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Jabs

Eli Lilly says it has “no affiliation” with Hims & Hers after market confusion

Hims & Hers investors are clearly antsy about where the company’s weight-loss business is going and Tuesday’s announcement was supposed to help clear that up — until it didn’t.

J. Edward Moreno

4/2/25 10:45AM

Eli Lilly said in a statement Tuesday evening that it has “no affiliation” with Hims & Hers after the market appeared to briefly misinterpret a statement from the telehealth platform as some sort of partnership.

Hims & Hers released a statement on Tuesday detailing how it will move forward with its weight-loss offerings, which was mostly in line with what the company has previously announced. But there was an Easter egg that took the spotlight: the telehealth platform unexpectedly dropped it was offering “branded tirzepatide” — in other words, Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight-loss drug, Zepbound — on its platform.

Investors, hungry for positive news about Hims & Hers’ ability to sell GLP-1s, sent the stock up as much as 7% in intraday trading. Then it came right back down as they realized it wasn’t the “deal” or “partnership” some initially thought it was.

Clearly there is some confusion. Here’s what we know:

How did we get here? GLP-1 drugs are all the rage. They’re really good at helping people lose weight and the companies that make them have made a ton of money selling them at really high prices.

There are currently two GLP-1s you need to know about. Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, which is made by Novo Nordisk. Then there’s tirzepetide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound, which is made by Eli Lilly.

These drugs are so popular that they were in shortage for several years. This allowed companies like Hims & Hers to sell cheap compounded copies of them, giving them a bite of the GLP-1 revenue apple. But in February, the Food and Drug Administration declared that the shortage was over, limiting the ability of companies that aren’t the patent holders of the drugs to sell them.

Hims & Hers investors are clearly antsy about where the company’s weight-loss business is going amid the uncertainty, and Tuesday’s announcement was supposed to help clear that up — until it didn’t.

What Tuesday’s announcement is: Hims & Hers users can now get a prescription for Zepbound, just like they can for other branded medications on the platform. But the drug costs about $1,899 a month, according to the company’s website. Since it’s definitely not the cheapest way to get Zepbound, the value of having it on the platform may not be to get people on it, but to steer customers to its cheaper generic or compounded options.

What it is not: a “partnership,” like the ones Eli Lilly has with Hims & Hers’ competitors. Patients on Ro, for example, can get branded vials of Zepbound on that platform, one of the cheapest options for getting it without insurance.

To be clear, Hims & Hers never said it had a partnership with Eli Lilly, nor did it mention the company even once in its announcement. Eli Lilly didn’t issue a statement at all until it felt the need to set the record straight.

What was missed: the company officially launched its generic liraglutide, which is an older and less effective GLP-1 developed by Novo Nordisk, at $299 a month. The company had previously said this was its move.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 ⛽

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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.”

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