Shares of Eli Lilly and Co.
LLY,
rallied toward a fifth-straight record close in premarket trading Tuesday, after the drug maker’s fourth-quarter earnings beat expectations, helped by a 16% jump in prices, and provided an upbeat 2024 revenue outlook. Net income rose to $2.19 billion, or $2.42 a share, from $1.94 billion, or $2.14 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $2.49 beat the FactSet consensus of $2.30. Revenue jumped 28.1% to $9.35 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.95 billion, as prices increased 16%, volume rose 11% and currency translation added 1% growth. Sales of the company’s obesity drug Zepbound total $175.8 million, while there were no recorded sales of Covid-19 antibodies. For 2024, the company expects adjusted EPS of $12.20 to $12.70, which surrounds the current FactSet consensus of $12.39, and expects revenue of $40.4 billion to $41.6 billion, which is above expectations of $39.3 billion. The stock has run up 18.7% over the past three months through Monday while the S&P 500
SPX,
has climbed 13.2%.
