The National Provisioner’s 2026 Top 100 Meat & Poultry Processors finds the industry overall enjoying continued growth, coming off of meat sales setting a record high of $112 billion in 2025.

Dollar sales growth was accompanied by rising pounds sold (2%), according to the 2026 Power of Meat report.

As the meat and poultry value chain from producer through retailer continues to deal with the effects of factors including rising input costs and consumer pessimism, marketplace factors driving growth include:

• rising influence from Millennial and Gen Z consumers
• heightened consumer focus on the importance of protein consumption for health and nutrition
• rising producer costs
• historically tight cattle supply and record beef prices.

The 2026 Top 100 Meat & Poultry Processors listing shows the industry’s beef, pork and poultry market leaders – including Cargill, Tyson, JBS and Smithfield — doing the heavy lifting in dollar sales.

Historically tight supplies and high prices in the US cattle and beef market continue to be top of mind for the meat processing industry. Beef market analysts find dairy cow inventory is helping the beef cattle market deal with the record low herd, with beef-dairy crossed cattle fed slaughter ramping up in the US market to help with low beef cattle numbers.

Another factor complicating the beef outlook is the halting of cattle imports from Mexico beginning in 2025 due to detection of New World screwworm — with no anticipated date to reopen market access. Other imports are helping cover those gaps, with 2025 seeing record-large beef imports to the US. Large amounts of imported beef are helping to meet the record-high beef demand.

Following the overall trend of consumers increasingly finding value in quality over quantity, 85% of beef in the US market is Choice or Prime, while 12% is Select – representing a a 51% increase in Choice and Prime grade beef in the past 20 years. Select Grade has seen a 66% decrease during the that timeframe.

Rabobank protein market analysis finds the US poultry industry is on track for another good year in 2026, fueled by tighter beef supplies and favorable feed costs. QSR and retail chicken sales are performing exceptionally well while lagging in export and industrial channels. High price points for other meats and poultry are bolstering chicken's performance at retail.

Industry forecasts suggest pork production is set to reach a record high in 2026 — largely fueled by exports to Mexico — following softer sales in 2025. Pork pricing levels are fueling profitability concerns, and animal health threats including PRRS and PEDV continue to impact the marketplace as well.