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Elanco ELAN

Elanco scores weak on business quality (3.5 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.

Last price$22.92Oct 9, 2026
Business qualityWeak
Next earningsNov 6, 2026, before the open
Insiders, 90 daysBuying

Why it matters

  1. What Elanco does

    Elanco Animal Health sells pet and livestock pharmaceuticals and vaccines, making money by supplying veterinarians and farmers with treatments that protect animal health and productivity. The business is betting on new product rollouts like Quattro and Zenrelia to drive future volume and chip away at its debt load.

  2. What it does best

    Elanco generates an FCF margin of 28% despite weak profitability overall, ranking it in the top quartile of its sector on cash conversion. This cash generation stems from steady recurring demand for livestock and pet medicines, though it lacks the wider margins seen at peers like Zoetis.

  3. The main risk

    With interest coverage sitting at a thin 1.3x, operating earnings barely cover debt servicing costs. If product launches like Zenrelia stall, cash flow could fall short of the heavy debt load, leaving little room for error.

Quality, check by check

Scored against its own industry, from company filings.

ProfitabilityWeak

Operating margin is thin at 6.6% while net margin sits at -4.0% with a -3.0% ROE. The business struggles to turn its $5.0B in revenue into net income, showing limited margin expansion as it scales.

MoatFair

Elanco holds a narrow regulatory and portfolio moat in animal health, locking in veterinarians through specialized treatments. Its gross margin sits in the bottom quartile of its sector at 55%, limiting pricing power.

GrowthSlow

Revenue grew 6.2% to $5.0B, marking a recovery from years of flat top-line history. Growth relies on scaling new approvals like Quattro and Zenrelia to offset older portfolio declines.

Financial healthWeak

Total debt stands at $4.0B against just $545M in cash, leaving net debt at $3.4B. Free cash flow reached $379M, helping service obligations, but the balance sheet remains heavily leveraged.

Insiders

Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.

5 insiders bought $1.5M on the open market.

Our sealed record on ELAN

Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.

The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.

Questions

Is ELAN a good business?

Elanco scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.5 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health weak.

Are insiders buying ELAN?

In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 5 insiders bought $1.5M on the open market.

When does ELAN report earnings?

Nov 6, 2026, before the open.

For members

See ELAN today

  • Today's verdict on ELAN, and why
  • Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
  • The exact price that would change the verdict
  • Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Elanco (ELAN)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/elan/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.