By Christy Santhosh and Mrinalika Roy
April 30 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly hiked its full-year profit and revenue forecasts on Thursday, as surging demand for its GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs helped offset lower prices across U.S. and international markets.
Shares rallied nearly 10% after the Indianapolis-based drugmaker reported sales of its GLP-1 obesity and diabetes products that topped Wall Street expectations, especially internationally, despite lower pricing.
During a call with investors and analysts, top executives were pressed for details about the launch of Foundayo, the weight-loss pill Lilly began selling in the U.S. in early April to compete with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy launched in January, and the commentary was upbeat.
“Early indicators are positive,” said Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA.
Whether the U.S. drugmaker can sustain momentum as pricing pressures intensify has been a top investor worry. Lilly has been navigating lower prices, reflecting discounts and deals with the Trump administration and raising questions about how effectively it can continue translating strong demand into revenue growth.
“Pretty much every time we reduce pricing, we see a pretty large expansion,” CEO Dave Ricks said on the call to discuss the financial results.
Lilly reported a first-quarter adjusted profit of $8.55 per share, sailing past Wall Street estimates of $6.66, according to LSEG data.
“After a weaker start to 2026, first-quarter results firmly put concerns to bed, with strength across the business,” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman. Lilly shares had fallen 20% so far this year.
Lilly shares were up 9.7% at $933.76, while U.S.-listed shares of Novo rose 5.4% to $42.45, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed new rules that will squeeze the potential for vast production of compounded versions of Lilly and Novo weight-loss medicines.
RAISED 2026 FORECASTS
The low end of Lilly’s new 2026 profit forecast range is now higher than its prior high end. The company now sees adjusted earnings of $35.50 to $37.00 per share, up from $33.50 to $35.00. Analysts were estimating $34.55 per share. It expects revenue of $82 billion to $85 billion compared to its previous forecast of $80 billion to $83 billion.
Lilly is competing with Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk in the exploding market for the newer weight-loss drugs expected by analysts to reach $150 billion annually in the next decade. Both companies struck agreements with the administration of President Donald Trump in November to lower U.S. prices of their obesity drugs.
Despite pricing pressures, Lilly’s GLP-1 products outperformed. Mounjaro, used for diabetes in the U.S. and both diabetes and weight loss elsewhere, generated $8.7 billion in sales, beating expectations by more than $1 billion. Zepbound, the U.S. weight-loss brand name, brought in $4.2 billion, also ahead of estimates.
The Mounjaro figures represented a “stunning beat,” said Barclays analyst Emily Field.
The company said growth was driven primarily by higher volumes across markets, including overseas.
“The international Mounjaro sales drove this impressive top-line beat, with Lilly overtaking Novo as the market share leader for GLP-1s in these ex-U.S. markets,” said Lilly investor Terence McManus of Bellevue Asset Management in Zurich.
Patrik Jonsson, president of Lilly International, said the first few weeks of data from new generic competitors in India showed “it’s really stimulating the growth in the overall obesity market, and that includes our product.”
FOCUS ON FOUNDAYO Initial prescription data on Foundayo prompted some hand wringing from analysts, who said the launch was lagging Novo’s Wegovy pill.
The new drug has over 8,000 prescribers, a third of whom have not previously written an oral GLP-1 prescription – and more than 20,000 patients have been treated, executives said.
Lilly also said more than 12 major telehealth firms were offering Foundayo, accounting for about 35% of launch volume.
Ricks said he expects Foundayo to expand the number of people who can benefit from GLP-1s. The company said two of the three largest U.S. pharmacy benefit managers will start covering Foundayo next month.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Additional reporting and writing by Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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