Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Releases Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.330-0.36 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.350. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.3 billion-$1.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.3 billion. Elanco Animal Health also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.000-1.060 EPS.

Elanco Animal Health Trading Up 3.5%

NYSE:ELAN opened at $27.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 453.83, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Elanco Animal Health has a 52 week low of $8.02 and a 52 week high of $26.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.62.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a net margin of 0.78% and a return on equity of 7.41%. Elanco Animal Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.330-0.36 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.060 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Elanco Animal Health will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Elanco Animal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Elanco Animal Health from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays initiated coverage on Elanco Animal Health in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Elanco Animal Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elanco Animal Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.22.

Insider Activity at Elanco Animal Health

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.30 per share, for a total transaction of $213,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 131,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,764.90. This trade represents a 8.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert M. Vanhimbergen bought 6,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.64 per share, for a total transaction of $150,398.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 124,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,688,402.12. The trade was a 5.93% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 43,450 shares of company stock valued at $937,883 over the last quarter. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Elanco Animal Health News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Elanco Animal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and stronger 2026 targets — Elanco reported Q4 revenue of $1.144B (+12% yr/yr) and adjusted EPS of $0.13, beating estimates; it set FY2026 revenue guidance of $4.95–5.02B, raised its 2026 innovation revenue target to $1.15B, and guided adjusted EPS $1.00–1.06 while targeting lower net leverage. Elanco Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Leerink Partners raised its price target on ELAN to $30 and kept an outperform rating, signaling institutional confidence in the outlook and providing upside to the share valuation. Leerink raises price target to $30 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Shares hit recent highs — Coverage noted ELAN reached a 52‑week high after the Q4 print and 2026 outlook, reflecting positive market reaction to growth/guidance beats. Elanco hits 52-week high after Q4 results (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO media appearance — CEO Jeff Simmons spoke one‑on‑one with Jim Cramer (visibility event) to discuss the quarter, strategy and the “Big 6” product rollouts — useful for investor messaging but not a direct financial driver. Elanco CEO Jeff Simmons on Jim Cramer (CNBC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — The earnings slide deck and call transcript provide granular metrics (adjusted EBITDA margin, innovation revenue breakdown, product momentum) for investors doing deeper fundamental work. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure flagged — Several outlets highlighted concerns around margins and short‑term profitability (and some noted the stock initially slipped on those worries), pointing to investor focus on whether margin recovery will match top‑line gains. Elanco beats estimates but shares edge down on margin concerns (Investing.com)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ELAN. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Elanco Animal Health by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Elanco Animal Health during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 26.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

Elanco Animal Health Inc is a global leader in animal health dedicated to improving food and companion animal well-being. The company develops, manufactures and markets a range of products, including parasiticides, vaccines, antibiotics and feed additives designed to prevent and treat disease in livestock and pets. Elanco’s portfolio spans both food-producing animals—such as cattle, swine, poultry and aquaculture—and companion animals, with offerings that support parasite control, pain management and infectious disease prevention.

Originally founded as the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company in the mid-20th century, Elanco was spun off into an independent publicly traded company in 2018.