Bayer Wins FDA Acceptance for KERENDIA CKD Filing Without Diabetes

Eli Lilly reported 48% revenue growth for the second quarter of 2026 and raised its full-year outlook, yet the stock trades at 30.94 times forward earnings, well below its five-year average of 45.59. Mounjaro brought in $9.9 billion in the quarter, up 91%, and Zepbound added $4.9 billion, up 46%, while non-GAAP gross margin reached 86.3% and revenue outside the US rose 80% to $8.6 billion. The once-daily weight-loss pill Foundayo booked $98 million in its first quarter of sales, and Medicare's new coverage pathway now lets eligible patients get Foundayo or Zepbound for $50 a month, with Lilly estimating about 20 million Medicare patients may meet the clinical criteria. Management lifted 2026 revenue guidance to between $85 billion and $87 billion from $82 billion to $85 billion, and plans to file retatrutide with the FDA in the first quarter of 2027. Growth was volume-led, with volume up 60% against a 13% decline in realized prices, and second-quarter EPS of $8.38 absorbed $3.03 per share of acquired research charges, while reported EPS was $7.94 and full-year guidance stands at $35.50 to $36.50.

Eli Lilly is expected to post earnings of $9.83 per share for the current quarter, a year-over-year change of +40%, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate edging up +0.1% over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $36.64 points to a change of +51.3% from the prior year and has risen +0.3% over the past month, while the next fiscal year's consensus estimate of $46.8 indicates a change of +27.7% and has moved +1.4% higher. On the revenue side, the consensus sales estimate of $22.14 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +25.8%, with the $88.88 billion and $102.02 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicating changes of +36.4% and +14.8%, respectively. In the last reported quarter, Lilly posted revenues of $22.97 billion, up +47.7% year over year, and EPS of $8.38 versus $6.31 a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus revenue estimate of $20.26 billion by +13.38% and the EPS estimate by +39.43%. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Lilly, and the stock is graded D on the Zacks Value Style Score, indicating it trades at a premium to its peers.

Eli Lilly and Company announced new exploratory data from the TOGETHER-PsO Phase 3b trial showing that concomitant use of Taltz and Zepbound produced broader biomarker changes than Taltz alone in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and obesity or overweight with at least one additional weight-related comorbid condition. The prespecified analysis, presented at the 2026 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference in Las Vegas, examined circulating proteins and gene expression in the blood and found that Taltz plus Zepbound was associated with changes in more proteins, 482 versus 140 differentially expressed proteins, and more genes, 467 versus 16 differentially expressed genes, by Week 36, with broader biomarker responses emerging as early as Week 12. The combination also showed greater reductions in inflammatory immune activity than Taltz alone, including changes related to neutrophils, and changes in a subset of neutrophil-associated markers mediated a portion of the additional Psoriasis Area and Severity Index response. The data follow previously reported TOGETHER-PsO results showing superior skin clearance and clinically meaningful weight reduction with the combination versus Taltz alone at the Week 36 primary endpoint, maintained or further improved through Week 52, with safety consistent with the known profile of each medicine. In the U.S., approximately 61% of people with psoriasis also have obesity or overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity.