Novo Nordisk reported second-quarter adjusted operating profit of 33.4 billion Danish kroner — beating the analyst consensus of 28.74 billion kroner by a significant margin — and raised its full-year outlook, now projecting adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit to come in between zero and minus 6% at constant exchange rates, an improvement from the previous guidance of minus 4% to minus 12%. The Wegovy pill — the first oral GLP-1 weight loss medication launched in the U.S. earlier in the year — surpassed 5 million total prescriptions since launch, with weekly prescriptions exceeding 265,000 in the most recent tracked week, making it what the company describes as the "strongest-ever GLP-1 volume launch in the U.S." Despite beating profit estimates and raising guidance, U.S.-traded shares of Novo Nordisk fell approximately 6% — a classic sell-the-news reaction by investors who had expected even stronger results. |
The gap between what the numbers say and how investors responded reflects a company navigating simultaneous pressures from multiple directions. Novo Nordisk is fighting to reclaim ground it has lost to Eli Lilly in the U.S. obesity and diabetes drug market, where Lilly now holds a 60.1% share compared to Novo's 39.4%. Lilly's injectable Zepbound has outperformed Novo's injectable Wegovy in the U.S. market, and the competitive dynamic between the two companies' oral weight loss pills — Lilly's Foundayo versus Novo's Wegovy pill — represents the next major battleground. Foundayo, approved in April, is already posting strong early sales numbers; Novo's pill slightly missed the 3.27 billion kroner analyst estimate for the quarter, coming in at 3.22 billion kroner — a small miss that nonetheless sent a signal. |
