Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) issued a full-year revenue forecast that comfortably exceeded Wall Street expectations, reflecting sustained momentum behind its fast-growing weight-loss and diabetes medicines.
Like many peers, the drugmaker has placed a major strategic bet on the expanding obesity and diabetes market, leaning on the success of its Zepbound and Mounjaro franchises. While both therapies share the same active ingredient, Zepbound targets chronic weight management in adults, whereas Mounjaro is a once-weekly injection for type 2 diabetes.
Rising volumes for these two products powered a 43% jump in fourth-quarter revenue to $19.29 billion, well ahead of Bloomberg consensus estimates of $18.01 billion. Sales of Zepbound reached $4.26 billion and Mounjaro generated $7.41 billion, with both figures surpassing analyst forecasts.
Demand in the United States was particularly robust, with volumes climbing 50% and helping to offset pressure from lower pricing. U.S. revenue rose 43% to $12.9 billion.
Outside the U.S., Mounjaro continued to drive growth, cushioning the impact of Jardiance, a diabetes pill developed in partnership with Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim. Lilly noted that international volume growth was affected by a one-time $300 million benefit linked to a change in its Jardiance collaboration with Boehringer during the fourth quarter.
Even so, Lilly’s chief executive David Ricks said in a statement that the company is “positioned to reach more patients than ever and expand our global health impact.”
On the back of the strong performance, Lilly guided for full-year revenue of $80 billion to $83 billion and earnings per share in the range of $33.50 to $35.
Shares of Lilly jumped more than 7% in U.S. premarket trading on Wednesday. While the stock is down so far this year, it remains up more than 21% over the past 12 months.