Lilly's Foundayo posts $98 million in first partial quarter, below expectations

Eli Lilly reported $98 million in worldwide sales of Foundayo, its oral GLP-1 pill, in the second quarter of 2026 — the drug's first partial quarter on the market, and a result below the roughly $130 million Wall Street consensus ^[1][2]. Of that total, $67 million came from the United States ^[2].

Lilly's Aug. 5 earnings release lists Foundayo revenue of $98 million for the quarter and the same $98 million for the first half of the year, since the drug launched during that period ^[1]. The company added Foundayo to its Key Products list, alongside Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ebglyss and others, and confirmed it has filed a U.S. submission for orforglipron — the same molecule — for type 2 diabetes ^[1].

The rest of Lilly's GLP-1 business kept growing. Total second-quarter revenue rose 48% to $23.0 billion, with Mounjaro at $9.9 billion, up 91%, and Zepbound at $4.9 billion, up 46% ^[1]. Lilly raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $85.0 billion to $87.0 billion ^[1].

Prescription data collected by IQVIA and cited by analysts shows a similar early pattern. Weekly Foundayo prescriptions sat around 19,550 in the drug's 13th week, after falling for three straight weeks from a peak of 21,648 ^[2]. By the week covered in an Aug. 7 update, prescriptions had jumped 16% to 34,219, a fourth consecutive week of growth ^[2]. Twenty weeks in, Foundayo passed 40,000 weekly prescriptions, and by Sept. 11 it reached about 47,500, up nearly 8% week over week ^[2]. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill, which launched in January, was at roughly 183,000 weekly prescriptions in the same period ^[2]. Foundayo's share of new prescriptions in the oral obesity market was 21.5% as of a late-August Jefferies note ^[2].

Analysts caution that IQVIA may be missing some Foundayo prescriptions filled through telehealth, and that it is unclear how much of the growth reflects better data capture rather than more patients ^[2]. Before the quarter was reported, Jefferies modeled $71 million in U.S. Foundayo sales, while the broader consensus was near $130 million worldwide ^[2].

Executives pointed to coverage changes as the turning point. CEO David Ricks said on the earnings call that Lilly began broad direct-to-consumer advertising after securing commercial access across the three largest pharmacy benefit managers in June, and Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities, said the company is "starting to see an inflection point on Foundayo now" ^[2]. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program went live July 1, offering coverage for certain weight-loss medications, including Foundayo, for a $50 copayment per month ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

Foundayo is one of the first oral GLP-1 options for weight loss, and its launch trajectory has been shaped less by demand headlines than by when insurance coverage came online. CVS was the last of the big three pharmacy benefit managers to cover the drug, starting June 1; the Wegovy pill had full coverage from its first week on the market ^[2]. That timing helps explain why Foundayo's early prescription counts looked slow next to the Wegovy pill's first weeks, and why analysts expected a pickup later in the year ^[2].

For people weighing an oral option, two access points now exist that did not in the spring: PBM coverage through major insurers' formularies as of June, and the Medicare Bridge program's $50 monthly copayment for certain weight-loss medicines since July 1 ^[2]. Foundayo's list price was not reported in the earnings release or the prescription tracker, so out-of-pocket costs outside those programs have not been disclosed.

What happens next

Lilly has confirmed a U.S. filing for orforglipron in type 2 diabetes but has not disclosed when the FDA will decide on it ^[1]. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program has been running since July 1 ^[2]. Analysts publish weekly prescription totals for both oral drugs, so the next clear signal on whether the inflection Lilly describes is holding will come from those updates rather than from a single quarterly sales figure ^[2].