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When One Pharma Giant Quietly Takes Over Your Healthcare ETF

MarketDash Editorial Team
23 days ago
Eli Lilly's explosive growth has turned it into a pharma heavyweight that now dominates healthcare ETFs with double-digit allocations. Investors seeking diversification may be getting more single-stock exposure than they bargained for.

Here's something quietly reshaping the pharma investing landscape: Eli Lilly And Co (LLY) has become so dominant that it's basically running the show for a big chunk of healthcare ETFs. We're talking double-digit allocations across roughly 15 funds, which means buying what you thought was broad pharma exposure might actually be a stealth Eli Lilly trade.

And honestly? With the numbers Lilly's been putting up, fund managers aren't exactly trying to hide it.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Lilly just crushed Q3 with revenue surging 54% year-over-year, blowing past Wall Street's expectations. Management felt confident enough to bump up full-year sales guidance to $63-$63.5 billion (consensus was $61.65 billion) and raised adjusted EPS estimates to $23-$23.70. Drugs like Darzalex, Zepbound and Mounjaro continue dominating both revenue charts and analyst conversations, cementing Lilly's status as the growth engine that ETF issuers increasingly can't resist.

The company's also putting $1.2 billion into expanding its Lilly del Caribe manufacturing site in Puerto Rico. The upgraded facility will produce oral solid medicines across cardiometabolic health, neuroscience, oncology and immunology—all key growth drivers for the business.

How Big Is Lilly's ETF Footprint?

Let's look at the allocations, because they're kind of remarkable. The iShares US Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) gives Lilly a commanding 26.9% weight, making it the fund's undisputed driver. The VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH) isn't far behind with 24.1%.

Even diversified healthcare funds are circling Lilly's orbit. The Harbor Health Care ETF (MEDI), an actively managed fund that picks stocks based on fundamental analysis, has been steadily increasing its Lilly exposure as the company keeps delivering superior growth metrics. Right now, Lilly sits at almost 20% of the portfolio.

Then there's the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV), the biggest and most widely followed healthcare ETF out there. Because XLV uses market-cap weighting, Lilly's rally has naturally pushed it higher in the rankings. The stock now holds nearly 15% of the fund.

Is This a Problem?

Here's the thing: concentration risk sounds scary in theory, but Lilly's earnings momentum legitimately dwarfs its peers right now. The company is among the most reliable growth stories in large-cap healthcare, and its guidance keeps trending upward while others struggle to keep pace.

So for now, investors aren't complaining. Pharma ETFs are up between 8%-9% over the last month, and a lot of that performance is coming from Lilly's gravitational pull. When a stock is working this well, being overweight to it feels less like risk and more like smart positioning.

But the question does linger: as Lilly grows into a super-cap, are these ETFs becoming too dependent on a single name? What happens when the momentum inevitably cools, or if something disrupts the pipeline? Investors who thought they were buying diversified pharma exposure might discover they're more concentrated than they realized.

For now, though, Lilly's orbit is proving to be a very profitable place to be. Just know what you're actually buying when you click that ETF order button.

Back to News

When One Pharma Giant Quietly Takes Over Your Healthcare ETF

MarketDash Editorial Team
23 days ago
Eli Lilly's explosive growth has turned it into a pharma heavyweight that now dominates healthcare ETFs with double-digit allocations. Investors seeking diversification may be getting more single-stock exposure than they bargained for.

Here's something quietly reshaping the pharma investing landscape: Eli Lilly And Co (LLY) has become so dominant that it's basically running the show for a big chunk of healthcare ETFs. We're talking double-digit allocations across roughly 15 funds, which means buying what you thought was broad pharma exposure might actually be a stealth Eli Lilly trade.

And honestly? With the numbers Lilly's been putting up, fund managers aren't exactly trying to hide it.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Lilly just crushed Q3 with revenue surging 54% year-over-year, blowing past Wall Street's expectations. Management felt confident enough to bump up full-year sales guidance to $63-$63.5 billion (consensus was $61.65 billion) and raised adjusted EPS estimates to $23-$23.70. Drugs like Darzalex, Zepbound and Mounjaro continue dominating both revenue charts and analyst conversations, cementing Lilly's status as the growth engine that ETF issuers increasingly can't resist.

The company's also putting $1.2 billion into expanding its Lilly del Caribe manufacturing site in Puerto Rico. The upgraded facility will produce oral solid medicines across cardiometabolic health, neuroscience, oncology and immunology—all key growth drivers for the business.

How Big Is Lilly's ETF Footprint?

Let's look at the allocations, because they're kind of remarkable. The iShares US Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) gives Lilly a commanding 26.9% weight, making it the fund's undisputed driver. The VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH) isn't far behind with 24.1%.

Even diversified healthcare funds are circling Lilly's orbit. The Harbor Health Care ETF (MEDI), an actively managed fund that picks stocks based on fundamental analysis, has been steadily increasing its Lilly exposure as the company keeps delivering superior growth metrics. Right now, Lilly sits at almost 20% of the portfolio.

Then there's the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV), the biggest and most widely followed healthcare ETF out there. Because XLV uses market-cap weighting, Lilly's rally has naturally pushed it higher in the rankings. The stock now holds nearly 15% of the fund.

Is This a Problem?

Here's the thing: concentration risk sounds scary in theory, but Lilly's earnings momentum legitimately dwarfs its peers right now. The company is among the most reliable growth stories in large-cap healthcare, and its guidance keeps trending upward while others struggle to keep pace.

So for now, investors aren't complaining. Pharma ETFs are up between 8%-9% over the last month, and a lot of that performance is coming from Lilly's gravitational pull. When a stock is working this well, being overweight to it feels less like risk and more like smart positioning.

But the question does linger: as Lilly grows into a super-cap, are these ETFs becoming too dependent on a single name? What happens when the momentum inevitably cools, or if something disrupts the pipeline? Investors who thought they were buying diversified pharma exposure might discover they're more concentrated than they realized.

For now, though, Lilly's orbit is proving to be a very profitable place to be. Just know what you're actually buying when you click that ETF order button.

    When One Pharma Giant Quietly Takes Over Your Healthcare ETF - MarketDash News