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Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk sold more than $40 billion in GLP-1 drugs in 2024

The GLP-1 battle is heating up.

2/6/25 2:38PM

For Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the present and future are about weight-loss drugs.

The two companies dominate the market for GLP-1 drugs, which are prescribed for diabetes and obesity. Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound as well as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy have collectively raked in more than $40 billion in sales.

“The story continues to be about market expansion for obesity,” David Moore, president of Novo Nordisk’s US business, told analysts on Wednesday morning.

Novo Nordisk’s drugs entered the market earlier than Eli Lilly’s. Appetite for Ozempic, which is prescribed for diabetes, appears to have moderated, while Wegovy demand is still growing. They currently have the larger market share, but Eli Lilly’s newer drugs might have more room to grow.

Sales of Mounjaro, which is also prescribed for diabetes, doubled between 2023 and 2024, and sales of Zepbound increased by 2,684% during the same period. “We believe both products are still very early in their launch cycle,” Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told analysts on Thursday.

The types of ailments that GLP-1s can be prescribed for are also growing, with Zepbound recently getting approval from the FDA to treat sleep apnea. Some early studies have also shown that it may be able to treat alcoholism.

Oral GLP-1 drugs, which would entice consumers not keen on jabbing themselves each week, are the next frontier. Novo Nordisk already has a once-daily pill on the market, Rybelsus.

But being able to keep up with demand for drugs currently on the market might be their biggest challenge. The boom in popularity of GLP-1 drugs has led to manufacturing bottlenecks, which has made way for compounding pharmacies to eat at their market share.

The FDA declared a shortage of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound, in December 2022, and didn’t take it off the shortage list until December 2024. During that period, Eli Lilly reported spending more than $10 billion in capital expenditures, much of which went to expanding manufacturing.

“From a manufacturing standpoint, I really wouldn’t want to be anyone other than Lilly or Novo at this point,” Mizuho Healthcare equity strategist Jared Holz told Yahoo Finance. “When you consider how much they’ve invested behind capex and the supply chain logistics, it’s been overwhelming.”

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, remains on the FDA’s shortage list. This allows compound versions of the drug to be sold by online pharmacies like Hims & Hers.

The company said it expects supply improvements in 2025. “We are focused on doing that as fast as possible as we believe this will help our further actions to curtail compounding in the future,” Novo Nordisk’s Moore told analysts.

Outsourcing Facilities Association, a trade organization representing compounding pharmacies like Hims & Hers, has previously sued the FDA to try to keep tirzepatide on the shortage list. They may soon have a more sympathetic leader at the helm of that agency: President Trump nominated Marty Makary, who is currently chief medical officer of compounding pharmacy Sesame, to lead the FDA.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”