Sales of Lilly’s dual-action obesity medication Zepbound (tirzepatide) have reached impressive heights, despite challenges, including the removal of the drug from the formulary of CVS Caremark, the largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) in the U.S. This summer’s decision by CVS to favor Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) as the preferred GLP-1 obesity treatment was anticipated to adversely affect access to Zepbound. Nevertheless, Lilly’s innovative direct-to-consumer sales platform, LillyDirect, has significantly bolstered sales.
In the third quarter of 2025, Zepbound sales reached approximately $3.6 billion, reflecting an astounding 185% year-over-year increase and exceeding market expectations by over $500 million, according to analysts from Citi Research. While this represents a more subdued sequential growth of 6% compared to the previous quarter, the Citi team labeled the performance as “fundamentally impressive.”
The formulary switch by CVS took effect on July 1, and while it initially impacted Zepbound’s sales growth, analysts opined that the effect was relatively limited. The remarkable year-over-year growth reinforces the role of LillyDirect in driving sales, as it allows consumers to purchase medications at discounted rates out of pocket.
Overall, Lilly enjoyed a successful quarter, with Zepbound’s strong showing contributing to a broader growth trend for the company. The performance of Lilly’s incretin franchise raises optimism for the anticipated launch of orfoglipron, an oral GLP-1 medication set to debut next year.
Lilly’s other primary obesity and diabetes medication, Mounjaro (also employing the active ingredient tirzepatide), reported sales of $6.5 billion for the quarter, surpassing Wall Street projections by nearly $1 billion with a 109% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Collectively, the sales figures for Zepbound and Mounjaro totalled $10.1 billion, overshadowing the $8.1 billion recorded by Merck’s Keytruda, a previously dominant cancer treatment.
The momentum built by Lilly’s obesity and diabetes medications is evident, with combined sales during the second quarter already outpacing Keytruda’s performance. As the year progresses, the gap in sales between these products continues to widen, showcasing the rapid ascent of Lilly’s offerings in the market.
While Zepbound and Mounjaro are leading the way, Lilly’s breast cancer medication, Verzenio (abemaciclib), also saw growth, bringing in $1.47 billion, despite not meeting the expectations set by Citi and other analysts. Notably, Lilly announced a decision to halt the development of Verzenio for a late-stage indication in metastatic breast cancer, though further details on this decision were not immediately available.
Lilly’s overall sales in the third quarter surged by 54% year-over-year to $17.6 billion, primarily driven by the success of Mounjaro and Zepbound. Reflecting this robust performance, the company has raised its full-year sales guidance to a range of $63 billion to $63.5 billion, up from the previous estimate of $60 billion to $62 billion.
