Eli Lilly’s $19.8 billion revenue for the first quarter could have been higher if not for declining prices for key medicines like Zepbound, Mounjaro and Taltz.
Eli Lilly’s first quarter revenue of $19.8 billion—a whopping 56% increase over the same period last year—could have been higher had it not been for a price reduction for key medicines like GLP-1s Zepbound and Mounjaro.
Lilly experienced a 65% increase in volume for its products but with prices declining due to policy and market pressures, the company saw a 13% offset, according to a first quarter earnings report issued Thursday.
The results were a “decisive beat” for Lilly, Truist Securities said in a note Thursday morning. Consensus had revenue coming in at $17.5 billion. Earnings per share was $8.55 as compared to consensus of $6.77. Truist expected Lilly’s shares to rise on the earnings release and, indeed, the stock was up more than 5% in pre-market trading to $916.01.
The company’s major products, particularly the tirzepatide franchise of Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes, still combined for $13.4 billion in the quarter. Revenue for the immunology, oncology and neuroscience therapeutic areas grew 160% as compared to the same period a year earlier.
As the volume of products sold has ramped up in the U.S. by 49%, leading to $12.1 billion in revenue, price decreases stunted this growth by 7%. Zepbound and Mounjaro, in particular, sold well but the weight loss drugs, as well as Taltz, had a decline in realized prices, Lilly said.
A confluence of factors has led to the price declines. President Donald Trump spent 2025 rallying for lower prices in the U.S., implementing the Most Favored Nation drug pricing initiative to make companies align prices in the U.S. with what other nations pay. Lilly and rival Novo appeared at the White House in November 2025 agreeing to lower the price of their weight loss medications and participate in the MFN scheme.
At the same time, the market for weight loss drugs in general has skewed towards lower prices. Lilly is locked in a heated battle with Novo Nordisk for control of the lucrative market and pricing has become a key leverage point to attract patients.
But the same trends are playing out elsewhere. Lilly reported that revenue outside the U.S. rose 81% to $7.7 billion with volume increasing by 95%. This was offset by a 25% decline due to lower realized prices.
In particular, Mounjaro got added to China’s National Reimbursed Drug List, which provides greater access but commands a lower price for the medicine.
Overall, Mounjaro revenue increased 125% to $8.7 billion for the first quarter, compared to $3.84 billion last year in the period. U.S. revenue was $4.2 billion, an increase of 59% that Lilly attributed to strong demand. While lower prices impacted the medicine, Lilly said there was a one-time adjustment to estimates for rebates and discounts in the quarter that helped soften the blow.
Zepbound brought in $4.1 billion, a 79% increase over $2.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The price offset stemmed from previously announced decreases in cash pay prices, Lilly said. But Zepbound also had a slight adjustment to estimates for rebates and discounts, just like Mounjaro, that partially offset the impact.
An earnings call will be held at 10 a.m. ET this morning, during which Truist expects the launch of obesity pill Foundayo to be the focus.
