Dear Reader,
The Panorama newsletter is sent to Moneycontrol Pro subscribers on market days. It offers easy access to stories published on Moneycontrol Pro and gives a little extra by setting out a context or an event or trend that investors should keep track of.
Eli Lilly, a company incorporated a century ago, has become the first pharmaceutical establishment in the world to hit a $1 trillion market capitalisation. The achievement is remarkable, given the rapidly changing fortunes of companies.
Studies show a rapid reduction in a lifespan of a company in the S&P 500 index – declining from about 60 years in the 1950s to less than 20 years now. In India, only five companies that entered the Sensex before the year 2000 are still present in the benchmark index now.
As evolution and technology alter business landscapes, it is important long-term investors give due importance to corporate longevity.
Two traits underscore Eli Lilly’s success. One is stable leadership. The current CEO Dave Ricks, who took charge in 2017, joined the company in 1996.
The second is its focus on product innovation and execution. Even though Novo Nordisk was the first to launch anti-obesity drugs, Eli Lilly succeeded in producing a more effective weight-loss product and captured investor imagination. So much so, Eli Lilly’s products may well become the top selling drug in the world in 2025, reports The New York Times.
In India, Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug has already become the top selling medicine by value in October, as we first indicated here.
What’s more, Eli Lilly continues to invest heavily in innovation and new products. In the pipeline is an anti-obesity oral drug, more details of which are awaited. Under the current CEO, on research and development (R&D), expenditure has increased from about $5.2 billion in 2016 to $10.9 billion in 2024. In 2023, R&D as a percentage of revenue increased to 27 percent before easing to 24 percent in 2024.
Comparatively, Indian drug companies spend less than 10 percent of their revenues on R&D.
Even though Indian companies are increasingly spending more amounts on R&D, the success of Eli Lilly highlights the importance of product innovation, staying relevant to market needs and laser sharp focus on execution.
Investing insights from our research team
SP Apparels: Q2 numbers buck the industry trend
INOX India: Strong tailwinds for the earnings cycle
SBFC Finance well poised to cash in on the opportunity in SME space
Tracker
Pro Economic Tracker | Auto, labour participation send mixed signals, core sector strengthens
What else are we reading?
Will rate cuts revive market sentiments?
Why OMO is back in the news, and why debt investors should track it closely
Why Kwality Wall’s 0% EBITDA margin is not as chilling as it appears
The new Labour Codes do not create flexibility — They just make it legal
Will the AI bubble burst? Or just the LLM bubble?
BHP’s fleeting Anglo bid shows the race for copper is heating up (republished from the FT)
India’s Labour Law Reform: Building the foundation for Viksit Bharat
The Seeds Bill, 2025, needs patient effort to build adequate support
The AI boom is real. The ‘hype accounting’ it has created is unreal
India in 2040: A nominal GDP of over $11 trillion is within reach
Bengaluru’s Tunnel Road: A solution or slogan?
Markets
India’s capex story: Govt spending up 40%, order books rise 21%, says CareEdge
Tech and Startups
Technical Picks: HEG, HINDCOPPER, IIFL, DRREDDY
We have a crack team of reporters writing on everything startups and tech. We are fans of their newsletter Tech3 that lands in our inboxes every weekday evening. You can catch up on the day's happening tech and startup stories, including news, scoops, and analyses. If you have not already subscribed to it, click on this link to sign up.
Thank you for subscribing to Moneycontrol Pro. Check out our offers page here for exclusive discounts on select brands and giveaways.
We would love to hear from you. For any feedback on the product and suggestions please click here. We promise to read your responses although we might not be able to reply to each one individually.
R Sree Ram
Moneycontrol Pro
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
