If You'd Invested $1,000 in Zoetis (ZTS) Stock 10 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Key Points

• Shares of Zoetis have been roughly average performers over the past decade.

• The shares seem appealingly valued at recent levels.

• Zoetis has a lot of growth potential.

• 10 stocks we like better than Zoetis ›

Ah, 10 years ago. It was 2015, and selfie sticks and hoverboards were all over. Apple debuted its Apple Watch to much fanfare, and...perhaps you invested in shares of Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS) stock? If you did, here's how you would have fared over the past decade.

You would have done pretty well: Your investment would have grown by a total of 227%, which is an average annual rate of 12.6%. So, $1,000 invested 10 years ago would now be $3,270. That might please you, if you're aware that over many decades, the stock market has averaged annual gains of close to 10%. Unfortunately for Zoetis investors, though, over the past decade, the S&P 500 averaged annual gains of 12.7%, a smidge above Zoetis' returns.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Worse still, if you'd only held Zoetis stock for the past one, or three, or five years, you would have lost money. Zoetis shares sank by an annual average rate of 18.7%, 4.25%, and 0.43%, respectively, over those periods.

Don't despair, though -- because anyone buying or holding onto Zoetis shares right now has plenty to look forward to, as the company has lots of growth potential. Recall that Zoetis used to be the animal health division of Pfizer, specializing in vaccines and diagnostic equipment and the like, and was spun off in 2013. Today it's leading in market share across multiple animal health segments and it has made some strategic acquisitions, as well.

Image source: Getty Images.

Another appealing detail is that Zoetis is somewhat recession-proof, because taking care of animals' health is not optional for many people. Livestock need to stay healthy for business purposes and pets are often considered valuable members of families.

Finally, Zoetis is a dividend-paying stock, with a recent dividend yield of 1.3%. That may not seem like much, but the total annual payout, recently $1.93 per share, is up from $1.30 in 2022 and $0.50 in 2018. Shares seem undervalued at recent levels, too, with the recent forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24 is well below the five-year average of 32.

Should you invest $1,000 in Zoetis right now?

Before you buy stock in Zoetis, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Zoetis wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,119,863!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2025

Selena Maranjian has positions in Apple and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Pfizer, and Zoetis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.