Veterinary Services
See A Full Sample Profile
What you're seeing is just a taste! The full profile contains:
- 30 - 50 Call Prep Questions
- Business Challenges
- Trends and Opportunities
- And much more...
Get Information Now
Rest assured, your information will not be shared with anyone else (see our privacy policy for details).
Industry Overview
The US veterinary services industry includes about 20,000 veterinary centers and animal testing laboratories, with combined annual revenue of $17 billion. Veterinary Centers of America (VCA) is the largest operator of animal hospitals and testing labs. The industry is highly fragmented: the 50 largest companies hold less than 10 percent of the market. The typical veterinary services company operates a single 4,000 square foot animal hospital with a staff of ten, including two veterinarians, and has annual revenue under $1 million.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven mainly by the number of cats and dogs kept as pets, which is affected by demographics. The profitability of an individual clinic depends on marketing skills, and by the range of services the practice offers. Large practices enjoy economies of scale in marketing as well as more capital to invest in onsite diagnostic equipment. Small practices can compete effectively by specializing in particular animals or types of treatment, or by serving an exclusive area.
Products, Operations & Technology
Animal hospitals and clinics treat injuries and disease, but derive most revenue from animal health procedures like neutering and spaying, vaccinations, and regular checkups. Some animal hospitals also bathe, groom, board, and provide testing services. Sales of pet food, vitamins, and accessories account for about 15 percent of industry revenue. The industry is divided into services for food animals (cattle, pigs, chickens) and pets ("companion animals"). Caring for dogs and cats accounts for almost 75 percent of industry revenue.
Of the 60,000 licensed veterinarians in the US, 75 percent work in private practice. Those in government and industry, and about 5,000 in private practice, are concerned with the 100 million cattle, 60 million pigs, and 8 billion chickens raised annually in the food industry. Most veterinarians, and the bulk of industry revenues, are associated with the 55 million dogs, 60 million cats, 12 million birds, and 4 million horses that are pets. Veterinarians in large animal practice most frequently work in the field; those in small animal practice work mainly in sole practitioner clinics.
Animal testing labs provide important information about animal ailments, with blood and urine testing providing the bulk of lab work. Although some testing procedures are done manually, most involve automated equipment. Acquiring, operating, and maintaining test equipment is the principal activity of testing labs. Labs and animal hospitals buy diagnostic equipment and drugs from the veterinary wings of large medical supply and drug companies, and specialty suppliers like Synbiotics and IDEXX (which also operates a large veterinary lab services business). Many animal hospitals and clinics do their own testing because sophisticated equipment is available that doesn't require highly skilled operators. A machine like the VetTest analyzer from IDEXX can run 12 chemical tests simultaneously on a single blood sample.