Eli Lilly is dialing back its 2024 forecast after underwhelming Wall Street with third-quarter earnings and sales from two key drugs that missed expectations.
The drugmaker on Wednesday chopped a few dollars off its earnings guidance for the year after raising that forecast well beyond analyst expectations in previous quarters. Company shares tumbled after markets opened.
Sales of Lilly's diabetes treatment Mounjaro and weight loss counterpart Zepbound were hurt in the quarter as U.S. pharmaceutical wholesalers whittled inventory they had built up in previous quarters.
The company brought in 3.1 billion in sales from Mounjaro and another 1.3 billion from Zepbound, which debuted in the U.S. market nearly a year ago .
TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala said in a note that sales of both drugs missed expectations, and he wanted to learn more about whether the drop was a "temporary flattening or new trend."
