Elie Lilly on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat past estimates and boosted its full-year sales outlook by $2 billion, as demand for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro rose again.
The pharmaceutical giant now expects its 2026 revenue to be between $82 billion and $85 billion, up from the $80 billion to $83 billion previously reported.
Lilly also expects its full-year adjusted earnings to be between $35.50 and $37 per share. This compares to a previous outlook of $33.50 to $35 per share.
Resilient demand for Zepbound and Mounjaro helped fuel several strong quarters for Lilly despite falling U.S. drug prices.
David Ricks, Managing Director 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, United States, Friday, April 17, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mounjaro’s global revenue increased 125% to $8.66 billion for the quarter, including $4.2 billion in U.S. sales. That beat the $7.26 billion in global sales analysts expected for the quarter, according to StreetAccount.
Zepbound, which entered the market about three years ago, reported $4.16 billion in U.S. revenue for the first quarter. This represents an 80% increase from the year-ago period, as demand for the drug also increased while realized prices fell. Analysts expected $4.04 billion in U.S. sales for Zepbound, according to StreetAccount.
Lilly is working to maintain its dominance in the booming GLP-1 drug market, with the company holding 60.1% of the U.S. market for obesity and diabetes drugs in the first quarter, according to an earnings presentation. Novo Nordisk’s market share during the quarter was 39.4%.
Here’s what Eli Lilly reported for the first quarter versus what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $8.55 adjusted vs. $6.66 expectedIncome: $19.80 billion versus $17.62 billion expectedLilly shares rose more than 10% Thursday afternoon.
The company reported first-quarter revenue of $19.80 billion, up 56% from the same period last year.
“Impressively, it’s like our fifth or sixth quarter in a row with very strong revenue growth numbers,” Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC in an exclusive interview Thursday. “It’s not typically something that pharmaceutical companies of our size do.”
In the United States, revenues rose 43% to $12.1 billion. Eli Lilly said this was due to a 49% increase in volume – or the number of prescriptions or units sold – for its products, primarily Mounjaro and Zepbound. That was partially offset by lower realized prices of Zepbound and another drug for psoriatic arthritis and other conditions, the company said.
Notably, revenue outside the United States jumped 81% to $7.7 billion, propelled by a 95% increase in volumes and partly offset by a decline in realized prices.
Ricks said Lilly slowed its introductions in global markets when it experienced supply constraints in late 2024. But he said Lilly was now entering its third or fourth quarter in key markets in Europe, China and Brazil, where many patients pay out of pocket.
“As these launches progress, you see the depth and breadth of the consumer market here,” Ricks said, referring to international markets.
The pharmaceutical giant reported net income of $7.40 billion, or $8.26 per share, for the first quarter. That compares to net income of $2.76 billion, or $3.06 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items related to the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly reported earnings of $8.55 per share for the first quarter.
The company newly approved GLP-1 pill for obesity, Foundayo, launched in the second quarter, so its sales are not included in Thursday’s report.
More CNBC health coverageStill, the pill’s rollout is likely to dominate discussions during Lilly’s first-quarter earnings conference call. Executives will likely face questions about whether Foundayo can reach the same level of momentum like rival pill Wegovy from Novo Nordiskwhich benefits from three months in advance in the United States
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 start taking the drug every day, he added.
He said 80% of patients taking the drug are new to taking GLP-1.
Ricks added that the company needs to educate consumers about Foundayo, noting that the company has not advertised it on television.
“So what we’re seeing now is basically organic demand, which is very strong for us,” Ricks said.
In February, Lilly said it hoped to benefit from the launch of Foundayo, Medicare coverage of obesity drugs coming online 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 deal with the president. Donald Trump and lower cash prices for Zepbound, among other factors.
However, Ricks said in an interview in late April, he expects lower prices to accelerate U.S. prescription volumes. It also estimated that global use of GLP-1 would increase from around 20 million patients at the end of last year to 30 million by the end of 2026.
—Angelica Peebles of CNBC contributed to this report.
Correction: Lilly reported first-quarter revenue of $19.80 billion, up 56% from the same period last year. An earlier version incorrectly stated the deadline.