Eli Lilly

Sales jumped 39 percent to 24.4 billion dollars this quarter, and Mounjaro alone brought in 10.7 billion, up 65 percent. Business was so strong that Lilly raised its full-year sales forecast by 5.5 billion dollars, to a range of 91 to 92 billion dollars. Demand is booming overseas too, where sales grew 47 percent.

Sales of Lilly's newer medicines for cancer, immune diseases and brain health doubled this quarter, a sign growth is spreading beyond weight loss. An experimental shot called retatrutide delivered more than double the weight loss of Ozempic's highest dose in a head-to-head trial, and Lilly won four major FDA approvals, including a once-a-week insulin shot. It has also announced 10 new U.S. factories since 2020 to keep up with demand.

Mounjaro and Zepbound brought in about 16 billion of this quarter's 24.4 billion dollars in sales, roughly two thirds of the total. If demand for these shots cools or a rival leaps ahead, the whole story slows fast. Newer drugs are growing quickly, but they are still small by comparison.

Lilly sold 53 percent more medicine this quarter, but the average price it collected fell 15 percent, and nearly 30 percent outside the U.S. after China added Mounjaro to its national drug coverage list. About 900 million dollars of this quarter's sales were one-time boosts. With the company worth around 1.2 trillion dollars, there is little room for a stumble.