Eli Lilly CEO Bets On Weight-Loss Medicine Retatrutide As Next Growth Driver, Says Firm’s Future Has ‘Never Been Brighter’

• Lilly raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to $85 billion to $87 billion, up from $82 billion to $85 billion.
• U.S. revenue for Mounjaro surged 45% while Zepbound sales climbed 44% in Q2.
• Earnings per share came in at $8.38, topping analysts’ expectations of $6.58, according to Fiscal.ai.

Eli Lilly (LLY) CEO David Ricks said the company’s future “has never been brighter” after the pharmaceutical behemoth highlighted the progress of its next-generation weight-loss drug Retatrutide and raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance following better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

“With our next-generation weight-loss medicine Retatrutide and its complete clinical data package in hand, new manufacturing capacity coming online, and exciting new assets entering our pipeline through business development, Lilly’s future, after 150 years, has never been brighter,” Ricks said.

The positive updates sent LLY shares up nearly 5% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, with the stock on track to break a five-session slump that shaved off nearly 9% of its value.

Mounjaro And Zepbound Drive Q2 Results

Second-quarter (Q2) revenue jumped 48% year over year to $22.97 billion, comfortably beating Wall Street estimates of $20.69 billion, according to Fiscal.ai. The increase was driven primarily by strong demand for its blockbuster weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. U.S. revenue for Mounjaro surged 45% while Zepbound sales climbed 44% in Q2.

Meanwhile, earnings per share increased to $8.38 from $6.31 last year, topping analysts’ expectations of $6.58, even as research and development spending rose 14% to $3.8 billion.

LLY Raises FY26 Revenue

Lilly raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $85 billion to $87 billion, up from $82 billion to $85 billion, while slightly narrowing its earnings guidance to $35.50 to $36.50 per share from $35.50 to $37.

The company also highlighted its pipeline. Lilly recently reported positive results from three Phase 3 obesity trials, completing the data package needed to support global regulatory filings for obesity, obstructive sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis pain. It plans to submit a Biologics License Application to the U.S. FDA in the first quarter of 2027.

Earlier this week, Lilly also received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its experimental treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer, further strengthening its late-stage pipeline.

LLY Bulls See Record Highs This Week

Retail sentiment surrounding LLY on Stocktwits flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ over the past 24 hours, amid ‘high’ message volumes.

One user highlighted the significant jump in Lilly’s revenue.

Another user expects the stock to hit its all-time high by the end of the week. The stock had hit a record high of $1,249.45 last month.

The stock has gained more than 8% so far this year.

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