Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) reported 48% revenue growth in the second quarter of 2026, driven primarily by continued demand for its cardiometabolic medicines MOUNJARO and ZEPBOUND, while raising its full-year revenue and earnings guidance.
Chair and CEO Dave Ricks said the company delivered growth across key products and major geographies, advanced its pipeline and added assets through business development. Lilly said its key products increased by nearly $6.8 billion during the quarter, while its oncology, immunology and neuroscience medicines collectively grew 121% from the prior-year period.
Financial performance and updated outlook
Chief Financial Officer Lucas Montarce said second-quarter revenue rose 48% from the same period in 2025. MOUNJARO and ZEPBOUND combined for $14.9 billion in revenue, contributing $6.3 billion of year-over-year growth.
Non-GAAP earnings per share were $8.38, compared with $6.31 in the prior-year quarter. The second-quarter figure included $3.03 in acquired in-process research and development charges. Lilly’s non-GAAP performance margin was 54.8%, up 9 percentage points from a year earlier, while gross margin reached 86.3%.
U.S. revenue increased 33%, primarily on volume growth for ZEPBOUND and MOUNJARO as well as contributions from the company’s immunology, oncology and neuroscience portfolio. U.S. price declined 3%; excluding changes to estimates for rebates and discounts, price declined 9%, Montarce said.
Outside the U.S., revenue rose 55% in constant currency in Europe, aided by MOUNJARO volume growth and a $250 million Jardiance milestone payment. Revenue grew 30% in Japan, 93% in China and 136% in the rest of the world on a constant-currency basis, with MOUNJARO a principal driver.
Lilly raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to $85 billion to $87 billion, increasing the low end by $3 billion and the high end by $2 billion. It now expects a non-GAAP performance margin of 49% to 50.5% and non-GAAP earnings per share of $35.50 to $36.50.
Montarce said the guidance incorporates certain factors that could affect quarterly comparisons, including prior-period adjustments to U.S. rebate and discount estimates, European vacation-related seasonality in the third quarter, and fourth-quarter seasonality in the U.S. Type 2 diabetes market.
Incretin demand, Foundayo launch and Medicare access
Lilly said the U.S. incretin analog market grew 31% in prescriptions from the second quarter of 2025, with obesity prescriptions increasing 78%. In the U.S. obesity market, Lilly medicines accounted for approximately six out of 10 total prescriptions and about seven out of 10 injectable prescriptions, according to the company.
Self-pay remained an important component of ZEPBOUND demand, accounting for about 45% of total prescriptions and approximately 55% of new prescriptions in the quarter.
The company also highlighted the July 1 launch of the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Program, which it said provides 20 million eligible Americans with insurance coverage for GLP-1 obesity medicines at an out-of-pocket cost of $50 per month. Ricks said the program expanded U.S. coverage for Lilly obesity medicines by 35%.
Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and Global Customer Capabilities, said Lilly was seeing an inflection in demand for both injectable and oral medicines following the program’s launch. He estimated that roughly 80% of patients obtaining treatment through the early rollout were using injectables, while 60% to 70% were new to therapy.
Foundayo, the company’s oral medicine, continued its U.S. launch. Lilly said it completed the U.S. submission for Type 2 diabetes and expects regulatory action later this year. Yuffa said the company had expanded Foundayo access, began direct-to-consumer promotion and increased its U.S. prescriber base from 8,000 at the prior earnings call to 36,000.
Foundayo received obesity approvals in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and approvals for obesity and Type 2 diabetes in Mexico. Patrik Jonsson, president of Lilly International, said most international launches are expected in 2027, with Foundayo under regulatory review in more than 40 markets.
Pipeline milestones include retatrutide results
Chief Scientific and Product Officer Dan Skovronsky said Lilly reported positive results from three phase III retatrutide trials in obesity. Across the TRIUMPH program, the company cited weight loss as well as improvements in A1C, cardiovascular risk factors, osteoarthritis pain and sleep apnea.
Lilly said it now has the clinical data package to support global registrations for retatrutide in obesity, obstructive sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis pain. Ricks said the company plans to submit the medicine in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2027 through the biologics license application, or BLA, pathway, though he noted the company remains in active litigation and discussions with the FDA on that classification.
Other pipeline and regulatory developments included:
- FDA approval of Ebglyss maintenance dosing once every eight weeks for atopic dermatitis.
- A positive European CHMP opinion for once-weekly insulin efsitora alfa, proposed under the trade name Onswik, for Type 2 diabetes.
- European approval for Jaypirca in chronic lymphocytic leukemia across all lines of therapy.
- Phase III data showing pirtobrutinib added to venetoclax and rituximab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 45% in the overall BRUIN CLL-322 study population.
- Phase III data showing selpercatinib reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 83% versus placebo in adjuvant RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer.
Business development and manufacturing expansion
Lilly announced agreements to acquire Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and The Vaccine Company to build an infectious-disease prevention platform. The company also acquired AtaiBeckley, which is developing treatments for treatment-resistant depression and other mental health conditions, and completed its Centessa acquisition, adding cleminorexton to its neuroscience pipeline.
Jake Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology and head of business development, said the transactions were focused on areas with substantial unmet need and assets Lilly believes can create long-term value. He said the company expects to remain opportunistic in business development while maintaining discipline.
Ricks also said Lilly opened its first dedicated genetic medicine manufacturing facility in Lebanon, Indiana, and produced its first batch of commercial material at a new site in Limerick, Ireland. During the second quarter, the company distributed $1.5 billion in dividends and repurchased $1.6 billion of shares.
About Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.
