Key Takeaways:
Eli Lilly posted $23 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 48%, as GLP-1 sales surged even as employer coverage for obesity drugs fell to 60 percent.
"Lilly's momentum continues, as we delivered 48% revenue growth and raised our full-year guidance," David A. Ricks, Lilly chair and chief executive officer, said.
Mounjaro sales climbed 91% to $9.94 billion, topping analyst estimates, while Zepbound brought in $4.93 billion against expectations of $4.73 billion. Together the two injectables accounted for 64.7% of quarterly revenue. Volume rose 60%, partially offset by a 13% decline in realized prices.
Lilly raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $85 billion to $87 billion from $82 billion to $85 billion. Shares rose 3.6% on the news.
Injectable demand holds despite oral rivals
Injectable GLP-1 medicines still account for roughly three out of every four new patient starts, according to Lilly chief financial officer Lucas Montarce, even as oral obesity options entered the market. That pattern showed up in the Medicare obesity drug pilot launched last month, where about 80% of patients chose to begin treatment with an injectable, said Ilya Yuffa, Lilly executive vice president.
Sales of Foundayo (orforglipron), Lilly's once-daily obesity pill, totaled $98 million, short of the $105.6 million analysts expected. Yuffa said prescriptions in the last week of July nearly doubled from a month earlier, with nearly one in four patients beginning treatment on the pill. Foundayo is under regulatory review in more than 40 markets, with a major-market rollout expected in 2027.
Coverage wall looms
Employer insurance coverage for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs has fallen to 60 percent in 2026 from 72 percent in 2025, according to a Business Group on Health survey released Aug. 25. Roughly 14 percent of U.S. employers plan to discontinue obesity-drug coverage by 2027, the survey found, as pharmacy costs now account for 25 percent of total corporate healthcare spending and are projected to rise 12 percent in 2027.
Novo Nordisk, Lilly's chief rival, reported oral Wegovy pill sales of $497 million, up 42.6% from the prior quarter but slightly below analyst expectations. Novo's combined diabetes and obesity portfolio generated roughly $9.16 billion in the quarter. Novo cut its Wegovy list price by 50 percent effective January 2027 and took a DKK 6.3 billion impairment, with gross margin falling to 78.2 percent from 82.7 percent.
The coverage pullback tests whether Lilly's volume growth can outpace reimbursement pressure. Lilly trimmed the top end of its full-year adjusted earnings forecast by 50 cents to $35.50 to $36.50, citing charges tied to its acquisitions of Orna Therapeutics and Ajax Therapeutics. Investors will watch the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Program, which offers all weight-loss drugs at a $50 monthly copay, and the retatrutide BLA submission planned for the first quarter of 2027.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
