David Ricks, chief govt officer of Eli Lilly & Co., on the Semafor World Economic system Summit through the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) and World Financial institution Spring conferences in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Eli Lilly on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings and income that blew previous estimates and hiked its full-year gross sales outlook by $2 billion, as demand for its blockbuster weight reduction drug Zepbound and diabetes remedy Mounjaro spiked once more.
The pharmaceutical big now expects 2026 income to come back in between $82 billion and $85 billion, up from a earlier steering of $80 billion to $83 billion.
Lilly additionally expects its full-year adjusted revenue to be between $35.50 to $37 per share. That compares to a earlier outlook of $33.50 to $35 per share.
Resilient demand for Zepbound and Mounjaro has helped gas a number of sturdy quarters for Lilly regardless of decrease costs for the medicines within the U.S.
Mounjaro booked $8.66 billion in gross sales for the quarter, up 125% from the year-earlier interval. These numbers surpassed the $7.26 billion that analysts had been anticipating for the quarter, in line with StreetAccount.
Zepbound, which entered the market roughly three years in the past, posted $4.16 billion in U.S. income for the primary quarter. That is up 80% from the year-earlier interval, as demand for the drug additionally rose whereas realized costs dropped. Analysts had been anticipating $4.04 billion in U.S. gross sales for Zepbound, in line with StreetAccount.
This is what Eli Lilly reported for the primary quarter in contrast with what Wall Road was anticipating, primarily based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $8.55 adjusted vs. $6.66 anticipated
- Income: $19.80 billion vs. $17.62 billion anticipated
The corporate posted fourth-quarter income of $19.80 billion, up 56% from the identical interval a yr in the past.
Income within the U.S. climbed 43% to $12.1 billion. Eli Lilly stated that was pushed by a 49% enhance in quantity — or the variety of prescriptions or items offered — for its merchandise, primarily for Mounjaro and Zepbound. That was partially offset by decrease realized costs of Zepbound and one other medicine for psoriatic arthritis and different situations, the corporate stated.
The pharmaceutical big booked internet revenue of $7.4 billion, or $8.26 per share, for the primary quarter. That compares with internet revenue of $2.76 billion, or $3.06 per share, a yr earlier.
Excluding one-time gadgets related to the worth of intangible property and different changes, Eli Lilly posted earnings of $8.55 per share for the primary quarter.
The corporate’s newly accredited GLP-1 capsule for weight problems, Foundayo, launched within the second quarter, so its gross sales will not be included in Thursday’s report.
Nonetheless, the capsule’s rollout is more likely to dominate the dialogue throughout Lilly’s first-quarter earnings name. Executives will doubtless face questions on whether or not Foundayo can attain the identical degree of momentum because the rival Wegovy capsule from Novo Nordisk, which benefited from a three-month head begin within the U.S.
It is too quickly to evaluate the efficiency of Lilly’s capsule. However early prescription information counsel its preliminary rollout has been “modest,” in line with a be aware final week from Leerink Companions analyst David Risinger.
In February, Lilly stated it expects to profit from Foundayo’s launch, Medicare protection of weight problems medication coming on-line later this yr and continued worldwide demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound. However the firm additionally expects to face pricing stress, pushed by a drug pricing cope with President Donald Trump and decrease cash-pay costs for Zepbound, amongst different components.
Nonetheless, Lilly CEO Dave Ricks stated in an interview in late April that he expects decrease costs to speed up prescription volumes within the U.S. He additionally estimated that world GLP-1 use will rise from roughly 20 million sufferers on the finish of final yr to 30 million on the finish of 2026.
