Alphabet and Eli Lilly Stocks: What Is Driving Two Very Different Giants
Former U.S. President Joe Biden is facing a worsening health situation after his son Hunter Biden said the cancer has spread to his bones and described the disease as "very painful" and "very debilitating."
Alphabet and Eli Lilly stocks have both attracted interest from major investors in recent months, but the reasons lie in the companies’ own businesses. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Eli Lilly, one of the world’s largest drugmakers, have each reported sharp revenue growth in their latest quarters, driven by artificial intelligence and obesity medicines.
Alphabet: More Than a Search Engine
Alphabet’s business now spans Google Search, YouTube, Google Cloud, artificial intelligence and the self-driving service Waymo. In the third quarter, its revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion, and Google Cloud revenue jumped 103% to $30.7 billion as demand for AI infrastructure grew. CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is now on a “half-trillion dollar revenue run rate.” Waymo operates in 15 major US cities after more than 300 million fully autonomous miles. The growth is expensive, though, because Alphabet spent $51.4 billion on capital expenditure in the quarter, and its shares fell in after-hours trading as investors weighed that spending.
Filings for the second quarter show that Berkshire Hathaway added about 48 million Alphabet shares, an 83% increase that made it a $37.8 billion holding. Stanley Druckenmiller opened a new position, and Ken Fisher added roughly 939,000 shares.
What do these two very different businesses have in common? Both are riding a new wave of demand, AI for Alphabet and obesity treatment for Eli Lilly, and both are weighing the cost of keeping up.
Eli Lilly: Growth Built on Diabetes and Obesity Medicines
Eli Lilly’s third-quarter revenue rose 39% to $24.4 billion, led by Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for obesity. Demand is strong, but prices are falling: in the US, sales volume rose 41% while realised prices fell 7%.
Among investors, Ken Fisher raised his Lilly stake by nearly 5%, while Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors increased its position by 291%, making Lilly its eighth-largest holding at roughly $1.1 billion. Druckenmiller also opened a small new position of 12,380 shares.
What Should Readers Keep in Mind?
Fund disclosures are snapshots published about 45 days after a quarter ends, so funds may no longer hold the same positions. Investors also have different goals and tolerance for risk, so another investor’s purchase is not advice for anyone else.
Alphabet’s expansion in cloud computing and AI, alongside Lilly’s growing presence in obesity treatment, reflects how quickly both industries are evolving. However, both companies also face challenges, including high investment costs, competition and pricing pressures. These developments offer an interesting look at where major investors are placing their attention, although individual investment decisions depend on many factors.
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