Currently, Eli Lilly (LLY) is undoubtedly the leader in the weight loss drug market. The company’s obesity medication Zepbound is seeing rapid sales growth. Recently, Eli Lilly also launched an oral GLP-1 drug, Foundayo, which will help expand its potential market. Additionally, the company has several highly promising drug candidates in this field. The weight loss drug market is expected to grow rapidly, which alone is a strong reason for investors to consider this stock.
However, investors should also be aware that other newer anti-obesity therapies will continue to enter the market. Even if these new therapies are less effective than Eli Lilly’s, they will at least erode the company’s pricing power. Fortunately, Eli Lilly is well-positioned to meet such challenges in the medium term, thanks in part to an underestimated aspect of its business. This is precisely the reason to buy Eli Lilly beyond its existing growth pillars.
Eli Lilly is not a “one-trick pony.” The company’s tirzepatide (sold under the brand name Zepbound, also approved for treating type 2 diabetes and sold under the brand name Mounjaro) is setting industry records. Although the drug was first approved only in 2022, it has already become one of the best-selling drugs globally. This underscores the strong demand for medications in this field and reflects the company’s technological breakthrough—tirzepatide is the first GLP-1/GIP dual agonist to receive regulatory approval. It is only natural that Eli Lilly has devoted significant energy to this area.
However, other drugs in Eli Lilly’s portfolio would serve as key growth drivers for other pharmaceutical companies. For instance, its cancer drug Verzenio generated $5.7 billion in sales last year, an 8% year-over-year increase. The immunosuppressant Taltz generated $3.6 billion in sales, a 9% increase from the previous fiscal year. Eli Lilly also has other newer products that analysts expect will eventually exceed $1 billion in annual sales, including the eczema treatment Ebglyss, the cancer drug Jaypirca, and the Alzheimer’s treatment Kisunla. These drugs span three therapeutic areas: oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. Eli Lilly’s ability to develop blockbuster drugs across multiple fields helps mitigate the impact of competition in its core therapeutic areas.
Eli Lilly continues to advance its diversification. In recent years, the company has intensified its diversification initiatives through acquisitions of small biotech companies or licensing agreements. Recently, Eli Lilly announced it would acquire the privately held company Kelonia Therapeutics for $3.25 billion in cash plus potential milestone payments, with the total equity value reaching up to $7 billion. This acquisition gives Eli Lilly access to Kelonia’s innovative gene therapy platform, which has the potential to improve treatment outcomes for certain cancers. The deal also strengthens Eli Lilly’s genetic medicine platform, which had already been reinforced through moves such as the acquisition of Verve Therapeutics in 2025. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly has expanded its neuroscience pipeline by acquiring Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on developing drugs for sleep-wake disorders, and deepened its oncology pipeline through the acquisition of Scorpion Therapeutics.
Summary: Eli Lilly not only has the ability to achieve further breakthroughs in the weight loss drug market and maintain its dominant position even as competition from new drugs intensifies, but it is also actively pursuing significant advances in other areas. These initiatives are expected to drive long-term revenue growth for the company even after its existing therapies lose patent exclusivity. These are all compelling reasons for investors to consider this stock.
