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Key Takeaways
- Eli Lilly shares jumped in early trading Tuesday as the drugmaker reported first-quarter earnings above expectations and raised full year revenue and earnings guidance.
- Weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound continue to be massive revenue drivers for the company as demand has soared in recent years.
- The stock, which has nearly doubled in the past year, is on track to set a new record high Tuesday.
Eli Lilly (LLY) stock jumped in early trading Tuesday after the drugmaker reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations and raised its guidance thanks to continued high demand for the company’s weight-loss drugs.
Shares were up 7.2% at $790.10 about half an hour into the trading session, putting it on course to possibly surpass its all-time closing high of $792.28 set in early March. The stock has nearly doubled over the past year.
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Q1 Profit Tops Expectations
Eli Lilly said revenue for the first quarter rose 26% from the year-earlier period to $8.77 billion, which was almost exactly in line with analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. The increase was primarily driven by the company’s weight-loss drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, the company said.
The company was more profitable than analysts expected, reporting a net income of $2.24 billion for an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.48, compared to the $2.11 billion and $2.34 per share analysts expected.
“Lilly’s first quarter performance reflects solid year-over-year revenue growth with strong sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound,” Eli Lilly CEO David A. Ricks said. “Our progress in addressing some of the world’s most significant health care challenges has resulted in increased demand for our medicines.”
Revenue, EPS Guidance Get a Boost
Ricks also said the company continues to increase its manufacturing capacity to meet demand, as Eli Lilly has said in previous earnings reports that demand could outpace supply for the next few quarters as it increases production.
Full-year guidance also received a bump, with Eli Lilly shifting its revenue projections up $2 billion to a range of $42.4 billion to $43.6 billion and EPS projections to a range of $13.05 to $13.55, compared to the $11.80 to $12.30 range the company projected in its fourth-quarter report earlier this year.
Demand for weight loss drugs has boosted the revenues and stock prices of Eli Lilly and Ozempic and Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk (NVO) over the past year.