ELAN vs ZTS: How Elanco Animal Health and Zoetis Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: ZTS is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ELAN and ZTS share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ELAN and ZTS exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Elanco Animal Health was spun out of Eli Lilly in 2018 and became one of the largest standalone animal health companies in the world after buying Bayer Animal Health in 2020. The business splits roughly into Pet Health (flea and tick parasiticides such as Credelio and Seresto, the dermatology drug Zenrelia, pain products such as Galliprant) and Farm Animal (cattle, poultry, swine and aqua-adjacent products including Rumensin, Experior and the methane-reducing feed additive Bovaer in the US). Revenue comes through veterinary clinics, distributors, retail and e-commerce channels, and from farm producers who buy on economics rather than sentiment, which makes the two halves behave quite differently across a cycle.

Full ELAN guide

Zoetis (ZTS) is the world's largest animal health company, developing and selling medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and other products for both companion animals (pets like dogs and cats) and livestock (cattle, swine, poultry, and fish). Spun out of Pfizer in 2013, it holds leading positions across dermatology, parasiticides, pain, vaccines, and other categories, with well-known franchises such as Apoquel and Cytopoint for pet itch and allergic skin conditions, the Simparica line of parasiticides, and Librela for osteoarthritis pain in dogs. Companion animal products, driven by the long-run humanization of pets and rising spending on their care, have become the larger and faster-growing part of the business, while livestock provides a more staple, protein-demand-linked base. Zoetis sells through veterinarians in the United States and internationally, invests heavily in research and development to sustain its innovation pipeline, and benefits from patents, brand loyalty, and deep vet relationships. Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, it is widely viewed as a defensive-growth leader on the structural trend of people spending more on animal health, though it faces cyclical pet-visit softness, pricing pressure, and rising competition.

Full ZTS guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ELAN drivers: The new pet blockbusters; Margin and leverage repair.
• ZTS drivers: Leader in a structurally growing market; Innovation-driven franchises and pipeline.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Competition is the central risk: Zoetis is larger, better capitalized and defends the parasiticide and dermatology categories aggressively, and Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim and others are active in the same clinics. For ZTS, zoetis faces near-term pressure from softer veterinary visit volumes and increased price sensitivity among pet owners, which have weighed on its companion-animal business and prompted trimmed guidance.

Pick ELAN if you believe its drivers more; ZTS if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ELAN and ZTS guides.

ELAN. At roughly $27 a share the stock trades near the low-to-mid 20s times the midpoint of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance, and closer to ~15x to ~16x enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA once the ~$3.2 billion of net debt is included. That is a discount to Zoetis on most multiples, which reflects the leverage and the slower legacy portfolio rather than a disagreement about the new launches. The shares have roughly doubled over the past year, so much of the easy re-rating from deeply-out-of-favor levels has already happened.

ZTS. Zoetis is valued as a high-quality, defensive-growth compounder, so it often trades at a premium price-to-earnings multiple relative to the broad market. In early 2026 it trimmed full-year guidance, citing softer pet-visit trends, price-sensitive pet owners, and competition, which pressured the stock. Livestock and international growth partly offset soft US companion-animal demand. Figures are approximate and change with each quarter and with currency movements; verify current numbers before relying on them.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): ELAN shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.9B, q2 2026 revenue ~$1.37B, up ~10% reported and ~8% organic constant currency, fy 2026 revenue guidance ~$5.09B to ~$5.14B, fy 2026 adjusted ebitda guidance ~$1.01B to ~$1.035B; ZTS shows revenue (2026 guidance) ~$9.7 billion to $10.0 billion, q1 2026 revenue ~$2.3 billion, up ~3% year over year, adjusted eps (2026 guidance) ~$6.85 to $7.00, business mix companion animal (larger, faster-growing) plus livestock.

ELAN and ZTS are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ELAN and ZTS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.