Eli Lilly Reports 45% Revenue Surge Amid Profit Forecast Cut

Indianapolis, Indiana – Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) announced a 45% increase in its first-quarter 2025 revenue, reaching $12.73 billion. The surge is attributed mainly to strong sales of its weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Mounjaro sales skyrocketed by 113% to $3.84 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Zepbound sales also climbed significantly, reaching $2.31 billion, up from $517.4 million in the same quarter last year.

The company’s earnings per share (EPS) grew by 23% on a reported basis to $3.06, and by 29% to $3.34 on a non-GAAP basis. Gross margins improved to 82.5%, showcasing enhanced production efficiency.

Lilly showed promising developments in its pipeline as well, particularly with the successful Phase 3 trial for orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 agonist designed for Type 2 diabetes treatment. This advance is seen as a potential game-changer in diabetes therapies.

Despite an increase in research and development expenses, which rose 8% to $2.73 billion, Eli Lilly maintains its 2025 revenue guidance between $58 billion and $61 billion, signaling confidence in ongoing growth.

However, the company lowered its profit expectations due to net losses on investments in equity securities and costs related to acquired in-process research and development, which incurred about $1.57 billion in the first quarter. Subsequent to the announcement, Lilly’s shares fell 4% in premarket trading.