Eli Lilly reported on Aug. 5 a 48% increase in second-quarter revenue to $23 billion, surpassing expectations, though its oral GLP-1 drug Foundayo fell short of projections as patients favored Novo Nordisk’s competing product.
BMO Capital Markets said, “While commercial performance was further bolstered by the broader portfolio, relatively in line Foundayo revenues (-3%) highlights persistent challenges for the product as patients prioritize efficacy over convenience in favor of Novo’s oral Wegovy.” Despite this, Lilly’s shares rose nearly 5% to $1,170 each in premarket trading, and the company’s market capitalization reached $1.02 trillion at July’s end.
In the first week after launch, Foundayo reached 1,390 patients compared to more than 3,000 for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill. However, analysts at RBC Capital Markets said comparing these figures directly may be misleading due to shorter data collection time for Foundayo.
Lilly’s incretin portfolio performed strongly overall. The diabetes drug Mounjaro generated $9.94 billion for the quarter—a 91% year-over-year increase and a 12% beat over consensus estimates—while Zepbound rose by 46% to $4.93 billion for a 6% consensus beat. Foundayo posted $98 million in its first quarter with available numbers following its April approval; this compares with Novo Nordisk's $355 million from oral Wegovy's initial quarter.
Lilly noted that while prices declined across products—down by 3% in the U.S.—volume increases offset these drops. U.S. revenue grew by 33% to $14.4 billion on a volume rise of 37%. Outside the U.S., revenue increased by 80%, reaching $8.6 billion amid a volume jump of 113%, attributed mainly to Mounjaro being added to China’s National Reimbursement Drug List.
Looking ahead, Lilly will host a conference call at which BMO expects discussion about Foundayo’s launch trajectory and marketing strategies as well as upcoming Medicare coverage changes that could expand access to GLP-1 drugs. Executives are also expected to address plans for retatrutide—a weight loss therapy with strong clinical results—for which global regulatory filings are now complete, and an FDA application is planned for early 2027.
