M Mohan
Private Equity at IncVangal, Former Microsoft Ventures Director
Eli Lilly has the market momentum over Novo Nordisk in GLP-1 drugs. Lilly's Zepbound sold $4B in Q1 against $2.7B for Novo's Wegovy, and Novo's lawsuit over GLP-1 advertising looks defensive. Lilly's direct-to-consumer head start and manufacturing scale appear durable. A GLP-1 market heading to $100B by 2030 remains the most structurally attractive healthcare trade. x.comÂ
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly should take a huge hit as cheap semaglutide floods in after patent protections expire in India, China and elsewhere, per Bloomberg. A cottage industry of black-market imports should emerge within months at about half the US price of Ozempic, still profitably. Indian brands already price weekly doses at roughly $4-10. These will be new, more effective formulations, not compounded versions. x.com x.com x.comÂ
Eli Lilly's Foundayo demand looks stronger than its Q3 sales miss implies. The miss looks like timing and inventory, not weak demand: the pill now has about 40% of new US oral GLP-1 prescriptions, roughly double last quarter. Lilly has 63% of the US GLP-1 market; new overseas pill launches could add another leg next quarter. Foundayo could eventually outsell both Mounjaro and Zepbound. GLP-1 revenue funds Lilly's AI drug-discovery ambitions. x.comÂ
Eli Lilly's broader biology opportunity leaves far more upside than most appreciate. Q3 earnings crushed estimates as expected: revenue was $24.4B versus $22.6B expected, and adjusted EPS was $7.48 versus $6.50. GLP-1s fund its longer-term drug-discovery platform rather than defining the whole thesis. x.comÂ
Novo Nordisk could run with healthcare stocks as tech sells off, helped by the midterm health trend of the last 20 years. The market seems to be looking for value in health and pharma. Novo's $11.8 billion in free cash flow and major buybacks at these levels should eventually lift its depressed price once investors realize Novo and Eli Lilly can both do well in oral GLP-1s, where Novo leads. Novo might have found a bottom. x.comÂ
Eli Lilly should see further positive revenue revisions as it expands the weight-loss market by reducing gastrointestinal side effects and lowering treatment costs. Strong demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound drove a second FY2026 revenue guidance raise in three months, to $91B-$92B from $85B-$87B. Lilly Direct and the Medicare Bridge program for seniors aim to make treatment cheaper. At 29x 2027 earnings against 15% revenue and 20% EPS growth projected for 2027-30, Lilly still looks cheap. x.comÂ
Eli Lilly merits an Overweight rating and a $1,300 December 2026 target because its pipeline extends the GLP-1 franchise well beyond obesity, and the supply worry that distracted the market is over. Orforglipron, the key underpriced catalyst, beat Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide in Phase 3 without food or water limits and launches in H1 2026, opening a far larger pill market. Zepbound sales rose 123% and Mounjaro hit 758,000 weekly scripts, driving leverage. Novo's CagriSema is the main risk. … Show more
GLP-1 adoption is still early, leaving room for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to remain leaders. Use has climbed from 4% in 2024 to 11% now, but obesity is unlikely to become rare within a decade. Novo is much more compelling at current levels than Lilly. x.comÂ
GLP-1 drugs are a secular shift in healthcare spending, and Eli Lilly is leading it. Q1 revenue rose 56% to $19.8B, with Mounjaro up 125% to $8.66B and Zepbound up 80% to $4.16B, and full-year guidance was raised to $82-85B. GLP-1 patients are expected to grow from 20 million to 30 million globally by year-end, and FDA approval of the oral GLP-1 orforglipron expands the addressable market further. x.comÂ
Novo Nordisk's management showed too little action against near-term problems, leaving the case in real doubt for the first time. A 5-10-year recovery plan clashes with the semaglutide patent expiring within that window, already lost in Canada, India and Turkey, while Eli Lilly poses real threats. Pipeline work in blood/endocrine, liver and cardiovascular is exciting and diversifying would be a game changer, and NovoCare is a positive, but the clock is running and management is uninspiring. … Show more
Novo Nordisk is one of the best opportunities in the market and a safe haven in an AI-driven market, crushed while its long-term growth story is rebuilt. It trades at 9x earnings with a 4.64% dividend yield, controls about 80% of the GLP-1 weight-loss pill market and plans to scale oral GLP-1 capacity 10x by 2030. Revenue growth is expected to return to double digits in 2027, and it has partnered with Anthropic on drug discovery. It would need a 110% rally to regain its 200-week average. x.comÂ
Eli Lilly's GLP-1 and metabolic franchise can compound demand and cash flows while rate fears punish leveraged AI stories. It is preferable as a defensive-growth holding into its October 29 earnings over chasing a chip bounce. Continued healthcare volume leadership would support the sleeve; if semiconductors reclaim leadership first, the rotation is already crowded the other way. x.com x.comÂ
