Novo Nordisk Raises 2026 Outlook As Wegovy Pill Shines

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) stock rose Wednesday after the drugmaker reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year outlook.

Novo Nordisk’s Obesity Sales Jump 22%

The weight loss drugmaker reported third-quarter sales of $11.90 billion (79.195 billion Danish kroner), beating Wall Street’s estimate of $11.39 billion.

Sales rose 4% at constant exchange rates (CER), driven by strong demand for GLP-1 drugs, particularly obesity treatments.

Obesity sales jumped 22% at CER to 26.146 billion kroner. Higher sales volumes across markets fueled the growth.

However, diabetes sales fell 5% at CER to 47.545 billion kroner.

U.S. GLP-1 diabetes sales declined 10% at CER due to lower volumes and changes in wholesaler inventories.

Injectable Ozempic sales fell 11% at CER, while oral semaglutide sales under the Rybelsus brand rose 5%.

Weekly new-to-brand prescriptions for the Ozempic pill are now about 100% higher than pre-launch levels under the Rybelsus brand.

Novo Nordisk’s Operating Profit Jumps 27%

Adjusted operating profit climbed 27% at CER to 31.720 billion kroner.

GLP-1 sales growth and lower year-over-year transformation expenses supported profitability.

The company recorded about 9 billion kroner in transformation costs a year earlier. However, roughly 3.5 billion kroner in one-time expenses partly offset the latest quarter’s gains.

Novo Nordisk reported adjusted earnings of 87 cents per share (5.79 kroner), beating analysts’ estimate of 81 cents.

Wegovy Pill Sets U.S. Launch Record

Wegovy pill prescriptions reached about 3.6 million during the quarter, bringing the total to more than 8 million since launch.

The company described it as the strongest GLP-1 volume launch in U.S. history.

The pill generated 4.178 billion kroner in U.S. sales during the quarter.

Meanwhile, injectable Wegovy sales reached 20.407 billion kroner, down 2% at CER.

Total Wegovy pill sales reached 5.394 billion kroner, while Ozempic sales fell 5% to 29.706 billion kroner.

Wegovy pill sales surged 53% from the previous quarter, beating the 4.62 billion kroner consensus estimate, Reuters reported.

CEO Mike Doustdar told Reuters that Novo has held its ground since Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) launched its rival pill. Investors said Novo leads in oral obesity treatments, while Eli Lilly dominates the injectable market. However, they warned that competition could intensify.

Novo Nordisk Raises 2026 Outlook

Novo Nordisk raised its 2026 forecast, citing stronger expectations for GLP-1 sales.

The company now expects adjusted sales growth and adjusted operating profit growth of negative 2% to positive 2% at CER.

Its previous forecast called for declines of up to 6%.

NVO Price Action: Novo Nordisk shares were up 6.64% at $42.86 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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