Every few months, the broader “pet economy” hands us a report card from the companies that sit upstream and downstream of what we do every day: diagnostics, pharma, distribution, pet retail, and consumer staples. Q4 results are in (and early 2026 guidance is starting to land), so it’s a good moment to zoom out and ask: what kind of market are we practicing in right now?

Here’s the short version: steady, slightly picky, and obsessed with “show me the value.”

On the consumer side, Colgate-Palmolive basically described the mood: essentials are still selling, but price-sensitive shoppers are trading down, and big brands are leaning more on marketing while easing off aggressive price hikes. Even Hill’s Pet Nutrition improved after a rough prior quarter. Translation for vet med: the wallet is open, but owners want to feel like they made a smart choice.

Inside the clinic, the signal remains strong: diagnostics are behaving like a priority spend, not a luxury. IDEXX reported Q4 2025 revenue of $1.091B (+14% reported; +12% organic) and highlighted continued in-clinic analyzer placements and recurring diagnostics growth. Their 2026 outlook looks like normalized growth plus discipline, not “everything is on fire (in a good way).”

Upstream, animal health looks quietly confident. Merck reported Animal Health sales of $6.4B for 2025, up 8%. Phibro posted a strong quarter and raised fiscal 2026 guidance. When manufacturers guide up, they’re usually not doing it on vibes alone.

Distribution also says the machine is still turning. Cencora reported fiscal Q1 2026 revenue up 5.5% to $85.9B and noted MWI Animal Health as a contributor within its “Other” segment. Unsexy, but reassuring: the supply chain is not flashing red.

Where the strain shows first is discretionary pet spending. Central Garden & Pet posted lower sales year over year. And BARK reported revenue down sharply and emphasized cutting marketing and improving cash flow. That’s classic “the fun stuff gets trimmed first” behavior.

Let’s put all these numbers aside for a moment. What is the market really telling us?
Veterinary medicine overall has a resilient core, but the edges are starting to wear. Owners still say yes to care, but they want clarity, options, and fewer “mystery costs.”

Clinic takeaway: in the next quarter make value easy to see. Focus on clear next steps and show clients what they are getting for their money. Anything that reduces friction (fewer visits, faster answers, smoother follow-up) will help when clients are still committed, but pickier.

This week I want to highlight some of my own work and my lab’s most recent paper published this week in JAVMA “Veterinary workers report low knowledge of artificial intelligence but positive attitudes toward its adoption in diagnostic imaging and the workplace as a whole.” My co-authors and I used a cross‑sectional survey and gathered responses from 673 veterinary workers across multiple roles and regions. The findings reveal a profession that is optimistic about AI yet largely underprepared for its integration.

A striking 90.5% of respondents reported no or minimal formal AI training, and 66.1% said they had only a basic understanding of the technology. Many participants were unaware that everyday tools like smartphones and email operate using AI, underscoring how abstract or opaque the concept remains for many veterinary professionals.

Most respondents (72.3%) believe AI will significantly change veterinary medicine, and 56.6% think it will improve veterinary radiology. Concerns about job displacement were minimal — only 5.2% believe AI will fully replace radiologists — reinforcing that AI is seen more as an augmenting tool than a threat. The vast majority (87.2%) support including AI in continuing education, signaling strong appetite for skill development.

One‑quarter of workplaces reported using AI, most commonly in radiography, bloodwork, urinalysis, and practice management systems. Yet 30.3% of respondents were unsure whether AI was used in their workplace at all, highlighting a significant communication gap between implementation and awareness.

To me, the findings paint a clear picture: AI adoption is accelerating faster than AI literacy. Veterinary professionals are eager, open‑minded, and motivated — but they need structured education, transparent validation of tools, and clear guidance to ensure AI is implemented responsibly. As AI becomes more integrated into diagnostics and workflows, strengthening training and communication will be critical to supporting both clinicians and patients. But hey, you know that already and are seeking out that information because you are reading the field notes.

Huge thanks to my co-authors Drs. Oren Ofer who completed this work as part of his DVSc, as well as Ameet Singh, and David Pearl.

Read the whole thing, open access, in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association.

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Here are some of the other stories that caught our eye and we're following this week from around the veterinary world and animal kingdom: