Eli Lilly Stock Soars as Weight-Loss Pill Shows Promise; Beverage Makers Face Pressure

Major U.S. equities indexes ticked higher as investors looked past concerns about President Donald Trump’s effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and ahead to Wednesday’s Nvidia earnings release.

The S&P 500 ended Tuesday’s trading session with a gain of 0.4%. The Nasdaq also added 0.4%, while the Dow advanced 0.3%. 

Eli Lilly (LLY) shares jumped 5.9% to secure the S&P 500’s top performance Tuesday. The pharmaceutical company announced that orforglipron, its experimental weight-loss pill, met its primary and secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 clinical trial, reducing weight for adult patients with Type 2 diabetes who were obese or overweight. The drugmaker said it now has enough information to submit a request for regulators to approve the oral GLP-1 treatment.

Shares of Boeing (BA) climbed 3.5% after Korean Air said it will buy 103 of the aircraft manufacturer’s next-generation jets. The plane maker and the carrier inked the deal, worth an estimated $36 billion, at a signing ceremony in Washington as Trump hosted a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. The aircraft are set to be delivered in phases through the end of 2030.

Korean Air further solidified its partnership with the U.S. aviation industry through an agreement with GE Aerospace (GE) to purchase spare engines and establish a 20-year maintenance contract. GE Aerospace stock gained 2.7%.

Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) shares sank 6.9%, suffering the steepest decline of any S&P 500 stock for the second consecutive session. The drop came after the firm announced plans to acquire coffee company JDE Peet’s for approximately $18 billion in cash and then split its beverage and coffee businesses into two separate companies. The deal raised some concerns about Keurig Dr Pepper’s debt levels, with analysts at S&P placing a negative credit outlook on the company.

Analysts at RBC Capital pointed to challenges facing alcoholic beverage maker Brown-Forman (BF.B), and shares of the Jack Daniel’s parent declined 3.8%. RBC indicated that an ongoing transition of Brown-Forman’s distribution system could exacerbate softness in U.S. markets. Brown-Forman also announced this week that its CFO is set to depart the company in May 2026. The wine and spirits maker is set to release its quarterly results before the opening bell on Thursday, Aug. 28.

Brown-Forman was not the only company in the alcoholic beverage business experiencing pressure on Tuesday. Shares of Constellation Brands (STZ) fell 3.2% after Bank of America downgraded the beer and wine maker’s stock to “underperform” from “neutral.” Analysts expressed concerns about long-term alcohol consumption trends, particularly in the beer category, noting the potential negative impact on Constellation’s sales and margins.