The company’s stock has soared this year due to explosive growth in the weight-loss drug market.
Published November 21, 2025
Eli Lilly’s market capitalization has reached $1 trillion, making it the first drug company to enter the exclusive club dominated by tech giants and underscoring its rise as a weight-loss powerhouse.
The company’s stock’s more than 35% rise this year, driven in large part by explosive growth in the weight-loss drug market, saw the company join the $1 trillion market on Friday.
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Once considered a niche field, obesity treatment is now one of the most lucrative fields in medicine, with demand steadily increasing.
Novo Nordisk held an early lead in the field, but the surge in popularity of Lilly’s drugs Munjaro and Zepbound helped it overtake its rivals in prescriptions.
The company’s shares rose 1.3% to a record high of $1,057.70.
Lilly currently has one of the richest valuations among major drug companies, trading at about 50 times expected earnings over the next 12 months, reflecting investors’ belief that demand for obesity drugs remains strong, according to LSEG data.
Stock prices are also significantly higher than the U.S. stock market as a whole. Since Zepbound’s launch in late 2023, Lilly has risen more than 75%, compared to the S&P 500 index’s rise of more than 50% over the same period.
In its most recent reported quarter, Lilly recorded total revenues of more than $10.09 billion from its obesity and diabetes portfolio, accounting for more than half of its total revenue of $17.6 billion.
Kevin Gade, chief operating officer of Lilly shareholder Barr & Gaynor, said ahead of the milestone: “They’re dealing with a lot more than just obesity, but to suggest there’s something other than obesity that’s driving up the stock price at this point, I don’t know if that’s true.”
“Sales phenomenon”
Wall Street estimates the weight-loss drug market will reach a value of $150 billion by 2030, with Lilly and Novo together controlling the majority of projected global sales.
Investors are now focused on Lilly’s oral obesity drug olforglipron, which is expected to be approved early next year.
Citi analysts said in a note last week that the latest generation of GLP-1 drugs are already a “sales phenomenon” and Orforglipron is poised to benefit from its “injectable predecessor’s forays.”
Lilly’s growth is on track with recent agreements with the White House to reduce the price of weight-loss drugs and investment plans to expand drug production.
James Shinn, director of biopharmaceutical equity research at Deutsche Bank, said Lilly is once again starting to resemble the “Magnificent Seven,” referring to the seven tech giants that have driven much of this year’s market gains, including Nvidia and Microsoft.
At one point, investors considered the company to be part of that elite group, but it lost popularity after some disappointing headlines and financial results.
But now, he added, the company appears poised to rejoin the fold, perhaps as an alternative for investors, especially given recent concerns and weakness in some AI stocks.
Still, analysts and investors will be watching whether Lilly can maintain its current growth as Maunjaro and Zepbound prices come under pressure, and whether the company’s expansion plans and diversified pipeline and deals can offset margin pressure.
