Eli Lilly (LLY) Q1 Income 2023

Medical bottles and syringes with the logo of Eli Lilly and Company are seen on a screen in the background in this illustrative photo taken in Krakow, Poland, on November 10, 2022.

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Eli LilliFirst-quarter results missed expectations on Thursday, but the drug company raised its full-year guidance.

Before releasing the results, the company also reported positive data on its weight-loss drug, Tirzepatide.

Shares of Eli Lilly are up more than 3% in morning trade.

The company’s revenue declined 11% from the year-ago quarter, driven by a $1.5 billion decline in sales of its Covid-19 antibodies. Lilly reported sales of $6.96 billion for the quarter, slightly beating analysts’ expectations, but sales declined from $7.81 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $1.73 per share for the quarter.

Here’s how the company compares to analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv:

• Adjusted earnings: $1.62 per share versus $1.73 per share expected
• Revenue: $6.96 billion versus $6.86 billion expected

The company reported net income of $1.3 billion, or $1.49 per share, for the quarter, down 29% from the first quarter of 2022.

Eli Lilly raised its forecast for the year largely due to the US dollar’s weakening against major currencies. The company expects revenue of between $31.2 billion and $31.7 billion compared to previous guidance of $30.3 billion to $30.8 billion.

The company raised its adjusted earnings guidance to between $8.65 and $8.85 per share for the year, up from $8.35 to $8.55.

Lilly also released data on its weight-loss drug Tirzepatide on Thursday morning ahead of the win. Patients who were overweight and had type 2 diabetes lost an average of between 30 and 34 pounds depending on the dose they took, compared with 7 pounds in the placebo group.

Lilly plans to complete its application for Food and Drug Administration approval in the coming weeks.

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The FDA approved tirzepatide under the brand name Mounjaro in May 2022 for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes. Lilly’s Mounjaro sales were approximately $587 million in the first quarter.

Sales for several of Lilly’s key products increased year over year. Sales of Trulicity, Lilly’s weekly injectable for type 2 diabetes, were $1.98 billion for the quarter, up 14% from $1.74 billion for the same period last year.

Sales of Verzenio, Lilly’s breast cancer pill, rose 60% to $751 million, compared to $469 million in the first quarter of 2022.

And sales of Jardiance, a pill that lowers blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes, rose 38% to $578 million, compared with $419 million for the same period last year.