1 Reason Eli Lilly (LLY) Is One of the Best Healthcare Stocks You Can Buy Today
Key Points
Eli Lilly has proved to be one of the most innovative drugmakers.
The company's recent breakthroughs could help drive its success for years to come.
- 10 stocks we like better than Eli Lilly ›
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has been one of the best-performing healthcare giants over the past decade. It now stands as the largest in the sector by market cap.
Even with headwinds it has encountered this year, the drugmaker is arguably one of the top stocks in its industry to buy right now. Here's why.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »
Image source: Getty Images.
Innovation pays off
It's hard to find a drugmaker that has proven more innovative than Eli Lilly in recent years. Within its core areas of diabetes and weight management, Lilly launched tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for obesity. Tirzepatide was a significant breakthrough, as the first dual GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide) agonist, a medicine that mimics the action of these two gut hormones.
That's one of the reasons tirzepatide has proved more effective than traditional GLP-1 drugs, and is racking up sales the likes of which have almost never been seen in the history of the industry. That's not hyperbole. Most compounds never reach $1 billion in annual sales. Most of those that do, never get to $5 billion, and those that do, typically take years on the market to get there. In its third full year on the market, tirzepatide will generate well over $20 billion this year.
The next chapter
Last year, Eli Lilly earned approval for Kisunla, a medicine indicated to treat Alzheimer's disease, an area that had long been considered the graveyard of investigational medications. So Lilly's innovative prowess extends beyond its core markets. And the company is leveraging its success in weight management and obesity to establish a strong foundation for the future.
Thanks to acquisitions and licensing deals, it has significantly expanded its pipeline, which should power clinical and regulatory success over the next few years and strong financial results well into the next decade. That's why Eli Lilly is one of the top healthcare stocks to buy right now.
Should you invest $1,000 in Eli Lilly right now?
Before you buy stock in Eli Lilly, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Eli Lilly wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $657,412!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,154,376!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,075% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 13, 2025
Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Eli Lilly. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
