Monday, April 11, 2022
The COVID pandemic and its subsequent mandatory lockdowns led to greater isolation, greater stress, and less time outside. What better way is there to brighten such a dark time – and occupy bored kids - than to get a puppy!
Apparently, millions of Americans thought so too. As households added an additional (furry) mouth to feed, one company in particular stood to benefit. The online pet food and pet supply company Chewy saw its market cap quadruple from the beginning of the pandemic to its peak. Its stock chart shows an almost perfect correlation with Google searches for "puppies for sale". But now that the number of COVID cases is collapsing—so has Chewy's stock price. After peaking near $120 a share in February of 2021, Chewy closed this week at $43.19—just a smidge above its IPO price of $35 in 2019. (Chart by chartr.co)
