# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Eli Lilly Q3 2024 Earnings
**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan to dive into Eli Lilly's third quarter 2024 results. This podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
**JORDAN:** Thanks Alex, and what a quarter this was for Lilly! The pharmaceutical giant absolutely crushed it with 42% revenue growth, though there's definitely some nuance to unpack here.
**ALEX:** Absolutely. Let's start with the headline numbers. Lilly reported revenue growth of 42% after excluding their divested olanzapine portfolio, which is just massive for a company this size. The real stars of the show were their incretin drugs - Mounjaro and Zepbound - which drove over $3 billion in new product revenue growth.
**JORDAN:** Right, and when we look at Mounjaro specifically, it hit $3.1 billion in global sales with almost $2.4 billion coming from the U.S. alone. But here's where it gets interesting - despite strong underlying demand with 25% sequential quarter-over-quarter prescription volume growth, there were some channel inventory dynamics that created headwinds.
**ALEX:** Can you explain what that means for our listeners who might not be familiar with pharmaceutical distribution?
**JORDAN:** Sure! So basically, wholesalers and retailers were destocking - meaning they were drawing down their inventory levels of these drugs. Lilly estimated this impacted Q3 sales by mid-single digits. It's not a demand problem, it's more about the complexity of managing cold-chain storage for a dozen different dose combinations across the supply chain.
**ALEX:** That's a crucial distinction. The underlying demand is actually accelerating, but the financial results got a bit choppy because of these logistical challenges. What's Lilly doing about it?
**JORDAN:** Well, they're being much more strategic now. CEO Dave Ricks mentioned they've basically changed their approach to demand generation. Previously, they were being prudent about marketing spend because they didn't want to create demand they couldn't fulfill. Now, with supply constraints easing, they're ramping up direct-to-consumer advertising for the first time and increasing their healthcare provider promotional efforts.
**ALEX:** Speaking of supply, Lilly continues to throw absolutely massive amounts of capital at manufacturing. They announced nearly $2 billion in additional manufacturing investments in Ireland, bringing their total commitments since 2020 to over $20 billion. Plus, they're building this fascinating $4.5 billion "Lilly Medicine Foundry" facility.
**JORDAN:** The scale of that investment really shows their confidence in the long-term opportunity. And it's paying off - they're on track to exceed their target of producing at least 1.5 times the saleable doses of incretin medicines in the second half of this year compared to last year.
**ALEX:** Let's talk about the guidance update. Lilly raised their revenue guidance to $45.4-46 billion, with the midpoint representing about 50% growth in Q4 compared to last year. That's actually an acceleration from the 42% they just posted.
**JORDAN:** Exactly, and Lucas Montarce, their new CFO, was careful to explain that when you strip out the channel dynamics, this acceleration is actually quite consistent with their trajectory. The growth is coming from several factors: ramped up demand generation in the U.S., international Mounjaro launches in new countries, and continued strong performance across their non-incretin portfolio.
**ALEX:** Speaking of their broader portfolio, I was impressed that their non-incretin business still grew 17% excluding the olanzapine divestiture. Verzenio in oncology continues to perform well, and they got some importa
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