Eli Lilly (LLY) earnings Q4 2025

Eli Lilly on Wednesday posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue and 2026 guidance that blew past estimates, as demand for its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro soars.

The pharmaceutical giant anticipates its 2026 revenue will come in between $80 billion and $83 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $77.62 billion, according to LSEG. 

Lilly also expected adjusted earnings to be between $33.50 and $35 per share for the year. That compares with analysts’ estimate of $33.23 per share, according to LSEG.

The results come after rival Novo Nordisk on Tuesday warned that it sees sales and profit declining this year, as prices fall in the U.S. and exclusivity expires for its blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs in China, Brazil and Canada. 

Lilly is working to maintain its dominance in the booming market for those drugs, called GLP-1s, as Novo sees an explosive U.S. launch for its new Wegovy pill for obesity. Lilly hopes to win approval for its own oral weight loss drug, orforglipron, later this year. 

Here’s what the company reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

• Earnings per share: $7.54 adjusted vs. $6.67 expected
• Revenue: $19.29 billion vs. $17.96 billion expected

The company posted fourth-quarter revenue of $19.29 billion, up 43% from the same period a year ago. 

Revenue in the U.S. climbed to $12.9 billion. Eli Lilly said that was driven by a 50% increase in volume — or the number of prescriptions or units sold — for its products, primarily for Mounjaro and Zepbound. That was partially offset by lower realized prices of those drugs, the company said.

The pharmaceutical giant booked net income of $6.64 billion, or $7.39 per share, for the fourth quarter. That compares with net income of $4.41 billion, or $4.88 per share, a year earlier. 

Excluding one-time items associated with the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly posted earnings of $7.54 per share for the fourth quarter.

Novo and Lilly in November announced landmark deals with President Donald Trump to slash the prices of their top-selling obesity and diabetes drugs, which are expected to eventually increase the number of prescriptions but ultimately hurt total sales.

Under the agreements, Lilly and Novo agreed to slash the prices of those treatments for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in 2026 and offer them directly to consumers at a discount on the Trump administration’s direct-to-consumer platform, TrumpRx, which has yet to launch. 

In return, both companies will also get a three-year exemption from tariffs.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC on Friday, Lilly CEO Dave Ricks acknowledged that under the drug pricing deal, there will be “a step down in pricing” early this year. But he said volume growth of the company’s drugs “will ramp on the back half of the year.”