Eli Lilly raises earnings guidance as Zepbound sales beat expectations

Eli Lilly raised its full-year guidance on Tuesday while it reported strong first-quarter sales of Zepbound, even as the pharmaceutical company struggles to make enough of the obesity drug to meet the enormous demand.

Lilly increased its adjusted earnings guidance for 2024 to a range of $13.50 to $14.00 per share, up from a prior forecast of $12.20 to $12.70 per share. For the first quarter, Lilly reported adjusted earnings of $2.58 per share, beating the $2.39 per share that analysts polled by Visible Alpha had predicted.

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Zepbound, which was just approved last November, brought in $517 million in sales in the first quarter of this year, more than the $389 million that analysts expected.

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