Zoetis cuts its outlook as livestock offsets pet-market pressure

04/09/2026

Zoetis has reduced its 2026 outlook after a pressured companion-animal market weighed on second-quarter performance, even as livestock and diagnostics provided important counterweights. Quarterly revenue was $2.5 billion, flat on a reported basis and down 1% on an organic operational basis. Reported net income was $691 million, down 5%, while adjusted net income was $781 million.

The company revised full-year revenue guidance to $9.120 billion-$9.320 billion, compared with $9.680 billion-$9.960 billion previously. The new range implies organic operational revenue growth of negative 3% to negative 1%, rather than the earlier 2%-5% range. It also cut adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $6.15-$6.25 from $6.85-$7.00 and projected organic operational adjusted-net-income change of negative 9% to negative 5%.

In the United States, companion-animal sales fell 11%, with lower clinic visits, pet-owner price sensitivity, competition and generic pressure on established products all cited as contributors. Yet livestock sales in the same market grew 23%, supported by cattle and poultry. Cattle revenue reached $390 million, up 21%, while poultry revenue was $115 million, up 11%. International livestock sales grew 6% organically, with growth in cattle and poultry.

The company also reported a July European Commission marketing authorisation for Poulvac Procerta HVT-ND, a vaccine intended to help protect poultry production against Newcastle and Marek’s disease. That approval is only one element of a diversified portfolio, but it illustrates how infectious-disease activity and production economics can support demand even when household spending and veterinary visit volumes constrain companion-animal categories.

Zoetis’ results show the value, and the limits, of diversification. Livestock strength can cushion a weaker pet-health cycle, but it did not prevent a reduction in the group outlook. For producers, distributors and investors, the contrast makes segment mix increasingly relevant: disease pressure, producer economics and product approvals can drive growth in one part of animal health while consumer sensitivity resets expectations in another.