What Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Novo Nordisk raised its 2026 outlook, now expecting adjusted sales and operating profit growth of -2% to 2% at constant exchange rates. Third-quarter adjusted sales rose 4% to DKK 79.2 billion, while operating profit climbed 27% to DKK 32 billion, partly reflecting lower transformation costs than a year earlier.
• Obesity medicines drove growth: third-quarter obesity sales increased 22%, and U.S. Wegovy pill volumes grew about 20% from the prior quarter, with more than 8 million cumulative prescriptions since launch. Novo plans to expand the pill to more than 20 international markets by the first half of 2027.
• The pipeline and outlook carry both opportunities and risks. Novo reported promising CagriSema trial results and advanced oral amycretin into Phase 3, while citing potential product launches as a support and international patent losses, China headwinds, and U.S. pricing pressure as challenges.

Novo Nordisk A/S NYSE: NVO raised its 2026 sales and profit outlook after third-quarter adjusted sales rose 4% to DKK 79.2 billion, supported by demand for its obesity treatments and expanding use of the Wegovy pill.

The company now expects adjusted sales growth and adjusted operating profit growth of between -2% and 2% for the year, both at constant exchange rates. Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen said the improved sales outlook was driven mainly by higher expectations for GLP-1 product sales.

Adjusted operating profit increased 27% in the third quarter to DKK 32 billion. The increase benefited from a comparison with approximately DKK 9 billion in company-wide transformation costs recorded a year earlier. That was partly offset by about DKK 3.5 billion in one-time costs in the latest quarter, Knudsen said. Free cash flow exceeded DKK 28 billion.

The company also raised its full-year free cash flow outlook to between DKK 60 billion and DKK 70 billion. Novo continues to expect sales growth in its international operations and a decline in its U.S. business for 2026.

Obesity treatments drive growth

CEO Mike Doustdar said third-quarter obesity sales grew 22%, while adjusted sales rose 1% in U.S. operations and 8% in international operations. The company was treating approximately 48 million people with its diabetes and obesity medicines, including 5.6 million people with obesity, he said.

Jamey Millar, executive vice president of U.S. operations, said U.S. Wegovy pill volumes grew approximately 20% from the second quarter, while injectable Wegovy volumes increased around 10%. Since launch, the pill has generated more than 8 million cumulative prescriptions, he said.

Millar said growth in pill prescriptions during the quarter came largely, though not exclusively, from the Bridge program. The program was generating about 60,000 weekly total prescriptions across oral and injectable products in the latest data, he said. Without Bridge, the broader anti-obesity medicine category was relatively flat from May to October, which Millar attributed in part to seasonal patterns.

In international markets, Wegovy pill had launched in seven countries, with availability now expected in more than 20 markets by the first half of 2027, said Emil Kongshøj Larsen, executive vice president of international operations. Earlier, the company had targeted 20 markets by the end of 2027. Larsen attributed the faster rollout to manufacturing output and regulatory work, including the use of packs serving multiple countries.

Larsen said the pill held approximately 90% of the oral obesity segment in the U.K. in recent weeks. Weekly U.K. sales were around 60,000 packs, down from the 65,000 reported at the company’s capital markets day, as uptake normalized following the initial launch.

Pipeline and 2027 outlook

On the research front, Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange highlighted results from a 60-week Phase 3 trial comparing CagriSema with tirzepatide in people with Type 2 diabetes. CagriSema produced 12.4% weight loss versus 9.1% for tirzepatide at the doses studied, while delivering a non-inferior reduction in HbA1c, he said. The results will supplement Novo’s regulatory submission for CagriSema in Type 2 diabetes.

Lange also said Novo advanced oral amycretin into a Phase 3 trial expected to report results in 2028. The company plans to begin Phase 3 trials in neuropathic pain across its portfolio during 2027, following a Phase 2 CagriSema study.

Doustdar said Novo was preparing for potential launches of CagriSema and hemophilia treatment Frehemgo. Both remain subject to approval.

The CEO declined to provide 2027 guidance but outlined potential supports and headwinds. Continued Wegovy pill uptake, a full year of the Bridge program and the potential launches could help, he said. Loss of exclusivity in international markets, headwinds in China and potentially less favorable gross-to-net pricing could weigh on results.

In the U.S., Millar said annual Ozempic price erosion of 10% to 15% remained a reasonable way to think about the trend, despite better pricing in the latest quarter. He said payer pressure on net prices in the Type 2 diabetes category would continue.

CFO transition

Doustdar confirmed that Knudsen is leaving Novo after 27 years with the company, including nine as CFO. Luigi La Corte, who joins from Galderma, will become the incoming CFO. Knudsen will remain through the end of 2026 to support the transition.

About Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish pharmaceutical company focused on treatments for diabetes, obesity and other serious chronic diseases. Its portfolio includes insulin and other diabetes medicines, as well as obesity treatments such as Wegovy and diabetes treatments such as Ozempic and Rybelsus.

The company also develops medicines for rare blood and endocrine disorders, including hemophilia and growth disorders. Its products are sold in markets around the world.

Novo Nordisk traces its roots to Danish insulin companies founded in the 1920s; the two organizations that became Novo Nordisk merged in 1989.

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