The Lilly Biotechnology Center is on display in San Diego, California, US on March 1, 2023.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Eli Lilly On Wednesday, it lowered third-quarter profit and revenue forecasts, hurt by disappointing sales of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro, and lowered its full-year revised earnings guidance.
The company's stock fell as much as 10% in premarket trading before paring some losses.
The drugmaker now expects full-year adjusted earnings to range between $13.02 to $13.52 per share, down from previous guidance of $16.10 to $16.60 per share. Eli Lilly cited the $2.8 billion in acquisition-related fees it reported during the third quarter as impacting its results.
Eli Lilly also lowered the top end of its revenue forecast for the year and now expects sales between $45.4 billion and $46 billion. The company's previous guidance called for revenue of $46.6 billion.
Here's what Eli Lilly reported for the period ending September 30 compared to what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts conducted by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $1.18 adjusted vs. $1.47 expected Revenue: $11.44 billion vs. $12.11 billion expected
The September period was Zepbound's third full quarter in the US market after receiving regulatory approval nearly a year ago. The weekly injection generated $1.26 billion in sales for the period, less than the $1.76 billion that analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.
Meanwhile, Mongaro reported revenue of $3.11 billion for the third quarter. Analysts expect sales of $3.77 billion for the diabetes treatment, according to StreetAccount.
Demand in the United States has far exceeded supply for Lilly's incretin drugs, such as Zibbond and Monjaro, over the past year. Both treatments mimic certain gut hormones to reduce a person's appetite and regulate blood sugar.
The popularity of these injectable drugs has forced both Eli Lilly and its main competitor, Novo Nordisk, to invest billions to increase manufacturing capacity for the treatments.
Eli Lilly's supply problems began to ease earlier this year. As of Wednesday, the FDA's drug database said all doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro were available in the U.S. after a long shortage. However, the agency cautions that patients may not always be able to have their prescriptions filled immediately for these medications at a particular pharmacy.
For the third quarter, Eli Lilly reported net income of $970.3 million, or $1.07 per share, compared to a net loss of $57.4 million, or 6 cents per share, during the third quarter of 2023.
Excluding one-time items related to the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly reported earnings of $1.18 per share in the most recent quarter.
Revenue rose 20% year over year to $11.44 billion.
This story is evolving. Please check back for updates.
