the ticket ZTS, doesn’t even have a consumer website, instead selling directly to veterinarians and commercial farmers. Recent financial results have been mixed. In Q2 2026, the company reported total revenue of $2.5 billion, but that was essentially unchanged from the previous year. In the U.S., sales took a decided downturn, dropping 7% to $1.3 billion.

That illustrates an important distinction for investors. Just because Americans are spending more on their pets overall doesn’t mean every pet-related company will experience rising sales every quarter.

IDEXX Laboratories: The Business Behind Veterinary Testing

IDEXX Laboratories, trading under the symbol IDXX, makes diagnostic equipment and testing supplies for veterinarians. It also operates laboratories that help vets diagnose illnesses, monitor animals’ health and figure out the best course of treatment.

IDEXX does more than sell equipment, however. It also generates ongoing revenue from maintaining the machines after the initial purchase and from providing laboratory testing and various recurring services.

In the investment world, repeat business is gold. And IDEXX’s recent results have been strong.

IDEXX’s latest results have been the most promising of the three on this list. In Q2 2026, IDEXX reported a nearly 10% jump in revenue over the prior year, to $1.22 billion. Earnings did even better, rising 18% over the prior year.

As with the other companies on this list, there are some risks to investing in IDEXX.

Diagnostic equipment can be expensive. Veterinary practices have to justify the cost. Even individual pet owners have their limits, often choosing to decline testing or treatment if it becomes too expensive. 

Even with a good recent earnings report, IDEXX shares have had a rough year, dropping about 17% as of Oct. 27, 2026.

Which Pet-Care Investment Makes the Most Sense?

Chewy, Zoetis and IDEXX are all ways that investors can participate in the growing pet-care industry, but their businesses are quite different.

Chewy is primarily a retailer. It benefits from the recurring needs of consumers to provide for their pets throughout the year.

Zoetis focuses on animal health, developing medications and vaccines for pets and livestock. That gives it a bit more diversified exposure than Chewy, although its recent results show that demand can fluctuate.

IDEXX operates in the diagnostic side of the business, supplying testing equipment, consumables and laboratory services to veterinary practices.

Although these companies all operate in the same industry, they each have their own specific company risks. They’re also subject to the overall business cycle and the supply and demand conditions in the stock market as a whole.

But if you’re looking to tap into the pet care market, these three options can be a good place to start if you’re comfortable with the risks and are mindful of current valuations.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

This article written for TheStreet by Nifty 50+