Lilly shares fell following the pharmaceutical company’s second-quarter earnings report and results from its experimental weight-loss pill. Photo by Paul Sableman, Wikimedia Commons.

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. shares fell Thursday, Aug. 7 following the pharmaceutical company’s second-quarter earnings report, alongside results from a closely watched trial of its experimental weight-loss pill.

Sales of the company’s diabetes drug Mounjaro rose 68% year-over-year to $5.2 billion, while weight-loss drug Zepbound climbed 172% to $3.4 billion.

Posted revenue for the drugmaker was $15.6 billion for the quarter, a 38% increase from the same period last year and ahead of analyst expectations. Earnings per share topped $6, beating projections of $5.61, according to Zacks Investment Research. Lilly also raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $60-62 billion, citing strong business performance and updated currency exchange assumptions.

Despite the strong financial performance, Lilly shares were down more than 14% by early afternoon, trading at $640, after the release of new data from a Phase 3 trial of the its pill-based GLP-1 drug orforglipron.

The trial, involving more than 3,100 adults with obesity or weight-related medical conditions, found participants on the highest dose lost an average of 27.3 pounds, compared to 2.2 pounds for those on a placebo.

However, the results showed less weight loss than leading injectable GLP-1 treatments such as Zepbound, at 48 pounds, or Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, at 35 pounds. Discontinuation rates for the pill due to side effects were higher than in earlier trials, with up to 10% of participants on the highest dose stopping treatment.

Lilly said it plans to seek regulatory approval for orforglipron by the end of the year. However, the company emphasized the drug’s safety profile was consistent with existing injectable GP-1 medications.

The update comes amid legal challenges over GLP-1 drugs, with more than two dozen lawsuits filed in recent weeks alleging manufacturers failed to adequately warn patients about severe side effects. Lilly also signaled that recent changes by CVS Health could weigh on third-quarter results.

The pharmacy benefits manager added Wegovy to its standard formulary and not Zepbound, leading to a decline in prescriptions in July. Company executives said the effect was noticeable but did not offset overall growth.

The earnings call also addressed a recent letter from Pres. Donald Trump, urging drugmakers to adopt international price parity for U.S. consumers. Lilly CEO David Ricks said the company supports reducing patient costs but warned against applying foreign price controls to a U.S. system he described as already distorted by intermediaries.

Novo Nordisk, Lilly’s primary competitor in the GLP-1 market, reported second-quarter profits of more than $4 billion this week, with shares rising over 12% in premarket trading Thursday, Aug. 7.