ELI LILLY & Co quarterly report, Q3 FY2022

Eli Lilly and Company — Q3 2022 Form 10-Q

Reporting period: Quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2022. Amounts are U.S. dollars unless stated otherwise. Comparisons are with the corresponding 2021 periods.

Financial results

MetricQ3 2022Q3 2021Nine months 2022Nine months 2021
Revenue$6.94 billion$6.77 billion$21.24 billion$20.32 billion
Gross margin$5.36 billion; 77.3%$5.34 billion; 78.9%$16.16 billion; 76.1%$15.06 billion; 74.1%
Net income$1.45 billion$1.11 billion$4.31 billion$3.86 billion
Diluted EPS$1.61$1.22$4.76$4.23
Operating cash flowNot separately stated for quarterNot separately stated for quarter$5.50 billion$5.10 billion

Q3 revenue rose 2% and nine-month revenue rose 5%. Growth reflected higher volumes, partly offset by lower realized prices and unfavorable foreign exchange. U.S. revenue increased 11% in Q3 and 16% year to date; outside-U.S. revenue declined 9% and 11%, respectively. Q3 net income increased 31%; nine-month net income increased 12%.

Cash and cash equivalents were $2.62 billion at September 30, down from $3.82 billion at year-end 2021; investments totaled $2.70 billion. Total debt was $15.89 billion, down about $1.00 billion from year-end. Current assets were $17.64 billion and current liabilities $15.65 billion. Nine-month capital spending on property and equipment was $1.35 billion; operating cash flow less that spending was approximately $4.15 billion. Lilly paid $2.65 billion in dividends and repurchased $1.50 billion of shares during the nine months.

Drivers and changes versus prior year

  • Growth products included Trulicity (Q3 revenue $1.85 billion, up 16%), Verzenio ($618 million, up 84%), and Jardiance ($573 million, up 47%). Mounjaro, launched in the U.S. in Q2, generated $187 million in Q3.
  • Alimta revenue fell 74% in Q3 and 58% for the nine months amid generic competition following loss of exclusivity. Humalog declined 29% in Q3, primarily from lower realized prices; Olumiant fell 55% in Q3, partly reflecting lower COVID-19 treatment use.
  • COVID-19 antibody revenue was $387 million in Q3 and $1.99 billion for the nine months. The filing cautions that demand and product effectiveness may be affected by competing therapies and viral variants.
  • Q3 gross margin percentage decreased 1.6 percentage points, principally because Q3 2021 benefited from a partial reversal of COVID-19 antibody inventory impairments. Nine-month gross margin percentage increased 2.0 points, largely because of the 2021 inventory impairment.
  • Research and development expense increased 6% in Q3 and 3% year to date, mainly due to late-stage development spending. Q3 marketing, selling, and administrative expense rose 2%, including Mounjaro launch costs; nine-month expense declined 1%.

Outlook, risks, and unusual items

  • The filing gives no explicit earnings or revenue forecast. Management says it believes cash, operating cash generation, and borrowing access are sufficient for planned requirements. It expects higher-than-recent capital spending for several years, including planned facilities in Indiana, North Carolina, and Ireland.
  • Management reported strong Trulicity demand and supply constraints in the U.S. and international markets. Mounjaro uptake was strong; additional manufacturing capacity is expected to come online over the next several years, with significant expansion in 2023.
  • Lilly reported a $206.5 million impairment, primarily tied to the Prevail-acquired PR001 gene-therapy asset after delays in estimated launch timing. Nine-month acquired IPR&D and milestone charges were $668.4 million, including a $333.8 million buyout of substantially all future contingent obligations related to a PI3K-alpha inhibitor and a $110 million priority review voucher.
  • Nine-month other expense included $667.6 million of net investment losses on equity securities. The effective tax rates were 7.3% for Q3 and 8.6% year to date. Management said 2022 tax payments could be affected by up to $1.50 billion by the requirement to capitalize and amortize R&D for tax purposes; it estimated a 2022 effective tax rate of 13%–14% if that provision were deferred or repealed.
  • Key risks include generic competition, pricing and reimbursement pressures, foreign exchange, inflation and supply constraints, clinical and regulatory uncertainty, and legal proceedings. The Inflation Reduction Act introduces Medicare drug-price negotiation and inflation-related provisions; effects remain uncertain. The filing describes substantial insulin-pricing litigation and investigations. Potential damages in the RCT manufacturing-process litigation could be material but were not reasonably estimable; a Brazil labor matter involved an adjusted award of approximately $185 million as of September 30, 2022.
  • After quarter-end, Lilly agreed to acquire Akouos for $12.50 per share plus a contingent value right, with an expected purchase price of about $487 million and potential additional payments up to about $123 million, subject to closing conditions.

Investor verification points

  • Assess whether Trulicity and Mounjaro demand can be met as manufacturing capacity expands, and how supply limitations affect growth.
  • Track Alimta’s continued generic erosion, Humalog pricing pressure, and the durability of growth in Trulicity, Verzenio, and Jardiance.
  • Monitor COVID-19 antibody demand, authorization status, and effectiveness against circulating variants.
  • Review cash conversion, planned elevated capital expenditures, debt and liquidity, and the cash-tax impact of R&D amortization rules.
  • Follow the material litigation, investigations, and patent matters, as well as the Akouos acquisition’s closing and contingent consideration.