Americans’ love for their pets is big business. In 2024, U.S. households spent nearly $40 billion on veterinary care and pet pharmaceuticals alone, making it the second-largest category of pet spending after food and treats. The broader pet market is projected to reach $173 billion by 2027, with veterinary care expected to accelerate as millions of pets adopted during the pandemic enter their senior years and require more medical attention.
A team at Bank of America Research led by senior analyst Curtis Nagle looked at the online retailer’s plans, and found it’s morphing into another kind of company altogether. Chewy has already grown far beyond its origins as the brainchild of GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, the one-time meme-stock celebrity. From its start as an online pet-food retailer, it’s grown into a public company with a $16 billion market cap and a customer base of more than 20 million. (Cohen sold Chewy for $3.35 billion in 2017.)
