Since mid-2024, Eli Lilly shares have gained about 35%, while Novo Nordisk’s have fallen roughly 74%. Lilly trades at about 24.4 times forward earnings versus 11.8 for Novo; the article sees Lilly’s growth outlook as stronger but says its GLP-1 edge may not endure.
In Q2, Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound generated a combined $14.9 billion, up 136% year over year, and the company accounted for about six in 10 U.S. obesity-drug prescriptions. Lilly has launched the oral GLP-1 Foundayo and is expanding manufacturing capacity; its second-quarter R&D spending was $3.8 billion, up 14% from a year earlier.
Novo said it treated nearly five million patients with its obesity products in Q2, almost 70% more than a year earlier, and is building a pipeline that includes next-generation and oral treatments. Management has acknowledged intensifying competition and pricing pressure in diabetes and obesity. U.S. Wegovy prescriptions have softened, and the company has faced competition from compounded GLP-1s and changes in obesity-drug coverage.
