Eli Lilly (LLY) Stock Climbs 5% on Strong Q1 Results and Upgraded Full-Year Outlook

Key Takeaways

• Eli Lilly delivered a first-quarter earnings beat with adjusted EPS reaching $8.55, significantly above the $6.97 consensus forecast.
• Quarterly revenue totaled $19.8 billion, representing a 56% year-over-year increase and surpassing the $17.6 billion analyst projection.
• Mounjaro revenue surged 125% to reach $8.7 billion; Zepbound sales increased 80% to $4.2 billion.
• The pharmaceutical company elevated its full-year 2026 EPS forecast to a range of $35.50–$37.00, up from the previous $33.50–$35.00 range.
• Newly launched oral GLP-1 medication Foundayo generated 3,707 U.S. prescriptions during its inaugural week, falling short of the approximately 8,000 prescriptions analysts had anticipated.

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Eli Lilly delivered a compelling first-quarter performance that left little room for criticism. The pharmaceutical powerhouse exceeded Wall Street’s revenue and earnings projections while simultaneously upgrading its annual outlook — precisely the combination shareholders were hoping for.

For the first quarter of 2026, the company posted adjusted earnings per share of $8.55, handily surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $6.97 by $1.58. Total revenue reached $19.8 billion, significantly exceeding the anticipated $17.6 billion and marking a 56% increase compared to the $12.7 billion recorded in the comparable period a year earlier.

The impressive revenue expansion was primarily fueled by a 65% increase in volume, although pricing headwinds on key products Mounjaro and Zepbound created a 13 percentage point drag on overall growth.

GLP-1 Blockbusters Continue Strong Performance

Mounjaro, the company’s diabetes treatment, experienced a remarkable 125% revenue increase, reaching $8.7 billion. Meanwhile, Zepbound, its weight-loss medication, saw revenue climb 80% to $4.2 billion.

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Domestic U.S. revenue advanced 43% to $12.1 billion. International sales experienced even stronger momentum, jumping 81% to $7.7 billion, demonstrating that the appetite for GLP-1 therapies extends well beyond American borders.

On an adjusted basis, gross margin registered at 82.6%, experiencing a modest decline from the previous year as a result of pricing pressures affecting its leading drug franchises.

Chief Executive Officer David Ricks characterized the quarter as a robust beginning to the year. “We delivered 56% revenue growth in the first quarter and raised our full-year revenue guidance by $2 billion,” he noted.

Lilly increased its 2026 revenue outlook to a range of $82.0–$85.0 billion, climbing from the prior $80.0–$83.0 billion forecast. The $83.5 billion midpoint exceeds the analyst consensus estimate of $81.67 billion.

The revised adjusted EPS guidance of $35.50–$37.00 represents an upgrade from the earlier $33.50–$35.00 range, with the $36.25 midpoint surpassing the Street consensus of $34.53.

Weak Foundayo Launch Raises Questions

Lilly’s newly introduced oral GLP-1 medication Foundayo hit the market earlier this month and attracted significant investor scrutiny as a potential competitive threat to Novo Nordisk, which has established an earlier presence in the oral weight-loss medication category.

During the week ending April 17, Foundayo accumulated 3,707 prescriptions across the United States — approximately half the ~8,000 prescriptions industry analysts had projected. This underwhelming initial performance represents a key area for investors to monitor closely.

Ricks characterized the medication as one that will “meaningfully expand the number of people who can benefit from GLP-1s,” emphasizing its convenience advantages: patients can take it at any time throughout the day, without the food or water restrictions that constrain existing oral GLP-1 alternatives.

Shares jumped more than 5% during premarket trading following the earnings announcement, though the stock surrendered a portion of those early gains as regular trading commenced.