Is the AKC Running Out of Gas?

Ted Phillips, the Chief Financial Officer of the American Kennel Club, delivered the June 9, 2026  First Quarter Financial Report, which shows a continued decline across nearly every category.  

▪️Annual AKC registrations seem to have slipped south of 500,000. In 1992, they were 1.53 million. 

▪️AKC registration decline continues despite the fact that, on a per capita basis, Americans own more dogs than ever before *and* the population of the US continues to grow.  

▪️When you factor in the 34 percent US population growth between 1992 and 2024 (257 million to 346 million), we find the relative decline in AKC registrations in the last 30 years is about 78 percent. To put it another way, if AKC registrations had simply kept pace with US population growth since 1992, they would be well over 2 million a year, not under 450,000.

▪️Total AKC operating revenue was $21.9 million, or 6 percent lower than the same quarter in 2025.

▪️Total operating expense was $22.7 million, or 7 percent lower than the same quarter in 2025.

▪️Registration and event fees totaled $14.7 million in the first quarter of 2026, which is 4 percent, or $595,000 lower than the previous first quarter period.

▪️Advertising, sponsorship, and royalties totaled $3.8 million were down about 16 percent,or $713,000. 

▪️Products and service sales totaled $3.5 million, down about 6 percent, or $203,000. 

▪️Dog registration totaled $5.3 million, which is a decline of 7 percent, or $378,000, and litter registration totaled $2.6 million, which is a decline of 12 percent,or $360,000. 

▪️Litter registrations and dog registrations equally declined by 11 percent in their respective categories, with litters landing at 49,697 and dog registrations at 111,864. 

▪️Conformation revenue increased by 19 percent to $1.5 million; Companion events increased by 8 percent to $1.9 million, and Performance events increased by 19 percent to $813,000. The only underperformer in this area was the Family Dog program, which was lowered by 11 percent at $846,000, as compared to $946,000 in the prior year's period. 

▪️Event entries are down 3 percent to 783,000. The number of events, however, has increased to a little over 6,000.

 ▪️Sponsorship revenue totaled $2.5 million and is down by about 11 percent from the prior year.

▪️Advertising revenue totaled $763,000, which is 

31 percent lower. 

▪️Royalties were down by 11 percent, as compared to the prior year.

Source >> https://www.akc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Minutes-June-2026-Delegate-Meeting-FINAL.pdf