Behind Eli Lilly's stock price surpassing $1,000: it's not just relying on weight loss drugs.

Eli Lilly ( LLY )'s stock price just broke $1000 per share in November, with a market capitalization approaching the trillion-dollar mark. Everyone knows that Mounjaro ( diabetes ) and Zepbound ( weight loss ) are the two GLP-1 miracle drugs supporting its stock price, but in fact, Eli Lilly's growth engine is far more than just these.

The new drug has contributed real money

The latest financial report shows that Eli Lilly's new drug sales in the first nine months of 2025 are quite impressive:

• Jaypirca( Blood Cancer ): $358 million
• Ebglyss( skin disease ): 274 million USD
• Omvoh( Inflammatory Bowel Disease ): 177 million USD
• Kisunla( Alzheimer's disease): 141 million USD

These drugs are also expanding into multiple indications, such as Ebglyss is in phase III clinical trials for rhinitis, pollen allergy, and more diseases. Kisunla has been approved in Europe, and the new breast cancer drug Inluriyo was also approved for market in the United States in September.

Crazy Buying: From Gene Therapy to Painkillers

Eli Lilly has been active in mergers and acquisitions this year, clearly paving the way for the post-GLP-1 era:

• Acquiring Verve Therapeutics → Gene therapy for heart disease
• Plan to acquire Adverum Biotechnologies → Ophthalmic gene therapy ( for age-related macular degeneration )
• Also signed an agreement to purchase Scorpion's cancer drugs and SiteOne's non-opioid painkillers.

This strategy is crystal clear: use the cash flow from weight loss drugs to buy long-term growth drivers in cardiovascular, oncology, and neuroscience.

Is the valuation expensive?

LLY has risen 35.8% this year, far outpacing the pharmaceutical industry's average of 14.4%. But looking at the data:

• Price-to-earnings ratio 33.83 vs industry 16.84 → indeed expensive
• However, it is below the average of 34.54 over the past 5 years → still within an acceptable range
• Analysts have raised their earnings per share expectations for 2025 and 2026.

The competitors are strong

Don't think that the new drug from礼来 has no competitors. Omvoh will compete with several IL-23 inhibitors from Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie; Kisunla's main competitor is Leqembi from Eisai/ Biogen; Ebglyss will face Dupixent( from Sanofi/ Regeneron, which is already very popular in the eczema market).

Bottom line

The current story of Eli Lilly is no longer “just a weight loss drug,” but rather “a multifaceted technology pharmaceutical company.” Sales of new drugs are steadily increasing, the pipeline is expanding, and although the valuation is not cheap, it is within a reasonable range. However, Zacks still gives it a Hold rating, meaning that this price has already reflected most of the good news.