1 Reason This $900 Stock Could Announce a Split in 2026
Key Points
Eli Lilly's obesity portfolio witnessed explosive growth in fiscal 2025.
Low market penetration suggests significant further growth for Eli Lilly's GLP-1 drugs.
New therapies like oral GLP-1 orforglipron could further expand the market by attracting new patients.
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Shares of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) are hovering just below the $900 level, placing the company among high-priced stocks where stock split speculation often builds.
While a split does not change the fundamentals of the underlying business, it makes the stock more liquid and increases its appeal to a wider investor base. Stock splits often reflect management's confidence in the company's sustained long-term growth. That's exactly what makes Eli Lilly stand out today.
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Growth tailwinds
Eli Lilly has emerged as a dominant force in obesity and metabolic health. Its incretin-based (GLP-1) drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, are seeing a solid rise in patient volumes, with growth increasingly driven by demand rather than pricing. Mounjaro's revenue surged 99% year over year to nearly $23 billion, while Zepbound's revenue soared 175% year over year to roughly $13.5 billion in 2025.
Despite strong adoption, GLP-1 drug penetration remains in the mid-single digits among the eligible obesity population in the U.S. This suggests significant room for Eli Lilly's obesity portfolio to grow in the future. The obesity market may expand even further, as the company prepares to launch oral GLP-1 therapy orforglipron, which could bring in patients who have so far avoided injectable treatments.
In fiscal 2025, Eli Lilly's total revenue surged 45% year over year to roughly $65.2 billion, while earnings per share rose 86% year over year to $24.2. The company is guiding for fiscal 2026 revenue in the range of $80 billion to $83 billion. While management expects pricing of its key products to drag revenue growth by low- to mid-teens percentage, volume growth is set to more than offset it. This highlights that the demand for Eli Lilly's drugs is both broad-based and durable.
Eli Lilly has committed over $55 billion toward manufacturing expansion since 2020. The company is also advancing 36 active late-stage phase 3 programs. Considering the stock's price appreciation and the company's impressive revenue tailwinds, Eli Lilly seems well-positioned for a potential stock split in 2026.
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Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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