Eli Lilly on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates and raised its full-year sales outlook by $2 billion, as demand for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro soared again.
The pharmaceutical giant now expects 2026 revenue to be between $82 billion and $85 billion, up from a previous forecast of $80 billion to $83 billion.
Lilly also projects its full-year adjusted earnings will be between $35.50 and $37 per share. That compares with a previous outlook of between $33.50 and $35 per share.
Resilient demand for Zepbound and Mounjaro has helped drive several strong quarters for Lilly despite lower U.S. drug prices.
David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly & Co., at the Semafor Global Economy Summit during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC, USA, on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | fake images
Mounjaro's worldwide revenue increased 125% to $8.66 billion during the quarter, including U.S. sales of $4.2 billion. That exceeded the $7.26 billion in global sales that analysts expected for the quarter, according to StreetAccount.
Zepbound, which entered the market about three years ago, posted revenue of $4.16 billion in the United States during the first quarter. This represents an increase of 80% compared to the same period last year, as demand for the drug also increased while realized prices fell. Analysts were expecting $4.04 billion in sales for Zepbound in the United States, according to StreetAccount.
Lilly is working to maintain its dominance in the burgeoning GLP-1 drug market, and the company had a 60.1% share of the U.S. obesity and diabetes drug market in the first quarter, according to an earnings presentation. Novo Nordisk's market share in the quarter was 39.4%.
Here's what Eli Lilly reported for the first quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $8.55 vs. expected $6.66
- Revenue: $19.8 billion vs. $17.62 billion expected
Lilly shares rose more than 10% in afternoon trading Thursday.
The company posted first-quarter revenue of $19.8 billion, up 56% from the same period last year.
“Impressively, it's like our fifth or sixth consecutive quarter of posting really strong revenue growth numbers,” Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC in an exclusive interview Thursday. “That's not something pharmaceutical companies our size typically do.”
U.S. revenue rose 43% to $12.1 billion. Eli Lilly said this was due to a 49% increase in the volume (or number of recipes or units sold) of its products, primarily Mounjaro and Zepbound. This was partially offset by lower realized prices for Zepbound and another drug for psoriatic arthritis and other conditions, the company said.
Notably, non-U.S. revenue rose 81% to $7.7 billion, driven by a 95% increase in volume and partially offset by lower pricing.
Ricks said Lilly had slowed introductions into global markets when it experienced supply constraints in late 2024. But he said Lilly is now reaching its third or fourth quarter in major markets in Europe, China and Brazil, where many patients pay out of pocket.
“As those launches move forward, you see the depth and breadth of the consumer market here,” Ricks said, referring to international markets.
The pharmaceutical giant posted net income of $7.4 billion, or $8.26 per share, during the first quarter. That compares with net income of $2.76 billion, or $3.06 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items associated with the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly posted earnings of $8.55 per share for the first quarter.
The company's newly approved GLP-1 obesity pill, Foundayo, was launched in the second quarter, so its sales are not included in Thursday's report.
Still, the pill launch is likely to dominate discussion during Lilly's first-quarter earnings conference call. Executives are likely to face questions about whether Foundayo can achieve the same level of boost as rival Wegovy pill from Nordiskwhich benefited from a three-month lead in the US.
In his interview with CNBC on Thursday, Ricks said more than 20,000 people started taking Foundayo in its first weeks on the market. More than 1,000 people a day start taking the drug, he added.
He said 80% of patients taking the drug are new to GLP-1 treatment.
Ricks added that the company needs to raise consumer awareness about Foundayo, noting that the company has not advertised it on television.
“So what we're seeing now is basically organic demand, which for us is really strong,” Ricks said.
In February, Lilly said it expects to benefit from the launch of Foundayo, Medicare coverage of obesity drugs that will be available later this year and continued global demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound. But the company also expects to face pricing pressure, driven by a drug pricing agreement with President Donald Trump and lower cash prices for Zepbound, among other factors.
Still, Ricks said in an interview in late April that he expects lower prices to accelerate prescription volumes in the U.S. He also estimated that global use of GLP-1 will increase from about 20 million patients at the end of last year to 30 million by the end of 2026.
— CNBC's Angelica Peebles contributed to this report.
Correction: Lilly reported first-quarter revenue of $19.8 billion, up 56% from the same period a year earlier. A previous version incorrectly indicated the deadline.
