Eli Lilly’s Tirzepatide Tops $24.8 B Sales, Leads $1.2 B Aktis Investment
Eli Lilly's tirzepatide earned $24.8 billion in sales through nine months of 2025, surpassing Keytruda and with analysts projecting $62 billion by 2030. The company anchored a $318 million IPO at Aktis Oncology with potential deal value up to $1.2 billion, underpinning its strategic push into alpha-emitting radiopharmaceuticals.
1. Strong Financial Momentum
Over the past five years, Eli Lilly has transformed into a marquee healthcare powerhouse, culminating in a $1 trillion market capitalization last year. The company’s revenue growth has been driven by breakthroughs across its portfolio, pushing annual sales past $30 billion and delivering double-digit year-over-year earnings increases. Investors have rewarded the company’s consistent outperformance, and management forecasts sustained revenue growth of at least 12% annually through 2028, supported by expanding global demand for its key products.
2. Tirzepatide Driving Growth
Tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity, generated $24.8 billion in revenue during the first nine months of 2025, overtaking the previous sales leader to become the world’s top-selling medicine. Analysts project tirzepatide sales could approach $62 billion by 2030 as the drug gains approvals in additional indications, including obstructive sleep apnea, and expands in key international markets. This one compound now accounts for roughly 45% of the company’s total sales.
3. Pipeline Developments and Milestones
Looking ahead, Eli Lilly’s pipeline remains robust. Orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 candidate for obesity and diabetes, completed phase 3 studies last year and has been granted a priority review voucher, pointing to a regulatory decision by late February 2026. Retatrutide recently delivered an unprecedented mean weight loss of 28.7% at its highest dose in phase 3 trials. Together with other late-stage assets in oncology and immunology, these programs underpin management’s guidance for at least three additional multi-billion-dollar product launches by 2030.
4. Valuation Rationalization
Eli Lilly currently trades at 33 times forward earnings, well above the healthcare sector average of 18.2. However, the company’s revenue and earnings are forecast to grow at an annual rate exceeding 20%, giving it a price/earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.98—within classic undervalued territory. Given its market leadership in fast-growing therapeutic areas, strong free cash flow generation, and multiple catalysts on the horizon, the premium valuation appears justified for long-term investors.