Chewy Faces Market Pressure Amid Growth Opportunities
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 42 minutes ago
0mins
Source: Fool
- Stable Customer Growth: Despite Chewy's stock price plummeting over 40% year-to-date, the company continues to see growth in active customers and spending per customer, with Autoship sales accounting for 83% of total revenue in fiscal 2025, highlighting the stability and core importance of its subscription model.
- Improving Profitability: Chewy's adjusted EBITDA margin has increased from 3.3% in fiscal 2023 to 5.7% in 2025, with management guiding for an additional 100 basis points of margin expansion this year, indicating a strong focus on enhancing profitability.
- Intensifying Market Competition: Chewy faces significant price pressure from competitors like Amazon and Walmart, and a potential price war could further squeeze its margins, presenting a risk that investors need to monitor closely.
- Strong Financial Flexibility: With approximately $880 million in net cash and no debt, Chewy is well-positioned to invest in growth initiatives such as expanding its vet clinics, and its free cash flow grew by 24% to $562 million last year, reflecting a solid financial foundation.
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Analyst Views on CHWY
Wall Street analysts forecast CHWY stock price to rise
20 Analyst Rating
17 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 19.930
Low
42.00
Averages
47.06
High
52.00
Current: 19.930
Low
42.00
Averages
47.06
High
52.00
About CHWY
Chewy, Inc. is an e-commerce business geared toward pet products and services. The Company’s products consist of pet food and treats, pet supplies and pet medications, other pet-health products, and pet services. It serves its customers through its retail websites, and its mobile applications and focuses on delivering customer service, competitive prices, convenience, including Chewy’s Autoship subscription program, and a range of pet food, treats and supplies, and pet healthcare products and services. It partners with approximately 3,200 of the brands in the pet industry, and it creates and offers its own private brands. It owns a number of trademark registrations and applications in the United States and in foreign jurisdictions. These trademarks include American Journey, Blue Box Event, Careplus, Chewy, Chewy.com, Chewy Vet Care, Dr. Lyon’s, Frisco, Goody Box, Onguard, PetMD, PracticeHub, Tiny Tiger, True Acre Farms, Tylee’s, Vibeful, and The Zoo.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Stable Customer Growth: Despite Chewy's stock price plummeting over 40% year-to-date, the company continues to see growth in active customers and spending per customer, with Autoship sales accounting for 83% of total revenue in fiscal 2025, highlighting the stability and core importance of its subscription model.
- Improving Profitability: Chewy's adjusted EBITDA margin has increased from 3.3% in fiscal 2023 to 5.7% in 2025, with management guiding for an additional 100 basis points of margin expansion this year, indicating a strong focus on enhancing profitability.
- Intensifying Market Competition: Chewy faces significant price pressure from competitors like Amazon and Walmart, and a potential price war could further squeeze its margins, presenting a risk that investors need to monitor closely.
- Strong Financial Flexibility: With approximately $880 million in net cash and no debt, Chewy is well-positioned to invest in growth initiatives such as expanding its vet clinics, and its free cash flow grew by 24% to $562 million last year, reflecting a solid financial foundation.
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- Stable Customer Growth: Chewy continues to report steady growth in active customers, with the stock down over 40% year-to-date; however, spending per customer and free cash flow remain stable, demonstrating resilience under its subscription model.
- Subscription Model Advantage: In fiscal 2025, Autoship customer sales accounted for 83% of total revenue, up from 76% two years prior, indicating that this model provides a predictable, recurring revenue stream, with subscriber sales growing 12% last year, outpacing the company's total revenue growth of 6%.
- Improving Profitability: Chewy's adjusted EBITDA margin has improved from 3.3% in fiscal 2023 to 5.7% in 2025, with management guiding for another 100 basis points of margin expansion this year and a long-term target of at least 10%, supported by operating leverage and the expansion of higher-margin private brands.
- Financial Flexibility: With approximately $880 million in net cash and no debt, Chewy can invest in growth initiatives like its vet clinics, and last year, free cash flow grew by 24% to $562 million, with the current valuation at just 12 times this year's earnings estimates, highlighting its attractiveness given the recurring revenue and potential for margin expansion.
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- Sales Growth Trend: Chewy's fiscal 2022 sales reached $10.1 billion, up over 41% from $7.1 billion in 2020, but recent growth has slowed to 8.3%, indicating that pandemic-driven growth may not be sustainable and future growth should be cautiously assessed.
- Customer Base Expansion: Chewy's autoship customers now account for 83.3% of 2025 sales, up from 79.2%, while active customers grew by 4% to 21.3 million, demonstrating effective strategies in customer retention and sales driving.
- Future Valuation Analysis: With a current P/S ratio of 0.7, below the five-year median of 1.3, shares could potentially reach $43.48 if a 1x P/S multiple is applied, nearly doubling the current price and indicating an attractive long-term investment opportunity.
- Growth Risk Assessment: Should Chewy's sales only grow by 4% and the P/S ratio remain at 0.7, the stock price would only reach $25.20, representing a mere 17% gain over five years, highlighting the need for investors to be aware of potential growth slowdown risks.
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- Sales Growth Review: Chewy's fiscal 2022 sales reached $10.1 billion, up over 41% from $7.1 billion in 2020, reflecting strong market performance amid a surge in demand for pet products during the early pandemic.
- Customer Base Expansion: As of 2023, Chewy's active customer count grew to 21.3 million, a 4% increase year-over-year, with autoship customers accounting for 83.3% of 2025 sales, indicating effective strategies in customer retention and sales growth.
- Future Sales Forecast: Chewy is projected to reach $12.6 billion in sales by 2026, with an 8% annual growth rate suggesting a per-share sales figure of $43.48 in five years, highlighting the company's attractiveness for long-term investors.
- Valuation Analysis: With a current P/S ratio of 0.7, below the five-year average of 1.3, shares could potentially double to $43.48 if a 1x P/S multiple is applied, although a slowdown to 4% growth could limit the stock price to $25.20, necessitating careful risk assessment by investors.
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- CHWY Stock Decline: Chewy Inc.'s shares fell to $19.46, marking a new 52-week low, as inflation concerns have led to reduced consumer spending on discretionary items, with CEO noting that American customers feel 'stretched' financially, posing risks to future performance.
- HD Earnings Beat: Home Depot's shares dipped to a 52-week low of $289.10 but closed up 0.88% after reporting Q1 revenue of $41.77 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.43, both exceeding market expectations, indicating improved sales activity despite rising borrowing costs.
- NCLH Faces Macro Challenges: Norwegian Cruise Line's stock fell for the fourth consecutive day to a new 52-week low of $14.53, as rising fuel costs and high debt levels weigh heavily on the company, compounded by a lowered 2026 guidance reflecting weak bookings amid geopolitical tensions.
- Cautious Market Sentiment: Despite significant declines in CHWY and NCLH stocks, down over 41% and 35% respectively, Wall Street remains optimistic about their long-term prospects, with analysts projecting a potential 108% return for CHWY over the next 12 months, while retail sentiment on HD remains 'extremely bullish'.
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- Futures Market Movement: As of 10 p.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 0.20% and S&P 500 futures increased by 0.06%, while Dow Jones futures remained flat, indicating cautious optimism ahead of Nvidia's quarterly results.
- Rising Bond Yields: The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes climbed for the third consecutive day to 4.675%, the highest since January 2025, while the 30-year yield breached 2007 levels at around 5.20%, intensifying inflation concerns in the market.
- Tech Stock Pullback: Amid a broad decline in technology stocks, the Nasdaq Composite fell by 220 points, closing down 0.84%, with most of the
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