Lilly Biotechnology Center on display in San Diego, California, USA on March 1, 2023.
Mike Black | Reuters
Eli Lilly and Company The company on Wednesday missed third-quarter profit and revenue estimates and slashed its full-year adjusted profit guidance amid disappointing sales of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro.
The company’s shares plunged 10% in pre-market trading before recovering some of their losses. Shares of its main rival Novo Nordisk fell about 4% in premarket trading.
Eli Lilly now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of $13.02 to $13.52, down from previous guidance of $16.10 to $16.60 per share. The drugmaker said a $2.8 billion charge recorded in the third quarter related to its acquisition of intestinal disease drugmaker Morphic Holding hurt its results.
Eli Lilly also lowered the upper limit of its revenue forecast for this year, now expecting sales to be between $45.4 billion and $46 billion. The company’s previous guidance called for revenue of up to $46.6 billion.
What’s this During the reporting period, Eli Lilly and Company The data as of Sept. 30 compared with Wall Street expectations, according to an LSEG survey of analysts:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $1.18, expected $1.47
- income: US$11.44 billion, expected US$12.11 billion
September marks Zepbound’s third full quarter in the U.S. market after receiving regulatory approval nearly a year ago. The weekly infusion brought sales to $1.26 billion in the period, below analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Meanwhile, Mounjaro reported third-quarter revenue of $3.11 billion. Analysts expect sales of the diabetes treatment to be $3.77 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Last year, demand for incretin drugs such as Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound and Mounjaro far exceeded supply in the United States. Both treatments mimic certain gut hormones to suppress people’s appetite and regulate blood sugar.
The popularity of these injectable drugs has forced Eli Lilly and its main rival Novo Nordisk to invest billions of dollars in increasing production capacity for the treatments.
Eli Lilly’s supply woes began to ease earlier this year. As of Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Drug database says all doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro are now available in the United States after long shortages. Still, the agency warned that patients may not always be able to immediately purchase prescriptions for these drugs at specific pharmacies.
Eli Lilly’s third-quarter net income was $970.3 million, or $1.07 per share, compared with a net loss of $57.4 million, or 6 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2023.
Excluding one-time items related to the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Lilly earned $1.18 per share in the most recent quarter.
Revenue increased 20% year over year to $11.44 billion.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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