Feb. 1, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Lehigh Valley stocks had a decent January, but the biggest business news in years happened Friday.
Eli Lilly will put a $3.5 billion plant in Upper Macungie Township to help meet demand for weight-loss drugs. I’m no pharmaceutical-industry analyst, but based on my last shopping center trip, the market is big.
Indianapolis-based Lilly will receive $100 million from Pennsylvania taxpayers, and in turn create construction jobs — work is due to begin this year — and 850 long-term jobs.
Lilly is the world’s biggest drugmaker based on market capitalization (share price times number of shares outstanding) at about $930 billion.
I’d prefer a world without government incentives, but this is how things work now. Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley compete for the attention of private industry, and the Lilly deal is a big win. What is important is that the state make sure the job numbers come through.
If all goes as planned, this will be a huge benefit to the region, and boost the prices of homes in the western Lehigh Valley: good for homeowners, maybe not so great for would-be buyers. There’s nothing new about that.
Here’s Lilly’s own statement on the project, and I will repeat it below in cut-and-paste form. It’s a refreshingly readable press release. Shares of Lilly (NYSE:LLY) closed Friday at $1,037.15.
Back to companies based in the region: Shift4 (NYSE:FOUR) shares finished January under $60, at $59.04 on Friday.
The Upper Saucon Township-based payment processing company finished 2025 at $62.97, so the year-to-date decline is 6.2%. Shift4 does not pay a dividend and the company put out little news during the month. Fourth-quarter earnings are due in February. It’s not the Lehigh Valley’s biggest company, but it’s among the most interesting as it expands its financial technology into Europe and into new ventures.
Air Products continued to trudge along as it approaches its first full year under new management. The company pushed its dividend up to $1.81 per quarter, for a yield of about 2.7%.
The Upper Macungie-based maker of industrial gases reported higher fiscal first-quarter earnings per share and revenue than a year ago. The stock (NYSE:APD) ended last year at $245.23, and closed on Friday at $272.50, so it went up $27.27, or 11% in January.
The catch is, Air Products stock has bobbed up and down for years but is barely above where it was on Feb. 1, 2021: $271.29.
PPL Corp. ended last year at $35.02 and ended January at $36.25, gaining about 3.5%. The company’s potential gains from data centers and Artificial Intelligence may loom large. Right now, PPL’s dividend yield is 3%.
The Allentown-based utility will report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 20. PPL provides electricity and natural gas, and operates in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode Island. Lehigh Valley customers buy electricity from its regulated monopoly, making us captive customers hoping for state regulators to keep things fair.
Having dispensed with the billion-dollar companies, we get to OraSure (NASDAQ:OSUR). Its stock finished last year at $2.42 and on Friday, the closing price was $2.79, for a gain of 15%. The shares are trading below the cash-per-share of $3.02, based on its most recent earnings report.
Watch that cash number. Basically, it means investors value the company’s operations as a negative. It’s like lending me $100 and expecting only $90 back.
OraSure did announce some interest from an investor group last month. Any attention should be welcomed, after years of losses and revenue declines since the COVID-19 boom.
When OraSure opened its “factory of the future” in Bethlehem Township backed in 2022, I asked one of the executives what would be next, after Covid. I didn’t get a good answer. I don’t think they had one. So far, they still haven’t come up with one.
Maybe there is something out there to turn OraSure around.
Cutting jobs and saving money on packaging will carry the South Bethlehem-based maker of diagnostic kits only so far.
And that’s it for the year-to-date stock report.
— Disclosure: I own shares of PPL, Shift4 and sometimes I grab some OraSure and hold it until I get enough money for a pizza and a bottle of wine. I don’t recommend day-trading. I don’t recommend OraSure. I just do what I do.
Here’s part of the Lilly statement, with a link to the full release above:
Lilly selects Pennsylvania as home for its newest injectable medicine and device manufacturing facility
January 30, 2026
The $3.5 billion Lehigh Valley site will develop Lilly’s next-generation weight-loss medicines, including retatrutide
Company plans to create more than 2,800 manufacturing and construction jobs at Lilly’s 10th U.S. manufacturing site announced since 2020
INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced plans to invest more than $3.5 billion in a new manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The site will serve as Lilly’s newest injectable medicine and device manufacturing facility that will produce next-generation weight-loss therapies, including retatrutide, a first-in-class investigational GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist. This is the fourth new U.S. manufacturing site Lilly has announced since February 2025, as part of its commitment to bolster domestic medicine production.
Lilly will bring 850 high-value jobs to the area, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians. Construction, expected to begin in 2026, is anticipated to generate 2,000 construction jobs. The site will be operational in 2031.
“Our mission starts with patients and delivering the medicines they need. To meet increasing demand, we’re expanding our U.S. manufacturing network, with Lehigh Valley adding capacity for next‑generation weight-loss medicines. We’re creating high‑quality jobs and collaborating across the region—with suppliers, educators, and workforce‑development partners—to make critical medicines in the U.S.,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO. “That’s our commitment—to patients, to our new Pennsylvania home and to our country.”
Expanding Lilly’s U.S. manufacturing presence in Pennsylvania will boost the Lehigh Valley economy. For every dollar Lilly invests, it estimates up to four dollars in additional local economic activity. Also, for each manufacturing job created, several more will be generated in related sectors like supply chain, logistics and retail.
“When we announced our Economic Development Strategy here in the Lehigh Valley two years ago, we set out to win historic, life-changing deals like the one we’re announcing with Lilly today,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Before I took office, Pennsylvania wasn’t even in the conversation for major investments like this, but thanks to our work to cut red tape, invest in site development, and expand our workforce, our Commonwealth is now competing—and winning—on a national scale. Lilly’s commitment to the Lehigh Valley and to Pennsylvania will bring billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of good-paying jobs, solidifying our position as a leader in the growing life sciences industry.”
The Lehigh Valley site, located in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, was selected from more than 300 applications, partly based on its proximity to STEM universities, its technical manufacturing economy, and its existing infrastructure. In addition, with increasing demand from the biotech industry, the region offers convenient access to utilities, transportation, and favorable zoning and incentives.
Lilly will utilize advanced technologies, including AI, machine learning, integrated monitoring, and data analytics, to enable efficient operations and a reliable supply of medicine. The company will partner with local universities and invest in education across Pennsylvania to develop talent.
“Lilly Lehigh Valley—our newest injectable medicine and device manufacturing facility—will increase access to next-generation weight-loss treatments and improve the domestic supply of essential medicines for current and future patients,” said Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations. “Our investment here is more than just building a facility—it’s about building a shared future with the people and communities of the Commonwealth. Through meaningful partnerships in Pennsylvania, we’re committed to fostering collaboration, driving innovation, advancing environmental stewardship, and creating lasting positive impact that extends far beyond our facility walls.”
This announcement is part of the company’s commitment to expand our U.S. manufacturing presence. Since 2020, Lilly’s capital expansion commitments total more than $50 billion and include:
— New sites in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana
— Development of the new Lilly Medicine Foundry in Indiana
— Site expansions in Puerto Rico and to our Lilly Technology Center in Indianapolis
— Acquisition and expansion of Lilly’s manufacturing site in Wisconsin
(At this point, I omit some canned political quotations)
About Lilly
Lilly is a medicine company turning science into healing to make life better for people around the world. We’ve been pioneering life-changing discoveries for nearly 150 years, and today our medicines help tens of millions of people across the globe. Harnessing the power of biotechnology, chemistry and genetic medicine, our scientists are urgently advancing new discoveries to solve some of the world’s most significant health challenges: redefining diabetes care; treating obesity and curtailing its most devastating long-term effects; advancing the fight against Alzheimer’s disease; providing solutions to some of the most debilitating immune system disorders; and transforming the most difficult-to-treat cancers into manageable diseases. With each step toward a healthier world, we’re motivated by one thing: making life better for millions more people. That includes delivering innovative clinical trials that reflect the diversity of our world and working to ensure our medicines are accessible and affordable. To learn more, visit Lilly.com and Lilly.com/news, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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