Neogen’s 83% Advance Gets Support From Food Safety Growth

Neogen shares have risen 83% year to date, far ahead of the industry’s 21.6% decline and the S&P 500’s 11.7% gain. Zacks attributes the rally to momentum in the company’s Food Safety business and efforts to expand products and manufacturing.

Food Safety revenue increased 3.1% year over year in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, while core growth reached 5.8%, its strongest quarterly rate since fiscal 2023, according to Zacks. Indicator Testing and Culture Media revenue rose 9.5%, and Bacterial and General Sanitation revenue climbed 9.9%.

Neogen is bringing Petrifilm manufacturing in-house at its Lansing facility after its combination with 3M’s Food Safety business. The platform is intended to support more Petrifilm products and expansion into pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and consumer products.

The company is also shifting toward global solutions-based selling, with resources focused on strategic accounts and priority geographies. Zacks says Neogen expects fiscal 2027 research and development spending to increase about 50% from fiscal 2026, with investment directed toward Petrifilm, informatics, technology licensing and detection platforms.

Risks include competition from new technologies and exposure to currency swings. International sales accounted for 51.2% of fiscal 2026 revenue.

Zacks Consensus estimates call for fiscal 2027 earnings per share of 31 cents, down 3.1% from fiscal 2026, and revenue of $883.2 million, up 1.5%. For fiscal 2028, the consensus projects earnings per share of 36 cents and revenue of $846.5 million.