U.S. pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly (LLY) has reported fourth-quarter financial results that blew past Wall Street estimates as sales of its new weight loss drug “Zepbound” accelerate.
Eli Lilly announced Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.49 U.S., which was well ahead of the $2.22 U.S. expected by analysts.
Revenue in the final three months of 2023 totaled $9.35 billion U.S. compared to $8.93 billion U.S. that was forecast on Wall Street. Sales were up 28% from a year ago.
The quarterly results were the first to include sales of Zepbound, which some analysts say could post more than $1 billion U.S. in sales in its first year on the market.
Zepbound, which won regulatory approval last November, brought in $175.8 million U.S. in sales for Eli Lilly during last year’s fourth and final quarter.
The company is also getting a boost from its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro, which also helps people to lose weight.
Mounjaro posted $2.21 billion U.S. in Q4 sales, up from $279.2 million U.S. a year ago. Analysts expected the drug to bring in $1.73 billion U.S. in sales.
Management at Eli Lilly have warned that they are struggling to keep up with demand for both Zepbound and Mounjaro.
Shares of Eli Lilly were up 5% in premarket trading on news of its latest earnings print.
Prior to today (Feb. 6), the stock of Eli Lilly had risen 109% in the last 12 months to trade at $706.20 U.S. per share.
With a market capitalization of $670 billion U.S., Eli Lilly is now the largest pharmaceutical company in the U.S.
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