CNBC – Eli Lilly reached a $1 trillion market capitalization on Friday, the first health-care company in the world to join the exclusive club dominated by tech firms.
Eli Lilly briefly hit the $1 trillion mark in morning trading before retreating. It was last trading around $1,048 a share.
Eli Lilly is the second nontechnology company to reach the coveted $1 trillion mark in the U.S. after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
The drugmaker’s stock has climbed more than 36% this year as investors applaud the gains it has made over chief rival Novo Nordisk in the GLP-1 drug space.
The Indianapolis-based company’s stock has been riding the skyrocketing popularity of its weight loss injection Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro.
Eli Lilly’s stock has soared on the back of the success of its drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.Demand is only expected to grow as approvals for the treatments’ uses and insurance coverage expand.
The two drugs have driven eye-popping sales growth for Eli Lilly. Last month, the company said Mounjaro drew in $6.52 billion in revenue in the third quarter, a 109% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, Zepbound posted $3.59 billion in sales during the period, a 184% spike from the prior-year period.
Demand for the treatments will only grow as approvals for their use and insurance coverage expand.
In addition, Eli Lilly expects an oral version of its popular drugs to hit the market next year, which could give patients a more convenient option than a shot that is easier for the company to produce.
Eli Lilly will likely remain a dominant player in the weight loss drug market, which some analysts believe could be worth more than $150 billion by the early 2030s.
But despite its recent struggles and leadership shake-ups, Novo Nordisk remains a formidable rival for Eli Lilly in the space …
