Zepbound revenue grew 44% on far larger volume growth, which means the average price paid for branded tirzepatide is falling.
Eli Lilly reported second-quarter 2026 results on 5 August: worldwide revenue of $22.97 billion, up 48%, with Mounjaro at $9.94 billion and Zepbound at $4.93 billion. Together they were about 65% of company revenue. Full-year guidance rose to $85–87 billion.
The line that matters to a cash-paying patient is not the headline. Growth was driven by a 60% increase in volume, partially offset by a 13% decline in realised prices, and Lilly's own filing attributes Zepbound's revenue growth to strong demand offset by lower realised prices including previously announced reductions in cash-pay prices.
In plain terms: they are selling far more at meaningfully less. That is the opposite of the direction most coverage of this category assumes, and it is why the brand-versus-compounded comparison needs rerunning rather than repeating.
Lilly also flagged that medical-exception usage for Zepbound, which has supported net pricing, is expected to decline as CVS returns it to formulary — which will push realised prices lower again.
Sources
- Lilly second-quarter 2026 financial results and earnings call, 5 August 2026
- Zepbound and Mounjaro segment reporting, Q2 2026
Dated 2026-08-05. If this item is out of date or wrong, tell us through contact and the change is logged in corrections.
Primary sources
Clinical, dosing and regulatory statements on this page rest on the documents below. Links go to the publisher, not to a summary of it. Prices are not sourced here — they carry a verification date instead, and the reason is set out in the source ledger.
- ZEPBOUND (tirzepatide) full prescribing information — DailyMed, US National Library of Medicine. Dose ladder, contraindications, warnings, storage.
- FDA’s concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss — US Food and Drug Administration. Compounded GLP-1 risks, API import alert, cold-chain complaints.
- FD&C Act provisions that apply to human drug compounding — US Food and Drug Administration. Why a compounded preparation is lawful without being FDA-approved.
- Tirzepatide once weekly for the treatment of obesity (SURMOUNT-1) — N Engl J Med 2022;387:205-216. Registration NCT04184622. The weight-reduction and adverse-event figures used across this site.
- The full source ledger — every primary source, what it supports, the date we read it, and the claims we deliberately do not source.