Six of seven public pet-food manufacturers grew revenue in Q2, but the spread ran 0.3% to 15.5%

Six of seven publicly traded pet-food manufacturers posted revenue growth in the second quarter of 2026, according to a GlobalPETS analysis, but the performance spread, 0.3% to 15.5% year-over-year, suggests growth is concentrating in specific categories and channels while others stall.

The analysis covered companies reporting periods roughly equivalent to calendar Q2 2026. Fresh dog food producer Freshpet led at 15.5% growth to $305.6 million in net sales, driven by higher household penetration, increased buying rates, and expanded channel penetration. Thai manufacturer i-Tail Corporation followed at 13% growth to $152 million, with cat food, especially functional and health-oriented formulations, driving the result. Pet treats remained i-Tail's fastest-growing segment.

The middle tier and what separated it

Hill's Pet Nutrition, Colgate-Palmolive's pet division, grew 3.4% to $1.2 billion. E-commerce and omnichannel activations for Hill's Prescription Diet delivered gains, the company said. Revenue rose across most lines except Science Diet dog, a decline CEO Noel Wallace tied to ownership patterns shifting toward smaller breeds.

Spectrum Brands' Global Pet Care division grew 3.3% to $263.7 million on pricing and product mix. The manufacturer reported share gains in chews, stain and odor products, grooming, and aquatics. CEO David Maura said organizing the portfolio into good-better-best tiers has given retailers clearer shelf organization and pricing structure.

J.M. Smucker's US retail pet food segment grew 1% to $371.7 million. Volume mix, cat food, and soft chewy snacks, which climbed by double digits, accounted for the gain. Nestlé's pet care sales rose 0.3% to $5.6 billion. Cat food strength and better dog food results, plus pricing, offset what the company called retailer inventory reduction in the US. Europe saw premium wet cat sales climb and e-commerce perform well.

Central Garden & Pet was the outlier, posting a 19% decline in net sales to $400 million after exiting the pet distribution business at the quarter's start. Organic net sales rose 2% to $380 million, with small animals, equine, and avian categories leading.

The profit picture and what it cost to grow

Profitability metrics were mixed and hard to compare directly, since companies reported different figures. Freshpet's net income jumped 19%, and i-Tail's rose 21.3%. Each company credited one-time items: Freshpet got an equity payment tied to an earlier divestiture, and i-Tail recorded tariff refunds.

Hill's posted 2% operating profit for the quarter. Spectrum Brands reported only adjusted EBITDA, which jumped 91.8%. J.M. Smucker's segment profit declined 2% on higher costs and marketing outlays. Nestlé released only its underlying trading operating profit for the first half, down 4.6%. Central Garden & Pet's adjusted EBITDA fell 2.3%, also affected by the divestment.

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Our read and what the variance signals

The 15-percentage-point spread between the fastest and slowest grower matters because it shows where volume is moving. Freshpet and i-Tail are growing on volume and household penetration in categories where the buyer is trading up or adding a second brand: fresh dog food, functional cat food, treats. Nestlé's 0.3% growth, by contrast, suggests its portfolio is holding share but not expanding it.

The retailer inventory reduction Nestlé cited is a real headwind, and it means some suppliers are losing shelf presence. If a supplier is growing sub-1% while others in the same analysis are posting double-digit gains, that supplier is losing relative share to someone, and the comps above name who: the brands with a clear category story (fresh, functional, premium wet cat) or a margin-friendly product mix (chews, soft treats).

The profit variance is harder to read cleanly because of the one-off payments and the different metrics, but the pattern holds: companies growing on volume and favorable mix are protecting or expanding profit, while companies growing on price alone or battling higher costs are seeing profit compress.

What changes for a buyer deciding which brands to expand

If you stock a brand that grew sub-3% last quarter, pull its velocity data and compare it to the other brands you carry in that category. A brand growing slower than its peers in this analysis is either losing share or sitting in a category that is not moving. The comps above show where growth is concentrating: cat food (especially functional and premium wet), treats (soft and chewy, chews), and fresh dog food. If you are overweighted in dry dog kibble from a flat-growth supplier, you are holding shelf space that could go to a category moving faster.

The price-pack architecture redesign Spectrum Brands mentioned matters for line reviews. If a supplier can hand you a clear good-better-best structure that makes the shelf easier to read and the margin easier to defend, that is a negotiating point. Ask for it.

The guidance most of these companies gave was for full-year performance across all segments, not just pet, so it is not a clean forward indicator. But six of seven companies anticipate stronger results in the current fiscal year, with net sales growth forecasts ranging from flat to low-single-digit (Spectrum Brands) up to 17%-20% in dollars (i-Tail). J.M. Smucker is the only manufacturer expecting net sales to decrease by 1%-2%.

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