BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: GILEAD AND ELI LILLY

Gilead and Eli Lilly Latest Brand Name Drug Companies to Hike Prices, Then Beat Wall Street Expectations

In case you missed it, Big Pharma giants Gilead and Eli Lilly reported second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street analysts’ estimates after the pair started 2025 with price hikes on more than 10 of their brand name products each.

During the Eli Lilly earnings call, a Guggenheim analyst asked about the company’s pricing strategy for its new oral GLP-1, Orforglipron. CEO and Chairman Dave Ricks responded, “I think on pricing, we’ve always had a philosophy across all medicines, including with incretins, to price to value… and here with GLP-1 and incretin mechanisms we’re seeing profound value, frankly.”

Numerous analyses have found Big Pharma’s egregious prices for blockbuster GLP-1 products are unsustainable for American patients and the U.S. health care system.

In March 2024, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted that covering GLP-1 weight loss drugs “at their current prices would cost the federal government more than it would save from reducing other health care spending.” 

In a subsequent report issued in October 2024, CBO found expanding Medicare coverage for these brand name medications at their current price “would increase federal spending, on net, by about $35 billion from 2026 to 2034.” In addition, CBO found that the savings from covering these medications “would be small—less than $50 million in 2026 and rising to $1.0 billion in 2034.”

An August 2023 analysis from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker found list prices for several blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, including Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, are significantly higher in the U.S. compared to other wealthy countries.

Get the full recap of Gilead and Eli Lilly’s strong Q2 earnings here:

Gilead

• Gilead posted second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street analysts’ estimates.
• The company reported $7.08 billion in sales, up 1.8 percent over the same period last year.
• The Big Pharma giant’s HIV therapy Biktarvy brought in $3.5 billion in sales, a nine percent increase compared to the same period last year.
• Gilead’s sales projection for 2025 ranges between $28.3 billion and $28.7 billion.  

Eli Lilly

• Eli Lilly topped Wall Street analysts’ estimates for the second quarter in a row.
• The pharmaceutical company reported revenue of $15.56 billion, beating estimates of $14.49 billion.
• The Big Pharma giant’s GLP-1 drug, Zepbound, saw $3.38 billion in sales while Mounjaro brought in $5.2 billion.
• The company raised its fiscal 2025 sales guidance to $60 billion to $62 billion, from their previous outlook of $58 billion to $61 billion.

 Gilead

• Gilead has hiked prices on 11 prescription drugs so far in 2025 at an average rate of 5.9 percent.  
• Gilead increased prices on at least 12 prescription drugs in 2024, including HIV drug Biktarvy by 4.9 percent.
• Gilead raised prices on at least 12 prescription drugs in 2023, including HIV drug Biktarvy by 5.9 percent.

Eli Lilly

• Eli Lilly began 2025 by increasing prices on 11 prescription drugs, including blockbuster GLP-1 drug Zepbound by 2.5 percent. 
• Eli Lilly hiked prices on 10 prescription drugs in 2024, including oncology drug Verzenio by six percent, as well as blockbuster diabetes drugs Trulicity and Mounjaro by five percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
• Eli Lilly started 2023 by raising prices on 15 prescription drugs, including blockbuster diabetes drugs Trulicity and Mounjaro, both by five percent. Eli Lilly also hiked the price of its best-selling oncology drug, Verzenio, by 5.5 percent.

Read about how Big Pharma’s egregious prices on GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss drugs are leading to unsustainable costs for the health care system HERE.

Read more on Q2 earnings from Amgen and Pfizer HERE.

Read more on Q2 earnings from AbbVie and Bristol Myers Squibb HERE.

Read more on Q2 earnings from AstraZeneca and GSK HERE.

Read more on Q2 earnings from Roche HERE.

Read more on Q2 earnings from Johnson & Johnson HERE.

Learn more about solutions to lower prescription drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.