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News|Articles|August 6, 2026
Eli Lilly Surpasses Wall Street Estimates on Injectable GLP-1 Drugs
Author(s)Nicholas Jacobus
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Key Takeaways
- Mounjaro and Zepbound drove outsized growth, benefiting from higher volumes despite realized-price compression, and now represent nearly two-thirds of quarterly revenue.
- Patient-start dynamics continue to favor injectables, with ~75% of new starts and ~80% uptake in the Medicare obesity pilot selecting injections over oral options.
- Foundayo’s $98M launch trailed expectations, yet weekly prescriptions nearly doubled month over month; regulatory reviews exceed 40 markets with major-market rollout planned for 2027.
- Competitive pressure is shifting toward efficacy and access: oral Wegovy sales were modest, and a $50 monthly Medicare copay bridge reduced prior oral pricing advantages versus tirzepatide.
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Eli Lilly posted $23 billion in second-quarter revenue driven by Mounjaro’s sales surge to $9.94 billion and Zepbound’s $4.93 billion
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Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro injectable weight-loss and diabetes drugs posted soaring second-quarter sales, beating Wall Street estimates and prompting the company to raise its full-year revenue forecast
According to Lilly, the company’s worldwide revenue reached $23 billion in the second quarter of 2026, a 48% increase from the same period a year earlier, while shares rose 3.6% on the news.1
What drove the financial success?
The growth was driven by a 60% increase in volume, but was partially offset by a 13% decline in realized prices. Mounjaro sales climbed 91% to $9.94 billion, topping analyst estimates, while Zepbound brought in $4.93 billion against expectations of $4.73 billion.1 Together the two drugs accounted for 64.7% of Lilly’s quarterly revenue
Why are injectables still winning over pills?
Eli Lilly chief financial officer Lucas Montarce says demand for injectable GLP-1 medicines remain strong, accounting for roughly three out of every four new patient starts even as oral obesity options have entered the market.1That pattern also showed up in the Medicare obesity drug pilot that launched last month, where about 80% of patients chose to begin treatment with an injectable medicine, according to Eli Lilly executive vice president Ilya Yuffa.1
“At the same time, Lilly is building for the future. With our next-generation weight-loss medicine retatrutide and its complete clinical data package in hand, new manufacturing capacity coming online, and exciting new assets entering our pipeline through business development, Lilly’s future, after 150 years, has never been brighter.”
Many industry experts have expected patients to prefer pills for their convenience, including Kevin Gade, chief operating officer at Bahl & Gaynor, who says expanded Medicare access through the pilot should support U.S. growth, with 60% to 70% of program participants expected to be patients new to the drugs
What about Lilly’s new obesity pill?
Sales of Foundayo
, Lilly’s newly launched once-daily obesity pill, totaled $98 million, coming in short of the $105.6 million analysts had expected.1 Yuffa says the launch continues to build momentum, with prescriptions in the last week of July nearly doubling those from a month earlier, as nearly one in four patients begin treatment on the pill.1 Foundayo is now under regulatory review in more than 40 markets, with Lilly expecting a rollout across all major markets in 2027.1
How did the results compare with Novo Nordisk?
Novo Nordisk, Lilly’s chief rival in the obesity market, says sales of its oral Wegovy pill
reached $497 million, up 42.6% from the previous quarter but came in slightly below analyst expectations.2 The figures tempered hopes that the pill would help Novo claw back market share it has ceded to Lilly
Novo’s combined diabetes and obesity portfolio, led by Ozempic and Wegovy
injections, generated roughly $9.16 billion, for the quarter, allowing the company to raise its own full-year profit and sales forecasts a day before Lilly’s report, counting on oral Wegovy to help it regain ground.2
“The general consensus in the community is that tirzepatide is the better product… efficacy is what’s key” for consumers, said Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, using the chemical name shared by Zepbound and Mounjaro. Some investors said oral Wegovy no longer carries the pricing edge it had at launch, since Lilly cut prices on its obesity treatments and a new Medicare bridge program launched last month now offers all weight-loss drugs at the same $50 monthly co-pay
What comes next for Lilly’s guidance?
Lilly now expects 2026 revenue of $85 billion to $87 billion, an increase from its prior forecast of $82 billion to $85 billion.1 The company trimmed the top end of its full-year adjusted earnings forecast by 50 cents, to a range of $35.50 to $36.50, citing charges tied to business development activity in the quarter, including acquired in-process research and development charges of $3.03 per share tied largely to its acquisitions of Orna Therapeutics
and Ajax Therapeutics
.1
“Lilly’s momentum continues, as we delivered 48% revenue growth and raised our full-year guidance,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly chair and chief executive officer. “At the same time, Lilly is building for the future. With our next-generation weight-loss medicine retatrutide and its complete clinical data package in hand, new manufacturing capacity coming online, and exciting new assets entering our pipeline through business development, Lilly’s future, after 150 years, has never been brighter.”
Sources
- Lilly reports second-quarter 2026 financial results, raises full-year guidance, and highlights continued growth and pipeline progress Eli Lilly and CompanyAugust 5, 2026, https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lilly-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial-results-raises-full
- Lilly beats estimates on resilient demand for injectable GLP-1 drugs, widens gap with Novo ReutersAugust 5, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/eli-lilly-raises-annual-revenue-forecast-obesity-diabetes-drug-demand-stay-2026-08-05/
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