Eli Lilly’s third quarter earnings miss and forecast cut lead to sharp stock drop
Eli Lilly is dialing back its 2024 forecast after underwhelming Wall Street with third-quarter earnings and sales from two key drugs that missed expectations
INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly is dialing back its 2024 forecast after underwhelming Wall Street with third-quarter earnings and sales from two key drugs that missed expectations.
The drugmaker on Wednesday chopped a few dollars off its earnings guidance for the year after raising that forecast well beyond analyst expectations in previous quarters. Company shares tumbled after markets opened.
Sales of Lilly's diabetes treatment Mounjaro and weight loss counterpart Zepbound were hurt in the quarter as U.S. pharmaceutical wholesalers whittled inventory they had built up in previous quarters.
The company brought in $3.1 billion in sales from Mounjaro and another $1.3 billion from Zepbound, which debuted in the U.S. market nearly a year ago.
TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala said in a note that sales of both drugs missed expectations, and he wanted to learn more about whether the drop was a “temporary flattening or new trend.”
Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said separately that although Lilly’s results were disappointing, he is keeping his “outperform” rating on the stock. He noted that Lilly “is just getting started in commercializing obesity products globally.”
Lilly also booked higher research and development and marketing, selling and administrative expenses in the quarter.
Overall, the drugmaker earned $970 million, and adjusted results totaled $1.18 per share.
Revenue climbed 20% to $11.44 billion.
Analysts expected earnings of $1.45 per share on $12.09 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
For the full year, Lilly now forecasts adjusted earnings to range
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