Lilly earns more than expected but misses revenue expectations on key drugs

Eli Lilly and Co. easily topped earnings expectations in the third quarter, but shares in the Indianapolis-based drug company tumbled nearly 5 percent Wednesday morning after it missed analyst forecasts for overall revenue and sales of psoriasis drug Taltz and diabetes treatment Trulicity.

Lilly reported third-quarter profit of $1.25 billion, or $1.37 per share, compared with $1.15 billion, or $1.12 per share in the same quarter of 2018.

Earnings, adjusted for research, development and amortization costs, came to $1.48 per share, topping the average estimate of $1.43 per share by Zacks Investment Research.

The drugmaker reported revenue of $5.48 billion in the period, up 3% from a year ago, barely missing analyst expectations of $5.5 billion.

Lilly said demand was high for key drugs Trulicity and Taltz, but rebates and discounted prices reduced revenue from those drugs.

The company said U.S. revenue was flat at $3.06 billion despite a 5% increase in the number of drugs sold.

Taltz sales rose almost 29 percent, to $340 million, but analysts had expected quarterly sales from the drug to reach $395.7 million.

Trulicity sales rose 24%, to $1.01 billion, missing forecasts of $1.08 billion.

“Lilly continued to deliver strong results in the third quarter, due in large part to the growth of our newer medicines and our ability to effectively manage costs while supporting global launches in highly competitive classes and funding our next generation of new therapies,” Lilly CEO David Ricks said in written comments. “Lilly’s revenue growth is being driven by volume, not price, as more and more patients are benefiting from our recently launched medicines.”

Lilly raised full-year earnings guidance to the range of $5.75 to $5.85 per share, with revenue in the range of $22 billion to $22.5 billion.

Shares bounced back slightly later in the morning, trading at $105.84 each, down 3.7 percent on the day.