Eli Lilly misses quarterly profit estimates; shares tumble

(Reuters) -Eli Lilly missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by higher manufacturing costs and a $2.8 billion acquisition-related charge, sending shares of the U.S. drugmaker down more than 10% premarket.

The company also posted sales of its popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs below analysts’ expectations, which it attributed to inventory decreases in the wholesale channel.

Lilly has invested billions of dollars to expand its production of Mounjaro and Zepbound, both known chemically as tirzepatide, including about $7 billion in its Indiana site and facilities in Ireland.

Quarterly sales of Mounjaro came in at $3.11 billion, while Zepbound revenues were $1.26 billion.

Lilly’s drug is sold under the brand name Mounjaro for both diabetes and weight loss outside of the U.S.

Analysts had on average predicted sales of $4.20 billion for Mounjaro and $1.69 billion for Zepbound for the quarter. They expect the drugs to make a combined $19 billion this year.