Oh they are most definitely in it for the money, but I wouldn't say live animals make them NO money. They try as hard as they can to make tons of money off pet sales at Petsmart. The markups of their animals are sky high...sometimes 100% again what they would normally be bought for.

Ex.: A juvie Blue tongue Skink from a breeder, basic Northern or Eastern species, would cost around $110-130 or so. At Petsmart, they charge 220! A single Gouldian Finch (the multicolored ones with purple chest, yellow belly and green wings) cost around $100, and even fancy mice are $5 each.