Cramer backs Eli Lilly as Novo Nordisk challenges Zepbound ads

Eli Lilly shares rose more than 1% Tuesday even after rival Novo Nordisk sued over the company’s advertising for its GLP-1 drugs, a category that includes Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo’s Wegovy. For retail investors watching the fast-growing obesity drug market, the reaction matters because the stock move suggests the lawsuit did not immediately shake confidence in Lilly’s core growth story.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said during the CNBC Investing Club’s Tuesday Morning Meeting that he is staying with Lilly. “We’re sticking by Lilly,” Cramer said, according to the Investing Club. Cramer’s Charitable Trust holds shares of Eli Lilly, CNBC disclosed.

Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker behind Wegovy, alleged that Lilly’s ad campaigns mislead consumers by claiming superior efficacy compared with Wegovy, according to CNBC. Efficacy means how well a treatment works in a study or approved use.

Novo said Lilly’s superiority claims are “outdated” because they do not account for newer evidence tied to a higher, more effective dose of Wegovy that was approved in March, CNBC reported.

What the ad dispute is about

Lilly’s ads rely on a head-to-head study comparing Zepbound with Wegovy, CNBC reported. That study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in May 2025, before the higher Wegovy dose was available on the market.

That timing is central to Novo’s complaint. The company is arguing that a comparison based on the older Wegovy dosing picture no longer gives consumers the full context, according to CNBC’s summary of the lawsuit.

Lilly told CNBC in a statement Tuesday that it stands behind its advertising.

Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the CNBC Investing Club, played down the issue during the meeting. “I kind of see this as a nothing burger,” Marks said, according to the Investing Club.

Why Cramer is focused beyond the lawsuit

Marks said investors should keep their attention on Lilly’s injectable GLP-1 business, especially outside the U.S., according to CNBC. He also pointed to Foundayo, Lilly’s obesity pill, as a key product to watch as the company tries to narrow Novo’s early advantage in the oral obesity drug market.

The injectable business matters because Zepbound and Wegovy are already central products in the obesity drug race. Oral drugs could widen the market if patients prefer pills over injections, though CNBC reported only that Foundayo is seeking more traction against Novo’s early lead.

Novo shares were lower Tuesday, while Lilly traded higher, CNBC reported. That split does not settle the legal dispute, but it shows how the market initially treated the complaint: as a legal challenge that did not overpower Lilly’s broader GLP-1 narrative during the session.

The lawsuit lands during a busy day for the Investing Club’s market discussion. CNBC reported that major U.S. stock averages rose Tuesday, helped by chipmakers including Micron, Marvell Technology, Astera Labs and Intel. Intel gained nearly 7% after its third-party chip manufacturing unit secured Fortinet as its first named customer under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, according to CNBC.

Cramer also highlighted rallies in companies such as 3M and General Motors after strong quarterly reports, saying the moves showed there were opportunities beyond tech, CNBC reported.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.