Eli Lilly LLY is expected to deliver another quarter of robust growth from its oncology portfolio when it reports third-quarter results on Oct. 29. The franchise generated $4.84 billion in revenues in the first half of 2026, up 11% year over year, as newer products increasingly contributed to growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Eli Lilly’s overall oncology portfolio sales in the third quarter of 2026 is pegged at $2.65 billion.
A significant portion of LLY’s oncology revenues is expected to come from blockbuster breast cancer drug Verzenio, with sales likely to have remained flat or declined in the to-be-reported quarter. Sales of Retevmo (selpercatinib) and Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib) are expected to have supported third-quarter oncology sales growth, with Jaypirca benefiting from increasing use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma.
However, growth from newer oncology products in the quarter is likely to have been partially offset by declining sales of older drugs such as Alimta and Cyramza amid increasing competition from immuno-oncology therapies in the United States.
Eli Lilly secured FDA approval for its new breast cancer drug, Inluriyo (imlunestrant), in late 2025 and subsequently launched it in the United States. Investors expect the drug’s sales to have risen sequentially in the third quarter.
A solid third-quarter performance from the oncology segment could reinforce confidence in Lilly’s increasingly diversified growth profile. Growth from Jaypirca, Inluriyo and Retevmo could help offset slower Verzenio sales and pressure on mature therapies, strengthening oncology’s role as an important growth engine beyond the company’s established GLP-1 franchise.
LLY Faces Strong Competition in Oncology
Other bigger players in the oncology space include AstraZeneca AZN, Merck MRK and Pfizer PFE.
AstraZeneca generated $14.1 billion in oncology revenues in the first half of 2026, up 15% year over year and accounting for 46% of total sales. Its strong performance was supported by key medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu, which is marketed in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo. AZN’s broad oncology portfolio gives it a strong presence across multiple cancer types and treatment settings.
Merck’s oncology portfolio remained a key growth driver in the first half of 2026, led by Keytruda and Keytruda Qlex, which generated $16.4 billion in sales, up 8% year over year and accounting for roughly 56% of its Pharmaceutical segment sales. Other key oncology products included Lynparza, which MRK markets in partnership with AstraZeneca and Welireg, which generated $706 million and $470 million, respectively, during the same time frame.
Pfizer generated $7.99 billion in oncology revenues during the first half, up about 6% year over year and representing roughly 27% of total sales. PFE’s Ibrance remained the largest contributor at $2.07 billion, while Padcev, Lorbrena and Xtandi also supported the portfolio.
LLY’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Lilly stock has risen 10.6% so far this year compared with the industry’s growth of 9.8%. During the same time frame, the company has outperformed the sector but underperformed the S&P 500, as seen in the chart below.
LLY Stock Price Movement
From a valuation standpoint, Lilly stock is expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 26.80 forward earnings, higher than 17.65 for the industry. However, the stock is trading below its five-year mean of 34.56.
LLY Stock Valuation
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share has risen from $35.93 to $36.66 over the past 60 days, while that for 2027 has risen from $45.87 to $46.65.
LLY Estimate Movement
LLY has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).