With a rich history dating back to the 19th century, Eli Lilly (LLY) has faced struggles and successes. But a booming market cap has quickly turned it into the biggest pharmaceutical brand in the world.
Let’s dive into Lilly’s biggest moments with Beyond the Ticker.
1876
The company was founded by Colonel Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical chemist and Union Army veteran. Lilly served as the company president until he died in 1898.
1914-1918
Lilly experienced huge growth before and after World War I, including the expansion of its Indianapolis, Indiana, facility.
1923
The company began selling Iletin to treat diabetes, the world’s first commercially available insulin product.
1952
Lilly became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
1971
Lilly acquired cosmetic manufacturer Elizabeth Arden for $38 million, eventually turning it into a financial success.
1987
Lilly sold Arden to Fabergé for $657 million.
2009
A fine of over $1.4 billion, the largest in US history, was imposed on Lilly for illegally marketing its best-selling mood disorder product Zyprexa.
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Lilly hit the jackpot with tirzepatide, a new type of GLP-1 product, sold as Mounjaro for type II diabetes. It began competing with Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Ozempic, which had been on the market for a few years, but started struggling to meet demand as its popularity grew for off label weight loss use.
2023
Zepbound, the same formula as Mounjaro, was approved for obesity, and it began competing with Novo’s Wegovy.
The two companies have a duopoly in this brand-new obesity market. The tirzepatide drugs have spiked Lilly’s stock by nearly 100% in the past year, and its annual revenue was over $34.1 billion in 2023 – a nearly 20% increase year-over-year.
2024
Lilly continues to reach all-time highs and is currently the biggest healthcare company in the world, with a market cap of well over $800 billion.
Wall Street projects the GLP-1s alone will net Lilly $13 billion this year. And this is all before the FDA expands their use for other diseases. Its why Lilly is on track to make history and be the first trillion dollar healthcare company.
From tech giants to retail titans, Beyond the Ticker is a historical series that takes a deep dive into some of Wall Street’s trending companies and how they transformed into the financial icons they are today.
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