Yahoo Finance Eli Lilly (LLY) & Novo Nordisk (NVO) Earnings: A Closer Look
Earnings season continues to chug along, with a wide variety of companies already delivering their quarterly results. The period has been favorable so far, with S&P 500 earnings expected to be positive again.
And this week, two large-cap pharmaceutical companies, Novo Nordisk NVO and Eli Lilly LLY, are on the reporting docket. As shown in the YTD chart below, the stocks have loosely tracked each other, though LLY’s decline is more pronounced.
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Let’s take a closer look at how the pharmaceutical giants stack up heading into their releases.
Eli Lilly Unlocks Higher Profits
Analysts have primarily been muted for the upcoming release, with earnings and revenue expectations primarily unchanged over the last several months. Still, current expectations allude to 25% EPS growth on 18% higher sales.
The company has been growing rapidly, with its earnings and sales increasing 46% and 26% throughout its latest quarter. Revenue growth was driven by strong demand across its pipeline, causing LLY to up its full-year revenue guidance by $2 billion following its latest release.
Below is a chart illustrating the company’s sales on a quarterly basis.
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Key products driving the strong sales growth include Mounjaro, Zepbound, Verzenio, and Jardiance. Investors will undoubtedly be closely tuned into these products' results, which are likely to dictate the post-earnings move.
The company has enjoyed margin expansion thanks to higher realized prices and a favorable product mix, with its gross margin improving to 80.9% in its latest quarter vs. 76.6% in the year-ago period. Please note that the chart below is on a trailing twelve-month basis.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Novo Nordisk Displays Earnings Positivity
Analysts have taken a bearish stance on NVO’s upcoming release, with the $0.71 per share expected down nearly 15% since mid-May. Solid growth is still expected, as expectations allude to a 13% pop in earnings on a 25% sales increase.
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The company has continued to show earnings positivity, exceeding our consensus earnings and sales expectations in back-to-back releases. It’s continued to benefit from momentum behind its GLP-1 based diabetes and obesity treatments, a key area to watch in the upcoming release.
Revenue from its Diabetes and Obesity care treatments soared 25% year-over-year throughout the latest period.
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Bottom Line
Given their underperformance in 2024, a positive set of quarterly results could easily push both stocks higher.
Investors will be closely tuned into Eli Lilly’s LLY pipeline, whereas focus will also be on Novo Nordisk’s NVO GLP-1 based treatments.
Analysts have been much more bearish for NVO’s upcoming release, whereas expectations haven’t moved much for LLY.
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Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
