President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs have threatened to cut into the profits of corporations that manufacture products for the American market abroad. In response, many have pledged to expand their domestic manufacturing footprints to overcome this risk.
Eli Lilly (LLY +1.18%) is part of this group. On Sept. 16, the drugmaker announced plans to build a $5 billion facility in Virginia. Here are two things investors should know.
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1. Only the first of four
Eli Lilly has been investing in U.S.-based projects for years. The company said back in February that it would pour $27 billion into four new facilities, bringing the total amount it has spent on such ventures to more than $50 billion since 2020. The manufacturing complex in Virginia is the first of the four it plans to build. Lilly will use this facility to manufacture antibody-drug conjugates, a class of medicines that primarily treat cancer but can also target autoimmune diseases.
NYSE: LLY
Key Data Points
2. Getting around tariffs
Lilly's master plan is to eliminate the threat of tariffs. Upon finishing up the four facilities it plans to build, it will be able to manufacture therapies for American patients entirely in the U.S. So, whether or not President Trump's tariffs remain in place beyond his administration won't matter too much to the company; it will become a (mostly) tariff-proof pharmaceutical leader.
Is the stock a buy?
Eli Lilly has been posting unusual revenue and earnings growth for a pharmaceutical giant. The company's lineup, powered by medicines with incredibly fast-growing sales, should allow it to maintain its top-line growth through the next five years.
In the meantime, via investments into U.S.-based manufacturing buildings, the drugmaker is addressing an issue that could have weighed on its bottom line. Eli Lilly is once again proving that it's one of the best pharmaceutical stocks to buy.
