Eli Lilly (LLY) Q3 2025 results
David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly & Co., during a press conference at Generation Park in Houston, Texas, USA, on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
Mark Felix | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Eli Lilly on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates and raised its full-year outlook as the company continued to see strong demand for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro.
The company’s shares rose more than 2% in morning trading on Thursday.
The pharmaceutical giant now expects its fiscal 2025 revenue to be between $63 billion and $63.5 billion, up from a previous forecast of $60 billion to $62 billion. Eli Lilly also expects full-year adjusted earnings to be between $23 and $23.70 per share, versus its previous forecast of $21.75 to $23 per share.
Eli Lilly said the forecast reflects President Donald Trump’s tariffs in place on Thursday, but does not take into account threatened tariffs on drugs imported into the United States
Mounjaro reported revenue of $6.52 billion in the quarter, up 109% from the same period last year. According to StreetAccount, this exceeded analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion.
Zepbound, which launched about two years ago, posted third-quarter revenue of $3.59 billion. That’s up 184% from the same period last year and slightly more than the $3.5 billion that Wall Street was expecting, according to StreetAccount estimates.
Here’s what Eli Lilly reported for the third quarter compared to Wall Street’s expectations, based on an analyst survey from LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $7.02 adjusted vs. $5.69 expected
- Revenue: $17.60 billion versus expected $16.01 billion
The results come as Eli Lilly is working to maintain its lead over its main competitor Novo Nordisk in the booming market for a class of obesity and diabetes drugs called GLP-1.
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $17.60 billion, up 54% from the same period last year.
U.S. sales rose 45% to $11.30 billion. Eli Lilly said this was due to a 60 percent increase in the volume – or number of recipes or units sold – of its products, primarily for Mounjaro and Zepbound. This was partially offset by lower realized prices of the drugs, the company said.
The pharmaceutical giant posted third-quarter net income of $5.58 billion, or $6.21 per share. This compares to net income of $970.3 million, or $1.07 per share, a year ago.
Excluding one-time items related to the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly had second-quarter profit of $7.02 per share.
The results highlight Eli Lilly’s strong advantage in the booming GLP-1 drug market.
The company gained most of the market share last year, thanks in part to the high profile of its weight loss products and diabetes injections and an increase from its direct-to-consumer sales. Eli Lilly took another step to improve access to Zepbound on Wednesday in collaboration with Walmart to offer cash-paying patients the ability to pick up discounted bottles of the drug at the store.
The company is now betting on its much-hyped experimental obesity tablet Orforglipron to cement its dominance in the space, especially as Novo Nordisk and other drugmakers compete to bring their own next-generation pills or injections to market.
On Thursday, Novo Nordisk launched a rival bid for U.S. obesity biotech Metsera, hijacking an offer from Pfizer as it tries to catch up with Eli Lilly.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
