Elie Lilly on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates and boosted its full-year sales outlook, as demand for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro soared again.
Despite this strength, sales of its new GLP-1 obesity pill, Foundayo, launched in the United States in April, fell short of Wall Street expectations for the quarter.
The pharmaceutical giant now expects its 2026 revenue to be between $91 billion and $92 billion, up from the $85 billion to $87 billion previously forecast.
Lilly expects its full-year adjusted earnings to be between $35 and $36 per share, compared to previous guidance of $35.50 to $36.50 per share. The company said it raised its underlying earnings guidance by $4.07 per share at the midpoint, but noted that was offset by $4.57 per share in transaction-related charges in the quarter.
The company’s shares rose about 4% in premarket trading.
Tune in at 9 a.m. ET as Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks joins CNBC TV to discuss the company’s third quarter results. Watch in real time on CNBC+ or the CNBC Pro stream.
Lilly’s huge windfall in diabetes and obesity – and its market share lead over its main rival Novo – shows no signs of slowing, even as the company struggles with lower net prices in the United States. The pharmaceutical giant is parlaying its huge profits into a deal frenzy, recently striking a deal to buy Merida Biosciences to develop a new class of treatments for serious autoimmune and allergy diseases.
Here’s what Eli Lilly reported for the third quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $7.48 adjusted vs. $6.26 expected
- Income: $24.40 billion versus $22.61 billion expected
Resilient demand for Zepbound and Mounjaro helped fuel several strong quarters for Lilly despite lower U.S. drug prices that came after a drug pricing deal reached with the Trump administration last year. In a statement, Lilly also highlighted the expansion of U.S. coverage for obesity care, referencing Medicare’s decision to begin covering GLP-1s for weight loss in July as part of a temporary pilot program.
Mounjaro’s global revenue increased 65% to $10.72 billion for the quarter, including U.S. sales of approximately $5 billion. That beat the $10.10 billion in global sales and $4.79 billion in U.S. revenue that analysts expected for the quarter, according to StreetAccount.
Mounjaro has notably seen strong growth internationally, with sales outside the United States jumping 93%.
Zepbound, which entered the market about three years ago, reported third-quarter revenue of $5.35 billion. This represents a 49% increase from the year-ago period, as demand for the drug also increased while realized prices fell. The vast majority of these sales came from the United States
Analysts expected $5.09 billion in global sales for Zepbound, including $4.99 billion from the United States, according to StreetAccount.
Lilly’s new obesity pill, Foundayo, which won U.S. approval in April, had third-quarter revenue of $184 million. That matches analysts’ forecasts of about $229 million in sales, according to StreetAccount estimates.
This is the second earnings report to include revenue from the GLP-1 pill, which competes directly with a rival oral drug Novo launched in January.
Eli Lilly’s turnover in the United States rose 34% to $15.1 billion. Lilly said it saw a 41% increase in volume – or the number of prescriptions or units sold – for its products, primarily for Mounjaro and Zepbound. This was partially offset by a 7% decline in realized prices, mainly due to Zepbound.
Sales outside the United States jumped 47% to $9.3 billion, propelled by a 76% rise in volume and partly offset by a 29% decline in realized prices.
The pharmaceutical giant reported net income of $6.45 billion, or $7.22 per share, for the third quarter, which includes transaction costs of $4.57 per share. That compares to net income of $5.58 billion, or $6.21 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items related to the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly reported earnings of $7.48 per share for the third quarter.
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