Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) raised its 2026 outlook for the third time this year on Wednesday, after third-quarter sales of its Wegovy weight-loss pill and adjusted operating profit beat analysts' forecasts. The Danish drugmaker now expects adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit to range from a 2% decline to 2% growth at constant exchange rates, up from a previous range of flat to a 6% decline.
Wegovy pill sales reached DKK 5.39 billion ($810 million) in the quarter, up 53% from the second quarter and above the DKK 4.62 billion analysts had expected in a company-compiled consensus. Adjusted operating profit rose 27% at constant exchange rates to DKK 31.72 billion, compared with the DKK 28.39 billion analysts had projected.
The results come as Novo competes with Eli Lilly, whose Foundayo pill is gaining a growing share of new prescriptions. Lilly also raised its outlook last week after beating profit estimates on demand for its injectable weight-loss drugs.
"We've been able to hold the baton," Chief Executive Mike Doustdar said in an interview, referring to the period since Lilly launched its rival pill. He added that Lilly "is trying really hard to reverse this thing, and we need to watch them."
Novo shares rose as much as 6.6% in early trading on Wednesday and were up 1.9% at 1023 GMT.
#Wegovy Pill Lifts Novo Obesity Sales 22% in Third Quarter
Total adjusted sales rose 4% at constant exchange rates to DKK 79.2 billion, ahead of the DKK 73.22 billion analysts had expected. Obesity sales grew 22% to DKK 26.1 billion, while diabetes sales fell 5%, led by a 10% drop in US GLP-1 diabetes sales that Novo linked to lower volumes and wholesaler inventory movements.
Novo, based in Bagsværd, Denmark, makes the semaglutide-based medicines Wegovy for obesity and Ozempic for type 2 diabetes. Its B shares trade on Nasdaq Copenhagen and its American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange.
In the US, Wegovy pill sales were DKK 4.18 billion, while sales of injectable Wegovy fell 13% and combined US Wegovy sales rose 21%. Novo estimates the pill holds around 80% of new-to-brand US prescriptions. It is now sold in eight markets, and Novo expects it to be available in more than 20 in 2027.
"Growth was led by our obesity portfolio, with continued uptake of Wegovy pill in the US and encouraging early launches internationally," Doustdar said in the earnings release. He also said Novo's data matched Lilly's estimate that about seven in 10 seniors in Medicare, the US government health plan for older Americans, choose Lilly's drugs, but that eight in 10 who chose a pill picked Novo's.
#Impairment Charges Cut Novo's Reported Operating Profit by 9%
Reported operating profit fell 9% at constant exchange rates to DKK 23 billion, reflecting DKK 8.7 billion of non-cash impairment charges. Of that, DKK 4.6 billion related to ziltivekimab, a cardiovascular drug candidate whose phase 3 trials did not meet their main goals, and DKK 4.1 billion to resizing its manufacturing network. Net profit fell 16% to DKK 16.74 billion.
Novo said adjusted profit growth also reflected a favorable comparison with the third quarter of 2025, when it booked about DKK 9 billion in company-wide transformation costs. Around DKK 3.5 billion of one-time costs this quarter partly offset that effect.
Novo also said Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen will leave at the end of December after 27 years with the company. Luigi La Corte, currently finance chief at dermatology company Galderma, will succeed him.
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#Novo Prepares CagriSema US Launch for Early 2027, Pending Approval
Novo is preparing to launch CagriSema, its experimental weekly treatment for obesity and diabetes, in the US. In the REIMAGINE 5 trial in adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity, CagriSema produced 12.4% weight loss at week 60, compared with 9.1% for a 5 mg dose of Lilly's tirzepatide.
"We are also advancing our pipeline and preparing for the US launch of CagriSema in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval," Doustdar said in the earnings release.
Novo plans to cut US list prices for Wegovy and Ozempic to $675 from Jan. 1, 2027, reductions of about 50% and 35% respectively, which it expects to affect 2027 cash flow. It now forecasts 2026 free cash flow of DKK 60 billion to DKK 70 billion, up from DKK 45 billion to DKK 55 billion.
Doustdar told reporters that the pill's prescription curve had flattened in recent weeks, which he attributed to seasonality, and said Novo hoped for a pick-up around Christmas and the New Year. Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Novo shareholder Union Investment, said the obesity market's competitive environment was likely to become increasingly challenging.
Novo expects 2026 sales to grow in its international markets and decline in the US, though lower US prices under its most-favored-nation pricing agreement with the US administration, rising competition and the loss of semaglutide patent protection in some international markets remain key risks to the outlook.