Eli Lilly and Company Fourth-quarter earnings and revenue and 2026 guidance released on Wednesday beat expectations as demand for its blockbuster diet drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro soared.

The pharmaceutical giant expects revenue in 2026 to be between $80 billion and $83 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $77.62 billion, according to LSEG.

Eli Lilly also expects adjusted earnings per share this year to be in a range of $33.50 to $35. Analysts expected $33.23 per share, according to LSEG.

Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks’s strong outlook came just days after he spoke to CNBC. Exclusive interview He expects the government’s upcoming rollout of Medicare coverage for obesity treatments to expand the U.S. market for these drugs this year, calling it “a huge multiplier in the pool of eligible patients.”

Eli Lilly’s guidance contrasts with the outlook for rival Novo Nordisk, which is also grappling with lower U.S. prices following its landmark Deals struck by two companies with President Donald Trump Cut obesity and diabetes drug costs. Unlike Lilly, Novo warned on Tuesday that it Sales and profits expected to fall this yearIt comes as U.S. prices fall and exclusivity expires for its best-selling obesity and diabetes drug in China, Brazil and Canada.

As Novo sees it, Eli Lilly is struggling to maintain its dominance in a booming market for these drugs, known as GLP-1 US explosive launch Its new obesity treatment Wegovy pill. Eli Lilly hopes to win approval for its own oral weight-loss drug, orforglipron, later this year.

Mounjaro’s revenue for the quarter was $7.41 billion, an increase of 110% from the same period last year. Mounjaro’s U.S. sales reached $4.1 billion, a 57% increase as demand climbed but actual prices were lower. The numbers beat analysts’ expectations for the quarter, according to StreetAccount.

Zepbound entered the market about three years ago and had US revenue of $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter. That’s a 122% increase from the same period last year, as demand for the drug also increased while real prices fell. Analysts expect Zepbound to post U.S. sales of $3.91 billion, according to StreetAccount.

Here’s how the company’s fourth-quarter report compared with Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG):

• Earnings per share: Adjusted $7.54, expected $6.67
• income: US$19.29 billion, expected US$17.96 billion

Eli Lilly’s shares rose more than 7% in premarket trading.

The company’s fourth-quarter revenue was $19.29 billion, a year-on-year increase of 43%.

U.S. revenue climbed to $12.9 billion. Eli Lilly said this was due to a 50% increase in volume (i.e. number of prescriptions or units sold) of its products, primarily Mounjaro and Zepbound. This was partially offset by lower effective prices for these drugs, the company said.

The pharmaceutical giant’s fourth-quarter net income was $6.64 billion, or $7.39 per share. This compares with net income of $4.41 billion, or $4.88 per share, a year ago.

Excluding one-time items related to the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Lilly earned $7.54 per share in the fourth quarter.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s deals with Trump are expected to ultimately increase prescription volumes but ultimately hurt overall sales.

Under the agreement, Eli Lilly and Novo agreed to significantly reduce the price of these treatments for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in 2026 and to make the treatments available directly to consumers at a discounted price on TrumpRx, a direct-to-consumer platform that the Trump administration has yet to launch.

In return, the two companies will also receive three years of tariff exemptions.

exist Interviewed by CNBC Eli Lilly’s Ricks acknowledged on Friday that there will be “lower pricing” early this year under the drug pricing agreement. But he said sales growth for the company’s drugs “will accelerate in the second half of the year.”