Eli Lilly earnings beat Wall Street forecasts in the third quarter of 2026 as demand for its diabetes and weight loss medicines kept rising. Revenue rose 39 percent from a year earlier to $24.4 billion, above analyst expectations of $22.61 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Eli Lilly earnings also included adjusted profit of $7.48 per share, above estimates of $6.26 per share. The Indianapolis drugmaker reported the results on October 29, 2026, for the quarter ended September 30. Shares rose more than 6 percent in afternoon trading to $1,369.79 after briefly touching a record high of $1,408, Reuters reported.
Volume did most of the work in Eli Lilly earnings for the quarter. Worldwide sales volume rose 53 percent, while realized prices fell 15 percent. In the United States, volume rose 41 percent and realized prices fell 7 percent, a decline Lilly attributed mainly to Zepbound and partly offset by changes to rebate and discount estimates. Outside the United States, prices fell 29 percent, driven mainly by Mounjaro joining China’s national reimbursement list in the first quarter of 2026. About $900 million of quarterly revenue came from one off items, including $410 million in milestone payments tied to the diabetes drug Jardiance, which Lilly said are the last such payments it expects to receive.
Eli Lilly earnings driven by Mounjaro
Mounjaro, the diabetes treatment, remained the largest product in the quarter. Global Mounjaro sales rose 65 percent from a year earlier to $10.72 billion, above Wall Street expectations of $10.16 billion. Sales outside the United States rose 93 percent to $5.7 billion. United States Mounjaro revenue was $5.0 billion, up 41 percent. Together with Zepbound, the two medicines brought in more than $16 billion in the quarter, or roughly two thirds of total revenue. Lilly chair and chief executive David A. Ricks said growth came from broad global demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound, the global launch of Foundayo, expanded United States coverage for obesity care, and a doubling in newer oncology, immunology and neuroscience products.
Zepbound, the obesity injection, also grew fast. Global Zepbound sales rose 49 percent to $5.35 billion, above estimates of $5.09 billion. United States Zepbound revenue rose 48 percent to $5.3 billion. A pilot weight loss program with the United States government’s Medicare program, launched in July for people aged 65 and older or with disabilities, brought Lilly more than 500,000 new customers, the company said. The pilot also includes weight loss drugs from Novo Nordisk. Most of Lilly’s non reimbursed sales have come from its $449 a month cash pay platform, which raises questions about how government plan discounts will affect long term margins.
Eli Lilly earnings and full year guidance
Eli Lilly earnings prompted a higher forecast, as Lilly raised its full year revenue forecast to $91 billion to $92 billion, up from $85 billion to $87 billion. The midpoint rose by $5.5 billion. Reuters reported the increase as $5 billion on a rounded basis. At the same time, Lilly trimmed its adjusted profit outlook to $35.00 to $36.00 per share, down from $35.50 to $36.50, because of large charges in the quarter related mainly to the acquisitions of AtaiBeckley and Curevo. Greg Halter, director of research at Carnegie Investment Counsel, which owns more than 16,000 Eli Lilly shares, told Reuters the profit forecast cut did not trouble him. He said the company is spending money now to make money later.
Where Eli Lilly earnings fell short
Not every line in Eli Lilly earnings beat forecasts. Foundayo, Lilly’s newer obesity pill, brought in $184 million in the quarter, below estimates of $216.86 million. Lilly chief financial officer Lucas Montarce said the shortfall reflects stocking in the launch quarter, rather than weak demand. He also said Foundayo’s share of new to brand prescriptions doubled from the prior quarter to about 40 percent. Foundayo was launched in the United States and Britain earlier in 2026 and could begin selling in other European countries by year end.
Investors watching Eli Lilly earnings are watching the Foundayo rollout as a test of whether Lilly can blunt Novo Nordisk’s first mover edge with its oral Wegovy, Reuters reported. BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said Foundayo continues to lag, though the strength of Lilly’s broader commercial business makes that less of a concern in his view. Attention in Eli Lilly earnings coverage is also shifting to retatrutide, Lilly’s next generation weight loss candidate slated for regulatory submission next year. Retatrutide has shown average weight loss of 24 percent in midstage trials, above results for drugs already on the market, Reuters reported. Lilly’s market valuation has reached $1.2 trillion, according to Reuters, on the strength of its lead in the GLP-1 market over Novo Nordisk.