Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) has done it again, posting another quarter of top of the line results as the company increases its 2025 guidance on blockbuster sales from Mounjaro and Zepbound, the firm’s top two drug discoveries to date for the treatment of diabetes and weight loss. The pharmaceutical behemoth crushed second-quarter views as demand skyrockets for its tirzepatide-based products.
Eli Lilly boosted its fiscal 2025 sales outlook to between $60 billion and $62 billion, up from the previous $58 billion to $61 billion, on Thursday based on knock-on strength across every business segment. Earnings per share (EPS) for 2025 is now expected to be $21.75-$23.00 vs. $20.78-$22.28 previously guided.
While these numbers take into account existing U.S. tariffs, they do not account for President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imported medicines. Looking ahead, there is the specter of potential trade policies, but Eli Lilly continues to gain momentum.
The company beat Wall Street expectations for Q2 2025. Earnings on an adjusted basis were $6.31 a share, versus the expected $5.57 a share, while revenue was $15.56 billion, compared to the expected $14.71 billion. This is a year-over-year revenue increase of 38%.
The growth in Mounjaro sales a little earlier this week dominated Eli Lilly’s results, with revenues of $5.2 billion for the quarter—68% above a year ago. Bookings for Zepbound sales also shone, totalling $3.38 billion, a remarkable 172% year-on-year increase.
StreetAccount predicted Mounjaro and Zepbound revenues of $4.49 billion and $3.06 billion, respectively. Tirzepatide and semaglutide both blew the doors off the hinges, confirming tirzepatide’s status as a blockbuster molecule.
One thing Eli Lilly’s CEO David Ricks didn’t sound worried about was Eli Lilly’s path forward:
Lilly is on the roll and you look at the playoffs and this is very good and the the us will help very happy that is going to be a strong second half, we are optimistic about the future, and he told CNBC.
Also on Wednesday, Eli Lilly reported long-awaited Phase 3 trial data of its oral obesity drug, called forforglipron. Despite over 12% body weight reduction with the highest dose, the results were just shy of those ambitious of Wall Street targets, sending shares down 12% in Friday premarket trading. Nevertheless, the company still has faith in its obesity pipeline.
Domestic sales were up 38% at $10.81 billion on the back of a 46% increase in volume. Part of the gain was offset by lower realized drug prices, a trend discussed by many companies due to rising political pressure to rein in health care costs, Eli Lilly said.
Net income rose to $5.66 billion, or $6.29 per share, from $2.97 billion, or $3.28 per share, a year prior,
CLARIFICATION and ANALYSIS: Looking ahead, analysts and investors now are tracking Eli Lilly as the specter of Biden-Trump drug pricing policy change comes into focus. And he brought back the ‘most favored nation’ policy that Trump put in for U.S. drug prices. Eli Lilly and some other pharma firms have received letters demanding price cuts by September 29.
Regulatory risks aside, Eli Lilly is still tops in the field. CEO Ricks confidently stated:
In its third year on the market, Tirzepatide—whose names include the weight loss brand, Mounjaro, and the diabetes brand, Zepbound—is set to become the top-selling drug in all of the pharmaceutical industry.
But with a strong pipeline of drugs, solid quarterly results and an aggressive advance in the tirzepatide category, Eli Lilly is not just keeping up—it’s raising the bar for the pharmaceutical industry.
FAQ
This sentiment follows Eli Lilly, which increased its 2025 guidance owing to ongoing demand and outsized sales of its Mounjaro and Zepbound diabetes and weight-loss drugs.
Both Mounjaro and Zepbound contain the same active ingredient: Tirzepatide. It’s producing skyrocketing revenue, and is poised to become the highest-selling medicine on the market.
In Q2 2025, Mounjaro brought in $5.2 billion (an increase of 68%) and Zepbound $3.38 billion (an increase of 172%).
And the current guidance does take into account the tariffs that already exist, just not the ones that have not yet been announced. Consequently, future profits could be affected by Trump’s tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
The company delivered more than 12% weight reduction with orforglipron, but just shy of Wall Street targets.
