Lilly can’t stop, won’t stop as revenue climbs 39% thanks to GLP-1 bestsellers

News Business Lilly can’t stop, won’t stop as revenue climbs 39% thanks to GLP-1 bestsellers October 29, 2026 | 1 min read | Annalee Armstrong Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email Print Eli Lilly’s shares rose 4% in early morning trading after reporting revenue of $24.4 billion, well past consensus estimates. Eli Lilly’s exponential growth can’t be stopped. The GLP-1 juggernaut once again reported an astounding year-over-year revenue increase of 39% for the third quarter, reaching $24.4 billion on the strength of tirzepatide products Mounjaro and Zepbound.The results represent a sound beat of consensus, with analysts predicting revenue of $22.6 billion.Shares of the company rose 4% in early morning trading on Thursday as investors awaited an earnings call with executives at 10 a.m.

ET. The massive beat was thanks to a 53% increase in volume, even as lower prices impacted sales. Key products, which included Mounjaro and Zepbound, delivered $17.1 billion in the period.

Revenue from Lilly’s immunology, oncology and neuroscience key products grew 100% as compared to the year prior, according to the Thursday earnings report.U.S. revenue grew 34%, notching $15.1 billion as volume rose 41%. Zepbound and Mounjaro were the prime contributors here, even as the price of Zepbound declined.But money also flowed in from overseas, with ex-U.S.

revenue increasing 47% to $9.3 billion thanks to a 76% increase in volume. This was mainly thanks to Mounjaro, despite the drug being added to China’s National Reimbursement Drug List and its price lowered.Prescriptions for Lilly’s Foundayo took off in the third quarter, with the oral weight loss drug reaching more than 45,000 patients by the end of the period. As of the end of September, Lilly had snagged 40% of new patients starting an oral GLP-1 therapy, according to a corporate presentation published Thursday.

The Indianapolis pharma attributed the success to broad commercial formulary and Medicare access, growing brand awareness and new launches globally. The product became available in the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the U.K., and is under regulatory review in more than 40 other countries. Lilly’s incretin analogs now command 63% of the overall market, towering over rival Novo.Ever confident, Lilly raised its full year guidance from $85-87 billion to a range of $91–92 billion.

Diabetes Lilly’s retatrutide trounces Novo’s Ozempic in diabetes, weight loss Eli Lilly’s next-gen weight loss drug retatrutide soundly beat Novo’s approved medicine Ozempic in weight loss and blood sugar reduction, padding the case for a regulatory application that’s expected in the first quarter of 2027. October 28, 2026 · 3 min read · Annalee Armstrong Read more Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email Print Earnings GLP-1 Weight loss Obesity Diabetes Eli Lilly and Company Annalee Armstrong Annalee Armstrong is an award-winning biopharma journalist covering the business of drug development. She has been a journalist for more than 18 years, covering the pharmaceutical and biotech industry for the last eight.

She is senior editor at BioSpace and curates the Biopharm Executive newsletter every Wednesday. You can reach her at annalee.armstrong@biospace.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.