Right now, there are seven companies in the world with a market capitalization in excess of $1 trillion. Those companies are Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Saudi Aramco, and Meta Platforms.
Considering how integrated technology has become in almost all aspects of daily life, it's not entirely surprising that many of the largest companies in the world operate in the technology industry. While the prospects of each company above seem poised to expand even more thanks to the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, I'd encourage investors to think about what other industries may be ripe for disruption.
One healthcare behemoth is disrupting modern medicine in more ways than one. With its market capitalization currently hovering around $830 billion, I think it's only a matter of time before Eli Lilly (LLY 1.80%) gets a key to the exclusive trillion-dollar club.
Dominating healthcare's newest favorite opportunity
One of the most prominent areas in the healthcare industry right now is weight loss. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound have witnessed unparalleled demand from people with diabetes and obesity, and have blossomed into blockbuster drugs for their developers.
Per estimates published by the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 8 people around the world meet the criteria for obesity -- meaning that more than 1 billion people worldwide live with obesity. Given this huge number, I think that there's a clear need for further development of and access to GLP-1 medications.
According to Grand View Research, the global total addressable market (TAM) for GLP-1 medicines is expected to increase fourfold from today's estimated size and reach $145 billion by 2030. Moreover, a host of pharmaceutical companies of all sizes including Pfizer, Roche, Amgen, Altimmune, and Viking Therapeutics are all looking to disrupt industry incumbents by making their own inroads in the weight loss arena.
Eli Lilly, however, is different from its cohorts. Let's dig into another area it's disrupting outside of the weight loss realm.
Image source: Getty Images.
On the cutting edge of medicine
Besides diabetes and chronic weight management, another area emerging as a big opportunity in medicine is treating Alzheimer's disease. As with the GLP-1 market, treating Alzheimer's is a huge opportunity with limited competition -- making the market fragmented and open for disruption.
Although a number of treatments can help patients cope with symptoms of Alzheimer's, a drug known as Leqembi is one of the more prominent medicines on the market. Leqembi was developed by Biogen and Eisai.
According to estimates from Market.Us, the global TAM for treating Alzheimer's is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% between 2024 and 2033 -- reaching a size of nearly $31 billion.
Considering that Eli Lilly received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July for its own Alzheimer's treatment, donanemab, I'm excited to see what will come from this new opportunity.
In addition to entering another fragmented market, the healthcare giant recently announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI -- the developer of ChatGPT. The idea behind the relationship is to bridge the gap between medicine and AI. More specifically, bringing the power of generative AI to the healthcare space could reap benefits in areas such as processing data in clinical trials, as well as drug discovery for underserved medical conditions.
First to join the trillion-dollar club?
Eli Lilly develops a host of medicines used to treat diabetes, obesity, cancer, and even plaque psoriasis. Right now, the company's primary sources of growth stem from its GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as its cancer drug Verzenio -- which received an expanded indication from the FDA last year.
While Mounjaro and Zepbound could also receive expanded indications, Lilly isn't resting on its laurels; it's already exploring many other areas in medicine beyond weight loss and treating Alzheimer's disease.
Eli Lilly is nearly 150 years old, and the company has managed to stay relevant with continuous and relentless innovation. I see it as well-positioned to generate strong growth for many years to come. Its prospects include GLP-1 agonists both for weight loss and for other conditions, and its new approach to treating Alzheimer's disease. Combining those with its robust pipeline and existing portfolio of medicines, I'm hard-pressed to see Lilly's growth narrative slowing down anytime soon.
If you're a long-term investor, I think now is a good time to scoop up shares of Eli Lilly. With so much growth on the horizon, the company could soon reach its next milestone: the trillion-dollar club.
