Hill’s Pet Nutrition combines a global pet-food business with veterinary research and shelter-support programs. The figures below cover company performance in 2024 and 2025, research and operations, and survey findings from Hill’s 2024 and 2025 shelter reports. Measurement periods and geographies are kept explicit because these numbers describe different parts of the organization and different populations.
Contents
- Business scale and history
- 2024 financial performance
- 2025 financial performance
- Research, facilities, and quality
- Shelter support and adoption reach
- United States shelter and ownership findings
- 2025 adoption experience and Canada
Business scale and history
Hill’s Pet Nutrition was founded more than 75 years ago, according to a 2025 Hill’s Pet Nutrition press release. Its foods are marketed in over 80 countries and territories worldwide, according to the Colgate-Palmolive 2024 Annual Report. Pet Nutrition products represented 22% of Colgate-Palmolive’s total worldwide net sales in 2024.
These figures show both the age and international reach of the business. The 22% figure is a share of Colgate-Palmolive worldwide net sales, while the 80-plus figure describes the countries and territories where Hill’s foods are marketed; neither is a measure of market share among all pet-food companies.
2024 financial performance
Hill’s Pet Nutrition reported $4,483 million in net sales in 2024, with operating profit of $965 million. Its operating profit margin was 21.5%. Net sales increased 4.5% for the year. The Colgate-Palmolive 2024 Annual Report also reported 0.8% volume growth, a 4.1% increase in net selling price, and a -0.4% foreign-exchange impact.
The company’s 2024 organic sales increased 4.9%. Lower private-label pet-nutrition sales reduced organic sales by 210 basis points. The report said organic sales growth was led by the therapeutic and wellness categories.
| 2024 Hill’s measure | Reported result |
|---|---|
| Net sales | $4,483 million |
| Operating profit | $965 million |
| Operating profit margin | 21.5% |
| Net sales growth | 4.5% |
| Volume growth | 0.8% |
| Net selling-price change | 4.1% |
| Foreign-exchange impact | -0.4% |
| Organic sales growth | 4.9% |
| Private-label effect on organic sales | -210 basis points |
The reported sales-growth components should not be treated as a simple consumer-demand measure. Volume, pricing, foreign exchange, organic sales, and private-label effects are distinct company-reporting measures, and the annual report identifies therapeutic and wellness as the leading categories for organic growth.
2025 financial performance
Hill’s Pet Nutrition net sales reached $4,613 million in 2025, according to the Colgate-Palmolive 2025 Annual Report. Net sales increased 2.9%, net selling price increased 3.0%, and foreign exchange contributed 0.5%. Volume declined 0.6%, while the Prime100 acquisition contributed 1.1% to volume growth.
Organic sales increased 1.2% in 2025. Lower private-label sales reduced organic sales by 320 basis points. The report identified the United States excluding private label, Europe, and Asia as the leaders of 2025 organic sales growth.
| Annual comparison | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $4,483 million | $4,613 million |
| Net sales growth | 4.5% | 2.9% |
| Volume growth | 0.8% | -0.6% |
| Net selling-price change | 4.1% | 3.0% |
| Organic sales growth | 4.9% | 1.2% |
| Private-label effect | -210 basis points | -320 basis points |
The annual results indicate that 2025 sales growth was accompanied by a volume decline, while pricing and foreign exchange were positive contributors in the reported measures. The Prime100 acquisition was a specifically reported contributor to volume, not a general estimate of all acquisition effects.
For a more detailed 2025 period, the Colgate-Palmolive Q3 2025 Form 10-Q reported Hill’s net sales of $1,142 million in the third quarter. Q3 net sales increased 1.4%; net selling price increased 2.9%; foreign exchange contributed 1.1%; and volume declined 2.6%. Prime100 contributed 1.6% to Q3 volume. Organic sales declined 1.3%, with lower private-label volume reducing organic sales by 370 basis points.
For the first nine months of 2025, net sales were $3,417 million and increased 2.2%. Net selling price increased 3.0%, foreign exchange contributed 0.2%, and volume declined 0.9%. Prime100 contributed 0.9% to volume. Organic sales increased 1.2%, while lower private-label pet volume reduced organic sales by 300 basis points.
Research, facilities, and quality
Hill’s operates a 180-acre Pet Nutrition Center in Topeka, Kansas, according to the Hill’s Global Pet Nutrition Center page. That center cares for approximately 450 dogs and approximately 450 cats. A Hill’s Shelter page describes the global Pet Nutrition Center as housing more than 900 dogs and cats in total.
Hill’s employs more than 220 veterinarians, qualified nutritionists, and food scientists, according to the Global Pet Nutrition Center page. Its Research and Innovation page says Hill’s scientists author more than 50 research papers and textbook chapters each year.
The Hill’s Quality & Safety page reports that the company conducts final safety checks daily on every pet-food product and annual quality-system audits for all manufacturing facilities. These are reported company quality practices; they do not quantify the number of individual tests, facilities, products, or audit findings.
Together, the figures describe the stated scale of Hill’s research and quality infrastructure: a 180-acre center, more than 900 dogs and cats in the broader center description, more than 220 scientific and veterinary professionals, and more than 50 research papers and textbook chapters authored annually.
Shelter support and adoption reach
Since 2002, the Hill’s Food, Shelter & Love program has provided over $300 million worth of food to more than 1,000 shelters, according to the program page. The Hill’s Shelter page says the program has helped more than 16 million pets find new homes since 2002.
Hill’s reported that it reached 15 million pet adoptions supported in North America in 2024, according to its 2024 adoption milestone press release. The same release said that over the past four years, Food, Shelter & Love provided more than 1.5 million pounds of food to shelter-owned food pantries and community food banks.
These are cumulative or milestone measures with different scopes. The “since 2002” figures describe the program across its stated period, the 15 million figure is a North American 2024 milestone, and the 1.5 million-pound figure covers the four years before the 2024 press release. They should not be added together.
United States shelter and ownership findings
Hill’s 2024 State of Shelter Pet Adoption Report said 6.5 million cats and dogs entered shelters and rescues in 2023. It also reported that shelter populations increased by 900,000 animals since January 2021. In the 2024 survey, 66% of people were likely to adopt shelter pets.
Among prior shelter adopters, 90% of Gen Z respondents and 94% of Millennial respondents were likely to adopt again in 2024. Among non-adopters, 75% of Gen Z respondents and 77% of Millennial respondents were likely to adopt from a shelter. These are survey percentages, not counts of completed adoptions.
The same 2024 report found that nearly 50% of respondents identified the overall cost of pet ownership as the biggest challenge. Veterinary care was identified as the most expensive part of owning a pet by 84% of respondents.
| 2024 reported adoption likelihood | Share |
|---|---|
| Small dog | 46% |
| Medium dog | 45% |
| Cat | 39% |
| Large dog | 24% |
Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 37% said they were open to adopting a large dog. For fostering, 40% of prospective fosters were afraid of adopting their foster pet, while 64% said they would be likely to foster if pet-care costs were covered. The report also said 94% of pet owners considering relinquishment kept their pet after receiving support.
2025 adoption experience and Canada
Hill’s 2025 State of Shelter Pet Adoption Report found that 93% of shelter adopters reported a positive adoption experience, and 90% felt confident in their decision to adopt. Adoption counselors set realistic expectations for 79% of adopters, spent enough time understanding wants and needs for 76%, and were able to match adopters with the right pet for 75%.
After pets came home, 61% said an adoption counselor personally checked in, while 54% said they received a general follow-up message. In the same 2025 report, 63% of Americans said they would likely choose a shelter when ready for a new pet, 80% of previous adopters were likely to consider adoption again, and 56% of first-time pet owners would consider adopting from a shelter or rescue.
The report’s age-group figures said 34% of Gen Z and Millennials were likely to adopt a large dog in 2025, compared with a 31% prior-year baseline. Among Gen X and Baby Boomers, 18% were likely to adopt a large dog.
The 2025 Canada State of Shelter Pet Adoption Report measured Canadian respondents separately. It found that 58% were likely to choose a shelter when adopting a new pet. Forty percent said the initial cost to adopt made ownership difficult, 57% identified overall ownership cost as their biggest concern, and 83% ranked veterinary care among their top three pet expenses. Veterinary cost directly affected adoption decisions for 72%.
In Canada, 23% said they could not afford a foster pet, 40% were afraid they would end up adopting their foster pet, and 8% had fostered before. Still, 59% viewed fostering positively as a way to try pet ownership. If care costs were covered, 68% of Gen Z and Millennials and 44% of Gen X and Baby Boomers would consider fostering.
Among Canadians who had adopted before, 87% of Gen Z and Millennials would consider adopting from a shelter again, compared with 64% of Gen X and Baby Boomers. These Canada results are not directly interchangeable with the United States findings because the report, geography, and respondent groups differ.