BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: AMGEN AND ELI LILLY

Pharmaceutical Companies Continue Reporting Big Time Earnings While Continuing to Hike Prices on Blockbuster Brand Name Drugs

Pharmaceutical giants Amgen and Eli Lilly recently reported first quarter earnings, with each company reporting strong earnings that beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations after hiking prices on their blockbuster drugs earlier this year.

During the Eli Lilly earnings call, an analyst at Jefferies asked a question regarding the company’s volume-over-price approach to GLP-1s. In response, Lucas Montarce, Chief Financial Officer at Eli Lilly, said he believes the price impressions are consistent with the trends that Eli Lilly has seen in the last twelve months. The pharmaceutical company consistently hikes the prices of its blockbuster drugs, especially their GLP-1 drug portfolio. This year alone, Eli Lilly hiked prices on 11 prescription drugs, including their GLP-1 drug Zepbound by 2.5 percent.  

Get the full recap of Amgen and Eli Lilly’s strong earnings, fueled by price hikes and anti-competitive tactics:

Amgen

• Amgen beat analysts’ estimates, bringing in $8.15 billion in Q1.
• The company’s osteoporosis treatment Prolia rose 10 percent to $1.1 billion for the quarter.
• The company’s cholesterol drug Repatha rose 27 percent to $656 million. 
• The Big Pharma giant’s rare disease drug Uplinza brought in $91 million, a 14 percent rise.

Eli Lilly

• Eli Lilly saw first quarter earnings that beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
• The pharmaceutical company reported overall sales of $12.73 billion.
• The Big Pharma giant’s GLP-1 drug, Zepbound, brought in $2.31 billion, and Mounjaro brought in $3.84 billion.
• Eli Lilly maintained its fiscal 2025 sales guidance of $58 billion to $61 billion.

The substantial earnings reports from these three Big Pharma giants reflect their ongoing history of raising prices on blockbuster drugs.

Amgen

• This year, Amgen has hiked prices for 23 prescription drugs by an average of five percent.
• Last year, Amgen raised prices on 36 prescription drugs, including a 6.9 percent increase on osteoporosis treatment Prolia as well as five percent price increases on autoimmune drugs Enbrel and Otezla.
• In 2023, Amgen raised prices on more than 20 prescription drugs, including on osteoporosis treatment Prolia and autoimmune drug Otezla by 5.9 percent each.

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 more on Q1 earnings from Johnson & Johnson HERE.

Read more on Q1 earnings from AbbVie, Roche, Gilead, Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb HERE.

Read more on Q1 earnings from AstraZeneca and Novartis HERE.

Stay tuned as we continue to monitor first quarter earnings calls from brand name drug companies in the coming weeks.

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