--- title: "Eli Lilly Q1 Revenue Surges 56%, GLP-1 Drug Sales Nearly Double, Full-Year Guidance Raised | Financial News" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/284762609.md" description: "The core drivers were Mounjaro and Zepbound, with sales nearly doubling and contributing approximately 65% of revenue. Despite strong fundamentals, weak early prescriptions for the oral weight-loss drug Foundayo have raised concerns. The company is also accelerating M&A and pipeline progress to strengthen its long-term growth strategy" datetime: "2026-04-30T11:51:13.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/284762609.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284762609.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/284762609.md) --- # Eli Lilly Q1 Revenue Surges 56%, GLP-1 Drug Sales Nearly Double, Full-Year Guidance Raised | Financial News Eli Lilly delivered a first-quarter performance that far exceeded market expectations, driven by the strong performance of its GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs, and subsequently raised its full-year earnings guidance. Its pre-market stock price rose more than 5%. Eli Lilly's total revenue for the first quarter reached $19.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 56%, significantly surpassing FactSet's expectation of $17.78 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $8.55, a 156% increase from $3.34 in the same period last year, also far exceeding the market expectation of $6.97. The company raised its full-year revenue guidance to $82–85 billion, from the previous expectation of $80–83 billion; the full-year adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $35.50–$37.00, from the previous $33.50–$35.00. Following the earnings announcement, Eli Lilly's U.S. stock price rose more than 5% in pre-market trading. However, the market remains concerned about the early prescription data for its newly launched oral GLP-1 drug, Foundayo, which poses a potential headwind to further stock price gains. ## GLP-1 Duo Sales Nearly Double, Far Exceeding Expectations The core drivers of Eli Lilly's performance were its two GLP-1 drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, which together accounted for approximately 65% of the company's total revenue. Mounjaro (tirzepatide, for type 2 diabetes) generated global revenue of $8.7 billion in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 125%, far exceeding FactSet's expectation of $7.3 billion. Of this, U.S. revenue was $4.2 billion, up 59% year-on-year; revenue outside the U.S. was $4.4 billion, a significant jump from $1.2 billion in the same period last year, primarily driven by volume growth in the Chinese market after its inclusion in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), although it also faced considerable price pressure. Zepbound (the same molecule, for weight loss indications) generated U.S. revenue of $4.1 billion in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 79%, slightly exceeding FactSet's expectation of $4.1 billion. According to MarketWatch, if calculated on a global basis, Zepbound sales were approximately $4.2 billion, an increase of about 83% from $2.3 billion in the same period last year. Sales growth for both drugs was primarily driven by increased demand, but partially offset by realized price declines. ## Early Performance of Oral New Drug Foundayo Disappoints Market Despite the overall impressive results, the early market performance of Eli Lilly's newly launched oral GLP-1 weight-loss drug, Foundayo (orforglipron), has raised concerns among analysts. The drug was officially launched on April 9. Eli Lilly did not disclose specific sales figures in this earnings report, stating only that its first full week on the market had a "strong" start. However, according to MarketWatch, total prescriptions for Foundayo in its second week on the market were only 3,700, a stark contrast to the 18,400 prescriptions for Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy during the same period. Leerink analyst David Risinger subsequently lowered Eli Lilly's target price from $1,296 to $1,058, pointing out that the market penetration of oral Wegovy is compressing the prescription demand space for Foundayo. HSBC analysts also recently downgraded Eli Lilly, believing that the weight-loss drug market is overhyped and that the sustainability of the out-of-pocket payment model is questionable in a downward economic environment. Eli Lilly's stock price has fallen 21.2% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 Index has risen 4.0% over the same period. ## Aggressive M&A Strategy, Positive Pipeline Progress Facing increasing competition in the GLP-1 market, Eli Lilly is actively investing its abundant cash flow into diversified acquisitions. According to MarketWatch, the company acquired four biotechnology companies in the past month, covering multiple therapeutic areas beyond metabolic health, including a $6.3 billion upfront payment to acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on sleep disorder treatments, and a $3.25 billion upfront payment to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics, a developer of in vivo CAR-T therapies. Additionally, the company reached agreements to acquire Orna Therapeutics and Ajax Therapeutics. In terms of pipeline progress, Foundayo achieved positive results in Phase 3 clinical trials for patients with type 2 diabetes who are obese or overweight and have cardiovascular risk; Phase 3 data for Jaypirca in combination with venetoclax and rituximab for treating relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) were also positive; and Phase 3 studies of retatrutide in the field of type 2 diabetes also brought positive news. R&D expenses in the first quarter increased by 28% year-on-year to $3.5 billion, accounting for 18% of revenue; marketing, sales, and administrative expenses grew by 19% to $2.9 billion, mainly used to support the launch and promotion of new products. The company also announced that it plans to hold an investor community meeting on December 7, 2026. ### Related Stocks - [LLY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LLY.US.md) - [SBIO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SBIO.US.md) - [IXJ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IXJ.US.md) - [BIB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BIB.US.md) - [FBT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBT.US.md) - [IBBQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IBBQ.US.md) - [BBH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BBH.US.md) - [IHE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IHE.US.md) - [IBB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IBB.US.md) - [XLV.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XLV.US.md) - [VHT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VHT.US.md) - [ELIL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ELIL.US.md) - [LABU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LABU.US.md) - [LLYX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LLYX.US.md) - [LLYZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LLYZ.US.md) - [XBI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XBI.US.md) - [FDS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FDS.US.md) - [NVO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVO.US.md) - [HSBA.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HSBA.UK.md) - [00005.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00005.HK.md) - [HSBC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HSBC.US.md) - [.SPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md) - [CNTA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CNTA.US.md) - [DTIW.SG](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DTIW.SG.md) ## Related News & Research - [Lilly reports first-quarter 2026 financial results, raises full year guidance, and highlights momentum of new medicines | LLY Stock News](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284749223.md) - [Lilly Q1 adjusted EPS beats estimates, raises 2026 outlook](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284751222.md) - [Eli Lilly To Buy Ajax Therapeutics To Advance AJ1-11095 Development](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284204528.md) - [More than 20,000 people are taking Eli Lilly's weight loss pill Foundayo, CEO says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284772786.md) - [Lilly Agrees To Buy Ajax Therapeutics For Up To $2.3 Billion](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284430912.md)