Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 26, Eli Lilly briefly became the world’s first pharmaceutical company to reach a $1 trillion market valuation on Friday, driven by strong demand for its obesity and diabetes treatments.

The company's share price, which stood below $100 as recently as 2018, now exceeds $1,000, reflecting the commercial success of tirzepatide-based medicines Mounjaro (for type 2 diabetes) and Zepbound (for chronic weight management). Clinical data show Zepbound enables average weight loss of around 20 percent, while Mounjaro helps approximately 80 percent of patients with uncontrolled blood sugar achieve healthy levels. Both medicines have also demonstrated benefits for heart, kidney, and other organ health.

In the first nine months of 2025, combined sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound reached nearly $19 billion, surpassing Merck & Co.'s Keytruda to become the world’s highest-selling medicine. Analysts project the overall market for this class of therapies could exceed $100 billion annually by 2030.

At its $1 trillion peak, Lilly's market capitalisation placed it ahead of major companies such as Walmart and made it more than twice as valuable as its nearest pharmaceutical peer, Johnson & Johnson. The valuation was calculated using all 945,383,757 outstanding shares; excluding 50 million shares held in an employee benefit trust (as done for earnings-per-share calculations) would reduce the figure by approximately $53 billion.

Founded almost 150 years ago, Eli Lilly has transformed from a traditional drugmaker into a leader in metabolic disease treatment, achieving a historic milestone that highlights the significant medical and commercial impact of its latest therapies. The company’s rapid ascent underscores investor confidence in sustained growth from its tirzepatide franchise and future pipeline developments.