Veterinary Practices
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 28,200 veterinary practices in the US provide preventative, medical, and surgical care for a wide variety of animals. Most veterinary practices are small, independent operations – 89% have a single location, and 83% have fewer than 20 workers. Most practices are private practices and are owned by a licensed veterinarian. Some vets focus on large animals and livestock and work at the client's location.
High Capital Costs
Diagnostic equipment and full laboratory set-ups can require a significant investment.
Shortage Of Food Animal Veterinarians
While the number of veterinary school graduates grows at a steady rate, a shrinking percentage of vets choose to specialize in the care of animals used as livestock.
Industry size & Structure
A typical veterinary practice operates out of a single location, employs 14-15 workers, and generates $1.5 million in annual revenue.
- The veterinary care industry consists of 28,200 companies that employ 414,200 workers and generate $44 billion annually.
- Most veterinary practices are small, independent operations - 89% have a single location, and 83% have fewer than 20 workers. Most practices are private practices and owned by a licensed veterinarian.
- About 75% of vets provide care primarily for companion animals; 10.5% care for food animals; and 5.6% care for horses.
- Large companies include VCA, Antech, and Banfield Pet Hospitals (Medical Management International) through PetSmart.
Industry Forecast
Veterinary Practices Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 1, 2022 - Strong Performance During Pandemic Brings Benefits
- Interest in veterinary tenants is increasing among commercial property landlords, according to experts in both industries. Veterinary real estate was an outlier in the commercial real estate industry until a few years ago. The veterinary sector was one of the few that remained resilient and continued to be profitable despite the pandemic, however. The ongoing shift to a work-from-home model and retail sales going increasingly online put more pressure on commercial and office landlords and led to vacancies in certain areas. Many retail vacancies likely will be in centrally located spaces with high traffic and ample parking.
- Use of electronic health records (EHR) is increasing in the animal hospitals and veterinary clinics market, according to The Business Research Company (BRC). Increasing pet ownership during the coronavirus pandemic is cited as a key driver of EHR adoption, as EHR systems offer an efficient way to collect and store electronic health information about a client's pet. The global animal hospitals and veterinary clinics market size grew from $95.94 billion in 2021 to $106.2 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7% according to the BRC.
- The US will need an additional 41,000 veterinarians by 2030 to meet rising demand and offset future retirements, according to a study from Mars Veterinary Health. The average turnover for veterinarians is twice as high as it is for physicians in medical practice, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Veterinary technicians have one of the highest turnovers of all health care positions.
- A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order requiring National Veterinary Associates (NVA) to sell more hospitals in the US is being interpreted by some experts as another sign that regulators are increasingly uncomfortable about concentration in the sector, particularly in emergency and specialty practice. NVA agreed to the sales as a condition of the FTC's approval of its acquisition of Ethos Veterinary Health, which owned 23 specialty and emergency hospitals when the deal was announced in 2021. The latest intervention comes soon after the FTC said that it told NVA to sell six specialty and emergency clinics in California and Texas to get approval for its acquisition of Sage Veterinary Centers, also announced last year. The FTC has intervened three times in deals involving German private-equity investor JAB, which agreed in 2020 to divest three specialty and emergency centers to win approval for its merger of NVA with Compassion First.
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