Lilly’s Push to $1 Trillion Derailed by Trade Risks and Obesity Drug Speedbumps

The Eli Lilly & Co. offices in Madrid.

Photographer: Emilio Parra Doiztua/Bloomberg

A year ago, Eli Lilly & Co. was poised to become the first pharmaceutical company to register a trillion-dollar market valuation. It still hasn’t cracked that ceiling.

Instead, a series of weak earnings reports, a setback for its obesity drug and threats of sky-high tariffs have taken Lilly investors on a wild ride only to deposit them almost exactly where they started. Down 21% from an August record, Lilly trades at $762 a share and is worth $722 billion — not bad, but not the lofty figures investors were expecting.