{"id":73806,"date":"2026-10-29T07:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/eli-lilly-merck-and-caterpillar-top-estimates-d-r-horton-issues-weak-2027-outlook\/73806\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T07:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:08:20","slug":"eli-lilly-merck-and-caterpillar-top-estimates-d-r-horton-issues-weak-2027-outlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/eli-lilly-merck-and-caterpillar-top-estimates-d-r-horton-issues-weak-2027-outlook\/73806\/","title":{"rendered":"Eli Lilly, Merck, and Caterpillar Top Estimates; D.R. Horton Issues Weak 2027 Outlook"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Eli Lilly (<a href=\"\/stock\/LLY\">LLY<\/a>)<\/strong> shares surged after reporting <strong>$24.40B<\/strong> in revenue, crushing estimates of <strong>$22.52B<\/strong>, driven by massive <strong>$10.7B<\/strong> sales of its blockbuster drug Mounjaro.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Merck (<a href=\"\/stock\/MRK\">MRK<\/a>)<\/strong> outperformed expectations with <strong>$18.09B<\/strong> in sales and an adjusted EPS of <strong>$2.49<\/strong>, bolstered by strong demand for Keytruda and Gardasil.<\/li>\n<li><strong>D.R. Horton (<a href=\"\/stock\/DHI\">DHI<\/a>)<\/strong> issued a disappointing 2027 outlook, forecasting revenue between <strong>$30.0B and $32.0B<\/strong>, well below the <strong>$33.26B<\/strong> consensus estimate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Caterpillar (<a href=\"\/stock\/CAT\">CAT<\/a>)<\/strong> maintained steady growth with an adjusted EPS of <strong>$7.20<\/strong>, slightly beating the <strong>$7.10<\/strong> estimate despite global macroeconomic pressures.<\/li>\n<li><strong>BofA Global Research<\/strong> updated its hawkish stance, now expecting the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> to hike interest rates by <strong>25 basis points<\/strong> in both December 2026 and March 2027.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Pharma Giants Lead Market Gains<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Eli Lilly (<a href=\"\/stock\/LLY\">LLY<\/a>)<\/strong> delivered a standout performance for Q3 2026, significantly raising its full-year revenue guidance to a range of <strong>$91.0B to $92.0B<\/strong>. The company&#39;s weight-loss and diabetes portfolio continues to dominate, with <strong>Mounjaro<\/strong> generating <strong>$10.7B<\/strong> and <strong>Zepbound<\/strong> contributing <strong>$5.35B<\/strong>, both exceeding analyst projections.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Merck (<a href=\"\/stock\/MRK\">MRK<\/a>)<\/strong> also reported robust quarterly results, with total sales of <strong>$18.09B<\/strong> beating the <strong>$17.31B<\/strong> estimate. The company\u2019s oncology flagship, <strong>Keytruda<\/strong>, saw revenues of <strong>$8.60B<\/strong>, while its <strong>Gardasil<\/strong> vaccine franchise brought in <strong>$2.00B<\/strong>, showcasing the resilience of its core pharmaceutical business.<\/p>\n<h2>Housing and Industrial Sector Updates<\/h2>\n<p><strong>D.R. Horton (<a href=\"\/stock\/DHI\">DHI<\/a>)<\/strong> provided a cautious outlook for the coming fiscal year, signaling potential headwinds in the housing market. The company expects to close between <strong>79,000 and 84,000 homes<\/strong> in 2027, missing the market&#39;s expectation of <strong>86,357<\/strong>, as affordability and inventory levels remain under scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Caterpillar (<a href=\"\/stock\/CAT\">CAT<\/a>)<\/strong> managed to beat earnings expectations with an adjusted EPS of <strong>$7.20<\/strong>. The industrial giant reported total revenue of <strong>$20.68B<\/strong>, with its <strong>Machinery, Power &amp; Energy<\/strong> segment accounting for the lion&#39;s share at <strong>$19.65B<\/strong>, meeting analyst targets for the quarter.<\/p>\n<h2>Consumer Brands and Economic Outlook<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Restaurant Brands (<a href=\"\/stock\/QSR\">QSR<\/a>)<\/strong> reported a mixed Q3, where an adjusted EPS of <strong>$1.10<\/strong> beat estimates, but system-wide sales of <strong>$12.97B<\/strong> fell slightly short. While <strong>Burger King<\/strong> saw a strong comparable sales increase of <strong>8.3%<\/strong>, <strong>Popeyes<\/strong> struggled with a <strong>1.8%<\/strong> decline in comparable sales.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hershey (<a href=\"\/stock\/HSY\">HSY<\/a>)<\/strong> surprised the market by raising its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to <strong>$8.58 &#8211; $8.74<\/strong>. The chocolatier reported Q3 net sales of <strong>$3.28B<\/strong>, beating the <strong>$3.25B<\/strong> estimate, and increased its capital expenditure forecast to <strong>$450M<\/strong> to support future growth.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, <strong>BofA Global Research<\/strong> issued a new forecast for the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong>, predicting a more aggressive rate path. Analysts now expect <strong>25 basis point hikes<\/strong> in late 2026 and early 2027, suggesting that <em>inflationary pressures or economic resilience may keep the central bank in a tightening cycle longer than previously anticipated.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Eli Lilly (LLY) shares surged after reporting $24.40B in revenue, crushing estimates of $22.52B, driven by massive $10.7B [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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