Lilly's Obesity and Diabetes Drugs Dominate Q3 Sales, Outpacing Industry Giant

Eli Lilly's obesity and diabetes medications have shown remarkable growth in the third quarter of 2025, solidifying the company's position as a leader in the pharmaceutical industry. Despite facing a formulary challenge, Lilly's innovative sales strategies and the increasing demand for weight loss treatments have propelled its flagship products to new heights.

Zepbound and Mounjaro: A $10 Billion Quarter

Lilly's dual-action obesity medication Zepbound (tirzepatide) and its diabetes counterpart Mounjaro have collectively generated an impressive $10.1 billion in global sales for Q3 2025. This performance has surpassed that of Merck's cancer drug Keytruda, which recorded $8.1 billion in sales for the same period.

Zepbound's sales reached nearly $3.6 billion, marking a 185% year-over-year increase and exceeding analyst expectations by over $500 million. Despite a more modest 6% sequential growth from Q2, analysts at Citi Research deemed this performance "fundamentally impressive."

Mounjaro also exceeded Wall Street projections with $6.5 billion in quarterly revenue, representing a 109% growth compared to Q3 2024 and outperforming expectations by approximately $1 billion.

Overcoming Formulary Challenges with Direct-to-Consumer Approach

In May, CVS Caremark, the largest U.S. pharmacy benefit manager, announced that it would make Novo Nordisk's Wegovy the preferred obesity GLP-1 on its formulary, effective July 1. This decision was expected to impact Zepbound's access in the United States.

However, Lilly's direct-to-consumer sales channel, LillyDirect, has played a crucial role in mitigating the effects of this formulary exclusion. The channel allows Lilly to sell certain medicines at a discount to out-of-pocket payers, contributing significantly to Zepbound's continued growth despite the CVS Caremark decision.

Financial Outlook and Future Prospects

Lilly's overall sales for Q3 climbed 54% year-over-year to $17.6 billion, primarily driven by Mounjaro and Zepbound. In light of this strong performance, the company has revised its full-year 2025 sales guidance upward to between $63 billion and $63.5 billion, an increase from the previous forecast of $60 billion to $62 billion.

The success of Lilly's incretin franchise bodes well for the anticipated launch of its oral GLP-1 asset, orfoglipron, expected sometime next year. This launch could further strengthen Lilly's position in the diabetes and obesity treatment markets.

While Lilly's breast cancer medication Verzenio showed more modest growth of 7% to $1.47 billion in Q3, slightly below analyst expectations, the company's focus remains on its powerhouse diabetes and obesity treatments.