Eli Lilly (LLY) earnings Q1 2026

Eli Lilly on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings and income that blew previous estimates and raised its full-year gross sales outlook by $2 billion, as demand for its blockbuster weight reduction drug Zepbound and diabetes therapy Mounjaro spiked once more.

The pharmaceutical big now expects 2026 income to return between $82 billion and $85 billion, up from a earlier steerage of $80 billion to $83 billion.

Lilly additionally expects its full-year revenue adjusted 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 gasoline a number of robust quarters for Lilly regardless of decrease costs for the drugs within the US

Mounjaro booked $8.66 billion in gross sales for the quarter, up 125% from the year-earlier interval. Those numbers surpassed the $7.26 billion that analysts have been anticipating for the quarter, based on StreetAccount.

Zepbound, which entered the market roughly three years in the past, posted $4.16 billion in US income for the primary quarter. That’s up 80% from the year-earlier interval, as demand for the drug additionally rose whereas realized costs dropped. Analysts have been anticipating $4.04 billion in US gross sales for Zepbound, based on StreetAccount.

Here’s what Eli Lilly reported for the primary quarter in contrast with what Wall Street was anticipating, based mostly on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $8.55 adjusted vs. $6.66 anticipated
• Revenue: $19.80 billion vs. $17.62 billion anticipated

The firm posted fourth-quarter income of $19.80 billion, up 56% from the identical interval a 12 months in the past.

Revenue within the US climbed 43% to $12.1 billion. Eli Lilly stated that it was pushed by a 49% enhance in quantity — or the variety of prescriptions or models offered — for its merchandise, primarily for Mounjaro and Zepbound. That was partially offset by decrease realized costs of Zepbound and one other treatment for psoriatic arthritis and different circumstances, the corporate stated.

The pharmaceutical big booked web revenue of $7.40 billion, or $8.26 per share, for the primary quarter. That compares with web revenue of $2.76 billion, or $3.06 per share, a 12 months earlier.

Excluding one-time gadgets related to the worth of intangible belongings and different changes, Eli Lilly posted earnings of $8.55 per share for the primary quarter.

The firm’s newly approved GLP-1 pill for weight problems, Foundayo, launched within the second quarter, so its gross sales will not be included in Thursday’s report.

Still, the capsule’s rollout is prone to dominate the dialogue throughout Lilly’s first-quarter earnings name. Executives will doubtless face questions on whether or not Foundayo can attain the same level of momentum because the rival Wegovy capsule from Nordiskwhich benefited from a three-month head begin within the US

It’s too quickly to evaluate the efficiency of Lilly’s capsule. But early prescription knowledge suggests its preliminary rollout has been “modest,” based on a word final week from Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger.

In February, Lilly stated it expects to learn from Foundayo’s launch, Medicare protection of weight problems medication coming on-line later this 12 months and continued worldwide demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound. But the corporate additionally expects to face pricing strain, pushed by a drug pricing take care of President Donald Trump and decrease cash-pay costs for Zepbound, amongst different elements.

Still, Lilly CEO Dave Ricks stated in an interview in late April that he expects decrease costs to speed up prescription volumes within the US He additionally estimated that international GLP-1 use will rise from roughly 20 million sufferers on the finish of final 12 months to 30 million on the finish of 2026.