Multinational Pharma Giants Report Strong Q3 Results, Several Raise Full-Year Guidance Amid Blockbuster Drug Sales Surge

Source: Shell Finance

Recently, major pharmaceutical companies have密集ly disclosed their third-quarter reports for this year. So far, eight multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Merck, and Eli Lilly, have disclosed their performance. In terms of total revenue, Johnson & Johnson ranked first with $69.63 billion; in terms of pharmaceutical business revenue, Eli Lilly ranked first with $45.89 billion, thanks to the blockbuster sales of its weight-loss star drug tirzepatide, which generated $24.8 billion. Due to the performance growth in the first three quarters, several multinational pharmaceutical companies have raised their performance guidance for this year.

This Year's Global "Blockbuster Drug" Throne Competition is Fierce

Thanks to the popularity of star drugs, the competition for the "King of Drugs" throne is fierce. Tirzepatide, the dual-target blockbuster diabetes/weight loss drug and main driver of Eli Lilly's revenue growth, has already surpassed Merck's star drug Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) in the first three quarters of this year with sales reaching $24.84 billion compared to Keytruda’s $23.303 billion. Industry insiders expect that Tirzepatide is likely to contend for the title of the world's "King of Drugs" this year.

Merck's "K drug" is the best-selling PD-1 monoclonal antibody globally in recent years, with over 30 approved indications. It claimed the title of "best-selling drug" in 2023 and retained the top sales position in 2024. Based on the sales performance in the first half of this year, the gap between Novo Nordisk's semaglutide, K drug, and tirzepatide is not significant. The K drug has been surpassed by semaglutide, with tirzepatide closely following behind.

In the first three quarters of this year, the sales revenue growth of K drug has slowed down and it has been surpassed by Tirzepatide. Novo Nordisk has not yet released its third-quarter report for this year, and the sales of its star diabetes/weight-loss drug Semaglutide have not been disclosed. Whether it can remain the top-selling drug is still unknown.

According to Eli Lilly's third-quarter report, the company achieved a revenue of $45.89 billion in the first three quarters of this year, with tirzepatide being the main contributor to its revenue. Among this, Mounjaro (the diabetes version of tirzepatide) reported sales of $6.515 billion in the third quarter, representing a 109% year-over-year increase, and $15.556 billion in the first three quarters, marking a 94% year-over-year growth; Zepbound (the weight-loss version of tirzepatide) generated sales of $3.588 billion in the third quarter, increasing by 185% year-over-year, with the first three quarters' sales reaching $9.281 billion, reflecting a 207.52% year-over-year growth.

Johnson & Johnson, Roche, etc. raise full-year performance guidance

Among the eight multinational pharmaceutical companies that have released their third-quarter reports, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, and Merck rank in the top three in terms of total revenue, with $69.63 billion, $54.88 billion, and $48.61 billion, respectively. When ranked by revenue from the pharmaceuticals business segment, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck take the top three spots, with $45.89 billion, $44.64 billion, and $43.3 billion, respectively.

Thanks to the strong sales of star drugs like tirzepatide, in the first three quarters of this year, Eli Lilly became the multinational pharmaceutical company with the highest pharmaceutical business revenue among the eight companies that disclosed their third-quarter reports. In this year's half-year report, Eli Lilly raised its 2025 performance forecast, expecting annual revenue to be between $60 billion and $62 billion. In the third-quarter report, Eli Lilly once again raised its performance forecast, expecting annual revenue to be between $63 billion and $63.5 billion.

Johnson & Johnson, which ranks first in total revenue, achieved $44.64 billion and $23.67 billion in revenue from innovative pharmaceuticals and medical technology respectively in the first three quarters of this year, representing year-over-year growth of 4.7% and 5.6%, respectively. Its oncology products remain Johnson & Johnson's largest source of income, with strong growth seen in products such as Daratumumab, Apalutamide, and Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel. Notably, Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel, the star CAR-T cell therapy co-developed by Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech, generated $1.332 billion in sales in the first three quarters of this year, successfully entering the "billion-dollar molecule" category. Following the release of its Q3 earnings report, Johnson & Johnson raised its full-year revenue forecast, expecting annual revenue to grow by 4.8%-5.3% to reach $93 billion-$93.4 billion.

Roche, which ranks second in total revenue, reported an income of 35.55 billion Swiss francs from its pharmaceuticals business segment (ApproximatelyUSD 42.55 billion), a year-on-year increase of 9%; among which, the sales in the China region achieved a 9% year-on-year growth, becoming one of the significant engines for global growth. In terms of pharmaceuticals business, the sales of Phesgo (Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab Subcutaneous Injection) for breast cancer treatment surged by 54%, and the business revenue of Roche Diagnostics segment was CHF 10.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1%. Based on the performance in the first three quarters, Roche also raised its full-year performance forecast for this year.

Merck, which ranks third in total revenue, achieved $48.61 billion in revenue in the first three quarters of this year. Its pharmaceutical business generated $43.3 billion in revenue, with the former blockbuster drug "K药" (Keytruda) bringing in $23.303 billion in sales, an 8% year-over-year increase, though its growth has slowed. Welireg, the world's first HIF-2α inhibitor, achieved $496 million in sales, a 42% year-over-year increase. Another key product, the HPV vaccine Gardasil/Gardasil 9, saw its sales plummet 40% to $4.202 billion in the first three quarters. However, Capvaxive, Merck’s newly launched 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that hit the market in June last year, performed strongly, generating $480 million in sales in the first three quarters of this year, surpassing market expectations. Due to the performance in the first three quarters, Merck lowered its 2025 revenue guidance by $300 million, projecting global sales between $64.5 billion and $65 billion, but slightly raised its full-year earnings per share forecast to a maximum of $8.98.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) reported a slight 1% decline in revenue for the first three quarters of this year, totaling $35.69 billion. However, several of its products showed remarkable growth. For instance, Adagrasib (Krazati) generated cumulative revenues of $149 million in the first three quarters of 2025, representing a 72% year-over-year increase. Opdualag (Nivolumab + Relatlimab) achieved revenues of $835 million, marking a 24% year-over-year growth. Breyanzi, a CD19 CAR-T therapy, reached sales of $966 million, with an impressive year-over-year increase of 100%. Global sales of Reblozyl (luspatercept), the world’s first erythroid maturation agent, grew by 35% year-over-year to reach $1.661 billion in the first three quarters. Based on the strong performance of these growth products, BMS has raised its 2025 revenue guidance to between $47.5 billion and $48 billion.

Thanks to the strong performance of its specialty medicines and vaccines businesses, GSK exceeded expectations in the third quarter of this year, with revenue reaching £8.5 billion, a 7% increase year-on-year, turning losses into profits; revenue for the first three quarters of the year was £24.05 billion (approximately $32.33 billion). GSK also raised its full-year guidance, increasing its sales growth forecast to 6%-7%, core operating profit to 9%-11%, and earnings per share to 10%-12%.

Novartis and Sanofi both reaffirmed their full-year 2025 earnings guidance. Novartis expects full-year sales to achieve high single-digit growth and low double-digit core operating profit growth. Sanofi anticipates high single-digit percentage sales growth at constant exchange rates for the full year and expects business earnings per share to rebound strongly, with a growth rate reaching the low double-digit percentage.

Reporter Wang Kala of the Beijing News

Proofread by Wu Xingfa