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Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. reported fourth-quarter earnings early Thursday morning that topped Wall Street expectations, largely driven by sales of blockbuster medications including weight-loss drug Mounjaro.
For the fourth quarter, Lilly said it earned $4.41 billion, or an adjusted $5.32 per share. The company reported revenue of $13.53 billion, a sales increase of 45% over the same period a year before. Those results beat analyst expectations by 24 cents a share and $100 million in revenue, according to Seeking Alpha.
For the full year, Lilly reported a profit of $10.6 billion, up 102% from 2023, and revenue of $45.04 billion, up 32%.
“2024 was a productive year for Lilly. We grew our top line, advanced our pipeline, and invested in our supply chain to meet the increasing demand for our medicines,” CEO David Ricks said in a Thursday morning conference call with analysts. “Most importantly, we delivered for patients by bringing life-changing medicines to more people around the world.”
Ricks also said that since 2020, the company’s commitments to build, expand and acquire manufacturing facilities totaling more than $23 billion, including major investments last year in Indiana, in Boone County, Wisconsin and Ireland.
The company noted key milestones including U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approval of Zepbound for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults with obesity and FDA approval for Omvoh for the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease in adults.
The company also noted its pending $2.5 billion acquisition of Boston-based Scorpion Therapeutics and its targeted breast cancer treatment program.
Lilly said the increase in U.S. volume was mostly driven by GLP-1 weight-loss blockbusters Zepbound and Mounjaro, partially offset by Trulicity. The company’s revenue outside the U.S. increased 55% to $4.50 billion in the fourth quarter, with volume driven primarily by Mounjaro and, to a lesser extent, Verzenio.
In the fourth quarter, Lilly saw revenue for Mounjaro increase by 60%, to $3.53 billion. Revenue for breast cancer drug Verzenio revenue increased by 36%, to $1.56 billion. U.S. revenue for Zepbound was $1.91 billion in the fourth quarter, compared to $175.8 million in Q4 2023. The medication was launched in the United States in November 2023 for the treatment of adult patients with obesity or overweight with weight-related comorbidities.
During the question-and-answer session with analysts, Ricks responded to concerns about reaching the limits of the obesity market and that Lilly’s manufacturing expansion may be too aggressive.
“This is a market with hundreds of millions of people globally, that there is a unique thing here in that we can both prevent a large portion of chronic disease with obesity drugs,” Ricks said. “And last year, we saw proof points on that from Lilly and our competitor that’s not just weight loss, it translates into chronic disease outcomes. You’ll hear and see more of that, and people love taking these drugs. We know that, because when we run out, which we did last year, they get very angry with us.”
Lilly shares climbed almost 4%, to $874.02 each, in late-morning trading.
For the full year 2025, Lilly said it expected revenue of $58 billion to $61 billion and earnings per share of $22.05 to $23.55.
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