Eli Lilly and Caterpillar Lead a Broad Wave of Q3 2026 Earnings Beats as Weight-Loss Drugs and Industrial Demand Drive Outperformance

Eli Lilly delivered the most dramatic result of the morning, reporting Q3 2026 revenue of $24.4 billion against estimates of $22.5 billion, a 39% increase year over year, with adjusted EPS of $7.48 crushing the $5.59 consensus. Mounjaro alone generated $10.7 billion in revenue, up 65% year over year, with U.S. sales of $5 billion rising 41% and international sales surging 93% to $5.7 billion. Zepbound added $5.35 billion. Lilly raised its full-year revenue outlook to $91 billion to $92 billion from $85 billion to $87 billion, though it trimmed its adjusted EPS range to $35.00 to $36.00 from $35.50 to $36.50, attributing the lower profit outlook to a $4.2 billion acquired in-process research and development charge. Shares rose roughly 3% on the news.

Caterpillar reported Q3 revenue of $20.7 billion, up 17% year over year, beating the $20.54 billion estimate, with adjusted EPS of $7.20 against a $7.08 consensus, up 45% from a year earlier. Adjusted operating margin expanded 310 basis points to 20.6%, and enterprise operating cash flow reached $4.4 billion. Power and Energy was the standout segment at $8.8 billion, up 18%, followed by Construction Industries at $8.0 billion and Resource Industries at $4.6 billion. The company included $128 million in IEEPA tariff recoveries in operating profit and returned $2.0 billion to shareholders through $1.2 billion in buybacks and $0.7 billion in dividends. Despite the beat, shares fell sharply after results, trading roughly 40% below their June all-time high of $1,064.

Merck topped estimates convincingly, with Q3 sales of $18.1 billion against a $17.31 billion estimate, up 5% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $2.49 versus the $2.08 consensus. Keytruda and its newer subcutaneous form Keytruda QLEX together generated $8.6 billion, up 6%, with QLEX alone contributing $830 million against a $699.6 million estimate. Gardasil revenue was $2.0 billion, well above the $1.75 billion estimate. Winrevair sales hit $694 million, up 93% year over year. Merck raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $2.77 to $2.82 from $2.66 to $2.76 and narrowed its revenue range to $66.8 billion to $67.3 billion. Shares rose on the results.

L3Harris was another standout in the defense sector, posting Q3 revenue of $6.06 billion against a $5.91 billion estimate and EPS of $3.28 against the $2.94 consensus, a 33% year-over-year gain. Backlog hit a record $53.2 billion with a 3.2x book-to-bill ratio. The company announced a $6.3 billion seven-year THAAD contract, a $4.7 billion PAC-3 MSE contract, and an $876 million NGJ-LB contract modification. L3Harris raised its full-year EPS guidance to $12.25 to $12.35 from $11.80 to $12.00, and lifted its revenue range to $23.5 billion to $23.7 billion.

Carrier Global posted Q3 revenue of $6.26 billion, up 12% year over year and ahead of the $6.08 billion estimate, with adjusted EPS of $0.87 beating the $0.77 consensus by 13%, though roughly $0.10 of the beat reflected an IEEPA tariff refund of approximately $130 million. Data center orders surged approximately 300% year over year, and total orders rose about 35%. Backlog exceeded $8.5 billion, up 60% year over year. Carrier raised full-year revenue guidance to $23.8 billion to $24.0 billion from roughly $23 billion. The company also recorded a $3.1 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge in its Climate Solutions Europe unit, producing a GAAP EPS of negative $3.16.

Quanta Services reported Q3 revenue of $12.0 billion, up 57% year over year and $970 million above estimates, with adjusted EPS of $6.06 against a $5.02 consensus, a gain of 82% year over year. Total backlog reached $63.7 billion. The company significantly raised full-year revenue guidance to $41.3 billion to $41.6 billion from a prior estimate of $39.44 billion, and lifted adjusted EPS guidance to $17.90 to $18.30.

Bristol Myers Squibb beat Q3 estimates with revenue of $13.1 billion versus $12.74 billion expected, and adjusted EPS of $1.35 against $1.14 estimated, though that figure was down 17% year over year. The growth portfolio generated $7.7 billion, up 12%. Bristol Myers raised its revenue guidance to $49.75 billion to $50.25 billion but cut its adjusted EPS range to $6.35 to $6.55 from $6.75 to $7.00, citing acquisition-related charges. The company also announced a roughly $2.3 billion investment in a new Houston campus.

Linde reported record Q3 sales of $9.4 billion, beating the $9.14 billion estimate and up 9% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $4.59 against a $4.52 consensus, also up 9%. Operating cash flow was $3.2 billion, up 8%, and the project backlog stood at $11 billion. Linde raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $17.82 to $17.92 from $17.70 to $17.90, but its Q4 EPS guidance of $4.40 to $4.50 came in below the $4.53 estimate.

Among other notable results, Hershey reported adjusted EPS of $2.64 against a $2.11 estimate, more than doubling year over year, with adjusted gross margin expanding 1,090 basis points to 42.7%, and raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $8.58 to $8.74. Cognizant beat Q3 estimates with revenue of $5.7 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.49, but its full-year revenue guidance of $22.05 billion to $22.14 billion fell short of the $22.19 billion consensus, sending shares down more than 8% premarket. Bunge beat Q3 estimates with net sales of $23.8 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.56 against a $2.41 estimate, maintaining its full-year adjusted EPS outlook of $9.25 to $9.75.