Veterinary practice health earned a mixed report card in the 2026 AVMA Veterinary Practice Owners Survey, the newest dataset from the profession's largest owner-side economics instrument, presented October 7-8 at the online AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum.

Frederic B. Ouedraogo, PhD, senior economist and associate director in the AVMA Veterinary Economics Division, delivered the findings in a session titled "Practice Owners: A Look at Practice Health." The forum ran online across two days, October 7-8, 2026, and Ouedraogo's talk served as the first public airing of the new survey wave.

Who presented, and on what data?

The dataset is the 2026 AVMA Veterinary Practice Owners Survey, an AVMA-produced instrument that polls practice owners on the financial and operational condition of their businesses. Ouedraogo, who holds a senior economist post in the AVMA Veterinary Economics Division, heads the analysis. His associate director role places him at the center of the association's practice-economics output, which clinics routinely use for benchmarking compensation, revenue, and ownership trends.

The venue matters for timing. The AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum, held online October 7-8, functions as the association's annual stage for releasing fresh economics data to practitioners, consultants, and industry analysts. Practice owners who want the full picture before benchmarking season typically watch this forum closely.

What does "mixed" mean at the practice level?

The headline framing — a mixed report card — signals that the 2026 survey results split rather than trended cleanly. In practical terms, that matters for two decisions owners face each year: whether to expand staffing or capacity, and how to set prices against cost pressure. A mixed dataset argues against blanket optimism or pessimism. It argues for checking practice-specific numbers against the survey's benchmarks before committing capital.

For owners, the actionable step is comparison. Where the survey shows strength, owners can test whether their own books match it. Where it shows softness, the same test flags exposure early. That is the standing use case for AVMA economics data, and the 2026 owner survey extends it.

Why the survey matters beyond owners

Practice-owner economics ripple beyond the owner's ledger. Associate compensation, hiring capacity, and service pricing all trace back to practice health, which makes the survey relevant to employed veterinarians and staff even though owners are the respondents. Lenders and buyers also read it. Practice valuations and acquisition activity respond to the revenue and profitability signals this dataset tracks.

The AVMA Veterinary Economics Division publishes the survey findings through its economics resources, and practitioners can expect fuller write-ups to follow the forum presentation.

What comes next

Watch for the AVMA Veterinary Economics Division to release detailed tables and analysis from the 2026 Practice Owners Survey in the months after the forum, giving owners the granular benchmarks needed to translate Ouedraogo's mixed report card into 2027 planning decisions.