(Reuters) -Eli Lilly raised its full-year profit and revenue forecast on Thursday as strong appetite for its widely popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro helped it beat third-quarter
earnings estimates.
The company shares jumped 7% in premarket trading. Lilly competes with Novo Nordisk for the top spot in the weight-loss drug market, which is poised to reach $150 billion by the end of the decade.
Investors have been keenly awaiting latest results from the drugmaker amid sky-high expectations for its GLP-1 portfolio and growing concern over potential U.S. price negotiations.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has been striving to narrow the gap between U.S. and foreign drug prices. Under its "most favored nation" policy, the U.S. government will require drugmakers to charge patients in the country no more than in other wealthy nations.
Lilly's shares have gained over 6% this year due to the ever-growing popularity of its diabetes and weight loss treatments.
The company said it expects to earn $23.00 to $23.70 per share on an adjusted basis this year, compared with its previous forecast for a profit of $21.75 to $23.00 per share.
Analysts were expecting a profit of $22.18 per share for 2025.
For the quarter, the company earned $7.02 per share on an adjusted basis, compared with analysts' average estimate of $5.69, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
