Freshpet raises 2026 sales outlook to 12% to 13% on 10% volume growth

Freshpet sold 10.0% more fresh dog and cat food by volume in the third quarter, lifting net sales to $317.8M, and raised its full-year sales forecast for the third quarter in a row. The Bedminster, N.J., company (Nasdaq: FRPT) now expects 2026 net sales growth of 12% to 13%, up from 10% to 12% in August.

Billy Cyr, Freshpet's chief executive, said: "Our third quarter results demonstrate the strength and durability of the Freshpet business model." He said the company delivered double-digit net sales growth in "a challenging consumer and intense competitive environment" and reached its "strongest Adjusted Gross Margin in more than seven years."

Freshpet raises 2026 guidance as margins widen

Third-quarter net sales rose from $288.8M a year earlier, and the gain came mainly from volume. Gross margin reached 44.5% against 39.5%, and Adjusted Gross Margin reached 50.0% against 46.0%. Adjusted EBITDA was $64.5M, or 20.3% of net sales, compared with $54.6M, or 18.9%, in the same quarter of 2025.

Net income was $29.7M. The year-earlier figure was $101.7M, which included a $77.9M tax benefit. Selling, general and administrative expense rose to 33.4% of net sales from 30.9%, which Freshpet attributed to logistics costs and variable compensation accruals.

Across the nine months through September, net sales grew 12.8% to $921.1M. Volume rose 13.3% and price and mix were a 0.5% headwind. Free cash flow reached $65.3M, or 7.1% of net sales, up from $10.3M a year ago.

The new outlook also narrows adjusted EBITDA to $215M to $220M from $210M to $220M and trims planned capital spending to $125M to $150M from about $150M. Freshpet reiterated its 2027 targets: net sales growth well above the category rate, Adjusted Gross Margin of at least 49% and adjusted EBITDA margin of 20% to 22%. Our second-quarter earnings coverage has the August guidance that this update replaces.

The balance sheet changed too. Freshpet ended September with $345.9M in cash and $399.0M in debt. Cash was lifted by $100.0M in proceeds from the sale of an equity investment, which produced a $66.6M gain over the nine months, and it was drawn down by $102.3M of share repurchases. Treasury shares stood at 1.859M, up from 14K at the end of 2025. Capital spending for the nine months was $80.3M, compared with $95.1M a year earlier.

Most Freshpet sales come from outside pet specialty

Freshpet's filings show how its sales split by channel. In its quarterly report for the period ended June 30th, 2026, the company split $305.6M of second-quarter net sales into $239.0M from grocery, mass, international and digital and $66.6M from pet specialty and club. That puts about 78% of the quarter in the grocery, mass, international and digital group.

In May, Freshpet outlined a plan to reach roughly 700 Tractor Supply stores by year-end, up from 80, a rural retail channel that our first-quarter report on the Tractor Supply expansion covers in detail. For a retail buyer, the result is a data point on how a fresh brand growing volume at 10.0% performs in refrigerated space.

Freshpet's full-year 2025 net sales were $1,102.0M, up 13.0%, according to its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results. Fourth-quarter 2025 net sales were $285.2M. Those two figures set the base for the guidance Freshpet just raised.

Fresh and frozen rivals sell through several channels. The Farmer's Dog sells personalized meal plans on Walmart.com, a move we covered in our Walmart launch report. Nom Nom, owned by Mars Petcare, sells at Chewy and select PetSmart stores and added a scoopable frozen format in August, which our Nom Nom clusters coverage describes. Ollie operates under Agrolimen after a deal announced in February, which we reported in our Agrolimen and Ollie story.

For investors, the quarter pairs a higher sales outlook with wider margins, a smaller capital budget and a $102.3M buyback. For rival fresh brands, Freshpet's 10.0% volume growth sets a public benchmark for fresh pet food sold through retail.

Fourth-quarter guidance brackets the third-quarter growth rate

Freshpet did not give a separate fourth-quarter forecast, so the math comes from the annual range. By our math, 12% to 13% growth on $1,102.0M implies full-year net sales of about $1,234M to $1,245M. Subtract the $921.1M reported through September and the fourth quarter lands at about $313M to $324M, or growth of roughly 9.8% to 13.7% over $285.2M.

The same exercise on profit puts fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA at about $60.4M to $65.4M, against $64.5M in the third quarter. The company said it expects positive free cash flow for the year, with capital spending between $125M and $150M.

Freshpet's stated plans include the Tractor Supply expansion outlined in May and a 2027 target of at least 49% Adjusted Gross Margin. Cyr said the company's advantages include "the quality of our products, our manufacturing scale and expertise, our expanding omnichannel presence and our growing franchise of highly loyal pet parents."

Guidance now sits at 12% to 13%, and the fourth quarter has to deliver roughly $313M to $324M to meet it.

Source: Freshpet via GlobeNewswire