Wegovy Maker Novo Nordisk's Shares Slump After Guidance Disappoints

By Dominic Chopping

Shares in Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk slid in early European trading Wednesday after guidance for the year ahead disappointed investors.

In Copenhagen, the stock tumbled 19% at the opening bell after shares closed 15% lower in New York following Tuesday's release of the company's 2026 forecast.

The Danish drugmaker said Tuesday that adjusted sales and operating profit are both expected to fall by between 5% and 13% at constant exchange rates this year, a weaker forecast than some had expected.

Market expectations were for a sales drop of 2.1% and adjusted earnings decline of 3.6%, according to Sydbank senior analyst Soren Lontoft Hansen.

"This means that even stronger headwinds are set for 2026--especially on the price side--than previously expected," Hansen said.

Novo Nordisk said this year's results would be hurt by pricing pressure following a recent deal struck with the U.S. government to lower the price of obesity drugs for Americans. As part of that deal, the Ozempic and Wegovy maker's drugs get expanded patient access through government healthcare programs as well as a three-year tariff exemption.

At the same time, the company faces intense competition from Eli Lilly's rival weight-loss drug as well as imminent patent expirations for the key ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy in Canada, Brazil and China.

The disappointing forecast comes despite a strong launch of the company's new Wegovy weight-loss pill following its U.S. market introduction last month. The Wegovy tablet is the first of its kind, with studies showing that it can produce around the same 17% weight-loss as the shot.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Doustdar said on a media call Wednesday that the company has seen encouraging early uptake of the Wegovy pill, with more than 170,000 people taking the treatment in the first four weeks.

"Though it is still early in the launch, most prescriptions appear to be for patients new to these medications, suggesting that the market is indeed expanding," Doustdar said.

Despite the strong pill launch, the company continues to grapple with compounding pharmacies in the U.S. that produce lower-cost versions of its Ozempic diabetes and Wegovy weight-loss jabs. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration allows the practice when supplies of authentic treatments are in short supply, distribution of the cheaper knockoff versions was expected to stop in May of last year when the branded medicines came off the FDA shortage list.

However, Novo Nordisk said its research showed that the practice has continued, with levels broadly unchanged.

The company has previously estimated that more than 1 million Americans use compounded versions of its drugs.

Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk said Tuesday that fourth-quarter sales of Wegovy rose 17% on year at constant exchange rates to 21.86 billion Danish kroner ($3.46 billion), while sales of Ozempic rose 1% to 31.83 billion kroner. Analysts had forecast Wegovy sales at 21.13 billion kroner and Ozempic sales at 29.33 billion kroner.

Net profit in the period fell 4.7% to 26.89 billion kroner as sales dropped 7.6% to 79.14 billion kroner. Both metrics beat expectations, with a FactSet analysts' forecast looking for net profit at 25.52 billion kroner on sales of 76.85 billion kroner.

The company proposed a final dividend of 7.95 kroner a share for 2025, taking the expected total dividend for the year to 11.70 kroner, and said it would launch a new share buyback program of up to 15 billion kroner.

In conjunction with the earnings, Novo Nordisk said Jamey Millar would join the company Thursday to head its U.S. business, replacing Dave Moore. Millar previously worked for UnitedHealth Group as CEO of Optum Specialty Holdings.

In addition, Hong Chow will become head of product and portfolio strategy from Feb. 15, joining from Merck Healthcare.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-04-26 0353ET