Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 0.78%.Elanco Animal Health’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Elanco Animal Health updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.330-0.36 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 1.000-1.060 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Elanco Animal Health’s conference call:

• Elanco reported 9% organic constant‑currency revenue growth in Q4, beat the high end of guidance for revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS, and marked its 10th consecutive quarter of underlying growth.
• Management raised its 2026 innovation outlook to $1.15 billion (at least $250 million incremental) after 2025 innovation revenue of $892 million and expects the “Big Six” to double from 2025 to 2028.
• Commercial momentum centers on Credelio Quattro and Zenrelia—Quattro is described as the fastest blockbuster gaining US broad‑spectrum share with international rollout beginning, while Zenrelia has captured double‑digit JAK share in the US and strong >30%/40% shares in Japan and Brazil.
• Balance‑sheet progress—net leverage fell to 3.6x at year‑end with a targeted 3.1–3.3x by the end of 2026, continued debt paydown plans, and a priority on deleveraging even while pursuing bolt‑on deals like AHV.
• Near‑term headwinds include a Q4 Adjusted EPS decline (7% to $0.13), reduced Q4 cash from operations ($108M vs. $177M prior year), a higher effective tax rate and inflation/manufacturing/inventory cost flow‑through that press on margins despite guidance for modest gross‑margin improvement in 2026.

Elanco Animal Health Trading Up 3.5%

ELAN opened at $27.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.62. The company has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 453.83, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.87. Elanco Animal Health has a 52 week low of $8.02 and a 52 week high of $26.87.

Elanco Animal Health News Summary

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)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ELAN. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Argus upgraded Elanco Animal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Elanco Animal Health from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Piper Sandler raised Elanco Animal Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Elanco Animal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.22.

Insider Transactions at Elanco Animal Health

In other Elanco Animal Health news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons acquired 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $478,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,250. The trade was a 15.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev A. Modi bought 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.33 per share, for a total transaction of $95,985.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 123,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,339.06. This represents a 3.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 43,450 shares of company stock worth $937,883 over the last quarter. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elanco Animal Health

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Elanco Animal Health by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Elanco Animal Health in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Elanco Animal Health by 26.4% during 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. grew its stake 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 valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.