Demand for Zepbound and Mounjaro drove earnings and revenue above estimates, while newly launched obesity pill Foundayo posted $98 million in its first quarter of reported sales.
Eli Lilly raised its 2026 sales outlook after second-quarter earnings and revenue topped Wall Street expectations, helped by another surge in demand for obesity drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro. The drugmaker now expects 2026 revenue of $85 billion to $87 billion, up from prior guidance of $82 billion to $85 billion. It projects full-year adjusted profit of $35.50 to $36.50 per share, versus an earlier range of $35.50 to $37 per share, saying underlying guidance rose by $2.78 per share at the midpoint but was more than offset by $3.03 per share in charges tied to deals completed during the quarter. Mounjaro generated $9.94 billion in worldwide revenue, including $4.8 billion in the U.S., beating StreetAccount estimates of $8.99 billion globally and $4.44 billion domestically. Sales outside the U.S. jumped 172%. Zepbound brought in $4.93 billion in U.S. revenue, up 44% from a year earlier and above analysts' $4.69 billion forecast, even as realized prices fell partly because of previously announced cash-pay discounts. Foundayo, Lilly's obesity pill and a GLP-1 (hormone-mimicking weight-loss and diabetes drug) treatment approved in the U.S. in April, recorded $98 million in second-quarter sales in its first reported quarter, below FactSet estimates of nearly $103 million. Lilly said lower prices, especially for Mounjaro in China after it was added to the country's state-run health insurance coverage for Type 2 diabetes, were offset by sharp volume gains. The company is also using the windfall from its obesity and diabetes franchise to fund a major acquisition push, including a July deal for a psychedelics drugmaker and planned purchases of three vaccine makers announced in May. CEO Dave Ricks said in late April that lower prices should accelerate U.S. prescription volumes, and estimated global GLP-1 use could rise from about 20 million patients at the end of last year to 30 million by the end of 2026. Lilly and Novo Nordisk are expected to benefit in the second half of the year from Medicare's new coverage of obesity drugs, which began in early July.