Eli Lilly Now Has the World's Best-Selling Drug -- But Does That Make the Stock a No-Brainer Buy?
Eli Lilly Now Has the World's Best-Selling Drug -- But Does That Make the Stock a No-Brainer Buy?
Patrick Sanders, The Motley FoolThu, May 7, 2026 at 5:02 PM UTC
0
Key Points -
Eli Lilly is the world's leader in medications for diabetes and obesity.
With 40% of the U.S. population considered obese, Lilly's drugs are in high demand.
10 stocks we like better than Eli Lilly ›
The success of Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) diabetes treatment, Mounjaro, has now made it the top-selling drug on the planet, according to Bloomberg. And for investors, there are plenty of reasons to believe that the massive profits from Mounjaro and its weight-loss drug, Zepbound, will continue to drive huge returns for Eli Lilly stock.
Lilly released first-quarter earnings that showed Mounjaro generated $8.66 billion in sales, up from $3.84 billion a year ago. That vaulted Mounjaro past Keytruda, the cancer therapy manufactured by Merck, which has been the world's top-selling drug since the first quarter of 2023. Keytruda generated $7.9 billion in sales.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Lilly said U.S. revenue for Mounjaro was $4.2 billion, up 59% from a year ago, and international revenue was $4.4 billion, up from $1.2 billion in Q1 2025. The company said the international growth was driven by the addition of Mounjaro to China's National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), which made it available to the Chinese market.
With Mounjaro growing quickly in the U.S. and now available in more than 55 countries, and coupled with the U.S. launch of another obesity treatment, Foundayo, Lilly's dominance in diabetes and anti-obesity medications appears set to continue throughout the year.
Let's dig into Lilly's earnings and the outlook for 2026.
A person injects a weight-loss drug
Image source: Getty Images.
Lilly by the numbers
Overall, Lilly's revenue jumped by 56% to $19.79 billion in the first quarter from a year ago. Net income was $7.39 billion, up 168%, and earnings per share of $8.26 were up 170% from the first quarter of 2025.
Most of Lilly's revenue comes from the weight-loss drug Zepbound and from Mounjaro, which is approved by U.S. regulators for treating Type 2 diabetes but has been prescribed off-label for weight loss.
Product
Q1 2026 Sales
Q1 2025 Sales
Mounjaro
$8.882 billion
$3.842 billion
Zepbound
$4.160 billion
$2.312 billion
Jayprica
$165 million
$92 million
Ebglyss
$145 million
$60 million
Kisunla
$124 million
$22 million
Omvoh
$80 million
$37 million
Inluriyo
$35 million
Total Revenue
$19.799 billion
$12.729 billion
Source: Eli Lilly
Advertisement
An estimated 40.3% of adults in the U.S. are considered obese, while the most recent data from the World Health Organization indicates that 16% of the global population is obese.
That's why management has such high hopes for Foundayo, the anti-obesity pill that went on sale in the U.S. in April. More than 20,000 patients have taken the pill so far, and it's been prescribed by more than 8,000 physicians. "While the U.S. approval is an important first step, there are over 1 billion people around the world with obesity and related conditions who can be helped by taking an incretin like Foundayo," CEO Dave Ricks told analysts on the company's earnings call.
Will Mounjaro and Lilly continue their momentum?
It appears so. More countries are approving Mounjaro, and it's getting increased acceptance in U.S. markets, where the obesity rate is much higher. When you take into account the fast-growing sales of Zepbound and the potential of Lilly's new treatment in a pill form with Foundayo, Lilly's future is bright. The company is expected to see revenue of $84.4 billion this year, rising to nearly $100 billion by 2027.
That makes Eli Lilly stock a no-brainer stock to buy.
Should you buy stock in Eli Lilly right now?
Before you buy stock in Eli Lilly, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Eli Lilly wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $476,034!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,274,109!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 975% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 7, 2026.
Patrick Sanders has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Eli Lilly and Merck. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Source: “AOL Money”
