Eli Lilly shares jumped more than 5% in pre‑market trading on Wednesday after the U.S. pharmaceutical giant raised its full‑year 2026 revenue guidance. The company lifted the revenue outlook to a range of $85 billion to $87 billion, up from the prior $82 billion to $85 billion and ahead of the $85.4 billion consensus estimate. Concurrently, Eli Lilly increased its underlying adjusted earnings‑per‑share (EPS) guidance to a midpoint of $2.78 higher, resulting in a new EPS range of $35.50 to $36.50, although this uplift was more than offset by $3.03 billion of acquired in‑process research and development (IPR&D) charges arising from second‑quarter business‑development activity. The performance‑margin guidance was also raised to a range of 49.0%‑50.5%, compared with the earlier 47.0%‑48.5% range.
For the second quarter, the company reported revenue of $22.97 billion, a 48% year‑over‑year increase and well above the $20.56 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $8.38, missing the analyst estimate of $8.84. Product revenue totaled $15.7 billion, led by the weight‑loss drug Mounjaro and the diabetes/obesity drug Zepbound. Revenue from the Immunology, Oncology and Neuroscience therapeutic areas grew 121% year‑over‑year. Mounjaro generated $9.94 billion of revenue, up 91% from the prior year, while Zepbound contributed $4.93 billion, up 56%.
Adjusted gross margin rose 50% to $19.8 billion, and gross‑margin percentage of revenue increased 1.3 percentage points to 86.3%, reflecting improved production costs and a favorable product mix, partially offset by lower realized prices. The company recorded $2.8 billion of acquired in‑process R&D charges during the quarter, a sharp increase from $154 million a year earlier, primarily tied to the acquisitions of Orna Therapeutics and Ajax Therapeutics. Research and development expenses increased 14% to $3.8 billion, representing 17% of revenue, while marketing, selling and administrative expenses rose 25% to $3.4 billion, driven by promotional spending for ongoing and planned drug launches.
CEO David Ricks said, “Lilly’s momentum continues, as we delivered 48% revenue growth and raised our full‑year guidance. At the same time, Lilly is building for the future. 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.”