Finally, election season is upon us. But for finance nerds like myself, earning season is here as well with 3Q24 corporate earnings reports beginning in early November. It will be very interesting to see not only what the companies have to say about third quarter results but what signals they send for the rest of 2024 and 2025.
I recently saw some data from Vetsource that indicates that through the end of September, foot traffic through the vet clinic is down by -1.8% vs. 2023. However, at the clinic level, revenues have increased by +3.1% indicating a continuation of solid price contribution.
In the companion animal space, innovation is the most critical driver of growth. Elanco for example, is about to enter a wave of new product introductions in some of the largest market segments including flea/tick/heartworm (F/T/HW) and dermatology. BI recently launched NexGard Plus in the US. Zoetis’ growth in F/T/HW, dermatology and osteoarthritis is unmatched and Merck has received approval in Europe/Australia on the next wave of F/T innovation with a long-acting injectable product. All of these therapies come with higher price tags.
Will this innovation be enough to continue to drive growth? Will these products, especially the injectables and monoclonal antibody products, drive pet owners back to the clinic or will the increased prices finally create a breaking point for consumers? We should get a glimpse of this as 3Q earnings and 2024/2025 projections are communicated.
Randy Freides
English (United States) 
Portuguese