Eli Lilly Hits $1 Trillion Market Cap on Drug Demand

Eli Lilly and Company achieved a historic milestone on Friday, becoming the first pharmaceutical firm to reach a market capitalization of $1 trillion, propelled by surging demand for its blockbuster weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.

The Indianapolis-based company's shares climbed as much as 2 percent during trading on Wall Street, peaking above $1,060 and briefly pushing its total value past the trillion-dollar mark. By midday, the stock was trading around $1,050, with the market cap hovering near $950 billion, according to exchange data. This placed Eli Lilly among an elite group of global companies, including technology leaders like Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon, as well as non-tech firms such as Berkshire Hathaway. It marked the 11th most valuable company worldwide at the peak.

The rally reflects explosive growth in the obesity treatment market, where Eli Lilly has emerged as a dominant player. Shares have risen more than 35 percent this year alone, outpacing the S&P 500's gains of over 50 percent since the late 2023 launch of Zepbound. In the third quarter, the company reported total revenue of $17.6 billion, a 54 percent increase from the prior year. More than...