Shares of Eli Lilly soared on April 30, 2026, after the Indiana-based pharmaceutical giant reported a first-quarter performance that left Wall Street analysts reaching for superlatives. The company announced a 56% year-over-year jump in revenue, hitting $19.8 billion for the quarter, and raised its full-year revenue guidance by $2 billion, now expecting between $82 billion and $85 billion in 2026. Adjusted earnings per share also surged to $8.55, far outpacing analyst estimates and last year’s figures, according to CNBC and Barron’s.
The driving force behind this blockbuster quarter? Explosive demand for Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 class drugs, particularly the diabetes treatment Mounjaro and the weight loss medication Zepbound. Mounjaro’s worldwide revenue shot up 125% over the prior year to $8.7 billion, with $4.2 billion coming from the U.S. alone. Zepbound, meanwhile, posted $4.16 billion in U.S. sales, up 80% from the same period in 2025. These numbers not only beat Wall Street expectations—analysts had forecast $7.28 billion for Mounjaro and $4.04 billion for Zepbound—but also cemented Lilly’s dominance in the U.S. obesity and diabetes drug market, where it now commands a 60.1% share, compared to Novo Nordisk’s 39.4%.
“Impressively, it’s like our fifth or sixth quarter in a row posting really strong topline growth numbers,” Lilly CEO David Ricks told CNBC. “That’s not usually something that pharmaceutical companies of our size do.” The company’s net income for the quarter was $7.40 billion, or $8.26 per share, up from $2.76 billion, or $3.06 per share, a year earlier. On a non-GAAP basis, net income reached $7.7 billion, with EPS up 156% over the prior year.
Lilly’s success was not confined to the U.S. market. Revenue outside the U.S. jumped 81% to $7.7 billion, driven by a 95% surge in prescription volume, even as realized prices fell—partly due to the addition of Mounjaro to China’s National Reimbursed Drug List. “As those launches hit stride, you’re seeing the depth and breadth of the consumer market here,” Ricks said, highlighting the company’s expanding international footprint in major markets across Europe, China, and Brazil.
While Mounjaro and Zepbound grabbed headlines, Eli Lilly’s performance was bolstered by a suite of other products. Key products in immunology, oncology, and neuroscience saw revenue growth of 160% year-over-year. Jardiance, a pill for Type 2 diabetes, posted $1.1 billion in revenue, aided by $250 million in one-time benefits outside the U.S. Verzenio, a treatment for certain types of breast cancer, brought in $1.3 billion, outstripping expectations by $68 million. The company’s once-daily pill for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Jaypirca, generated $165 million in sales, up 79% from the previous year.
On the innovation front, Eli Lilly marked a key milestone with the U.S. FDA approval of Foundayo (orforglipron), the only GLP-1 pill for weight loss that can be taken at any time of day without food or water restrictions. The pill launched in the second quarter of 2026, and more than 20,000 patients started the drug within the first few weeks, according to Ricks. Notably, 80% of Foundayo patients are new to GLP-1 therapy, and the company has yet to launch a TV advertising campaign for the drug. “So what we’re seeing now is basically organic demand, which is really strong to us,” Ricks told CNBC.
Foundayo’s rollout is being closely watched, especially as Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy still enjoys a first-mover advantage in the oral weight-loss market. Lilly is seeking approval for Foundayo in over 40 countries, and executives have expressed confidence that the drug will expand the number of people who can benefit from GLP-1s. Positive Phase 3 results for Foundayo in adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight at increased cardiovascular risk were recently reported, further bolstering its prospects.
Beyond GLP-1s, Lilly continued to expand its pipeline and business portfolio. The company reported progress across all four of its core therapeutic areas—immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and diabetes. Recent clinical milestones included positive data for Jaypirca in combination with venetoclax and rituximab for relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma, as well as superior efficacy for Taltz and Zepbound used together in adults with psoriasis and obesity. The company’s triple agonist, retatrutide, also showed significant reductions in A1C and weight in Phase 3 trials for type 2 diabetes.
Lilly’s appetite for growth extended to acquisitions, with the company announcing deals to acquire Orna Therapeutics, Centessa Pharmaceuticals, Kelonia Therapeutics, and Ajax Therapeutics in the first quarter of 2026. The acquisition of Kelonia, in particular, was driven by the potential of its cell therapy candidate KLN-1010 in the $35 billion myeloma market. “We’ve historically not been in this space, but the medicine we’re buying already shows that it works as a very disruptive agent, as a one-time therapy for patients,” said Jacob Van Naarden, head of Lilly’s oncology effort, in an interview with Barron’s.
Investors responded enthusiastically to the company’s “blowout” quarter. Shares of Eli Lilly closed up nearly 10% on April 30, making it one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 that day. S&P Global Ratings also upgraded the company’s issuer credit rating to AA- from A+, citing strong demand for tirzepatide and projecting industry-leading growth over the next three to five years, with total revenue likely topping $100 billion by 2028.
Despite its string of successes, Lilly faces challenges ahead. Pricing pressure is expected to intensify due to a voluntary drug pricing agreement with the U.S. government and lower cash-pay prices for Zepbound. Still, Ricks remains optimistic, telling CNBC that lower prices could accelerate prescription volumes in the U.S. He estimated that global GLP-1 use could rise from 20 million patients at the end of 2025 to 30 million by the close of 2026.
As the battle for supremacy in the obesity and diabetes drug market heats up, Eli Lilly’s strategy of innovation, expansion, and acquisition appears to be paying off—at least for now. With a robust pipeline, a growing international presence, and a willingness to invest in new therapies, the company is positioning itself for continued growth in a rapidly evolving sector.
For Eli Lilly, the first quarter of 2026 has set a high bar, but management and investors alike seem convinced that the company’s best days may still lie ahead.