Weight-loss drug sales soar for Eli Lilly
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Eli Lilly proved Thursday that the market for weight-loss drugs isn't softening.
Why it matters: The company is riding the GLP-1 rocket ship to higher sales and profits, cementing its status as a global pharmaceutical powerhouse.
The big picture: Lilly's rival, Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk, generated concern Wednesday when it cut its full-year profit outlook on the back of disappointing quarterly sales.
- Questions emerged as to whether the market for anti-diabetes and obesity drugs could be showing early signs of cracking.
- Lilly Thursday erased those fears.
Driving the news: The Indianapolis-based drug giant raised its sales forecast after crushing revenue expectations for its most critical treatments.
- Sales of weight-loss drug Zepbound totaled $1.24 billion in the second quarter — less than a year after it hit the market — while Wall Street was expecting $819 million, per market research firm Third Bridge.
- Sales of diabetes medication Mounjaro totaled $3.09 billion, versus expectations of $2.4 billion.
By the numbers: Lilly appears poised to generate an additional $7 billion in revenue in 2025 above previous consensus estimates, according to Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat.
Context: Novo's stock dipped over 8% Wednesday after the company acknowledged that it made price concessions to pharmacy benefit managers. (CEO Lars Fruergaard called the rebates a "one-time, one-off true-up.")
- Thursday the stock clawed most of that back, as the Lilly report reignited confidence in the overall trajectory of GLP-1 sales.
The bottom line: The weight-loss drug market still has an extremely promising road ahead.
