Mounjar and Zepbound sales soar, Eli Lilly's Q3 results exceed expectations, and full-year guidance is raised.

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Thanks to the continued strong market demand for the weight-loss drug Zepbound and the diabetes treatment Mounjaro, Eli Lilly's third-quarter results far exceeded market expectations and the company raised its full-year guidance.

Eli Lilly’s earnings report released on Thursday shows that third-quarter earnings per share were $7.02, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $5.69; revenue reached $17.6 billion, higher than the market expectation of $16.01 billion, and the company’s share price rose 5% in pre-market trading on Thursday.

Among these, U.S. sales surged 45% to $11.3 billion. Eli Lilly stated this was mainly due to a 60% growth in product sales volume, especially for Mounjaro and Zepbound. The company said that declines in the actual prices of its drugs partly offset the effects of increased sales volume.

Eli Lilly has now raised its 2025 fiscal year revenue guidance to $63–63.5 billion, up from the previous $60–62 billion. The adjusted earnings per share guidance was also raised from the previous $21.75–23 to $23–23.70.

This performance highlights Eli Lilly’s ability to maintain its leading position in the rapidly growing GLP-1 drug market, which is becoming the focus of fierce competition between it and its main competitor Novo Nordisk.

Strong Weight-loss Drug Sales, Significant Profitability Improvement

Mounjaro’s third-quarter revenue reached $6.52 billion, up 109% year-over-year, far exceeding analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion according to StreetAccount. Zepbound, launched about two years ago, recorded $3.57 billion in revenue, growing 184% year-over-year and slightly beating Wall Street’s expectation of $3.5 billion.

The combined sales of the two drugs exceeded expectations by about $1.3 billion, with the vast majority of the outperformance coming from the diabetes drug Mounjaro. Eli Lilly stated that its current share in the weight-loss and diabetes treatment market has reached about 58%. This market also includes Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy.

Total third-quarter revenue was $17.6 billion, up 54% year-over-year. Sales in the U.S. market jumped 45% to $11.3 billion, mainly driven by a 60% growth in prescriptions or sales units of Mounjaro and Zepbound, though partly offset by actual price declines of the drugs.

Eli Lilly’s third-quarter net profit reached $5.58 billion, or $6.21 per share, compared to a net profit of $970.3 million, or $1.07 per share, in the same period last year. Excluding one-time items and other adjustments related to intangible asset values, adjusted EPS was $7.02.

The company said the upgraded full-year guidance reflects current Trump-era tariff policies as of Thursday, but does not include the threatened tariffs on drugs imported into the United States.

Escalating Market Competition

Over the past year, thanks to its strong performance in weight-loss and diabetes injectables and the growth of direct-to-consumer sales, the company has captured most of the market share. This quarter's results show Eli Lilly continues to expand its lead in the GLP-1 drug market.

Earlier this year, Novo Nordisk reached an agreement with one of America’s largest pharmacy chains, making it more difficult for some patients to access Zepbound. Eli Lilly executives had previously warned that this could impact third-quarter growth.

To improve drug accessibility, Eli Lilly announced on Wednesday a partnership with Walmart to provide discounted, packaged Zepbound for in-store pickup for self-pay patients. The company is currently betting on its much-watched experimental oral weight-loss drug orforglipron to consolidate its market dominance, especially as competitors like Novo Nordisk race to bring their own oral drugs or next-generation injectables to market.

On Thursday, Novo Nordisk launched a tender offer to acquire the US obesity biotech company Metsera, outbidding Pfizer, highlighting its urgency in catching up to Eli Lilly.

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