Novo Nordisk A/S Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) executives used the company’s full-year 2025 earnings call to highlight continued growth in its GLP-1 franchises, a major new U.S. product launch with the Wegovy pill, and a 2026 outlook shaped by pricing pressure, mix changes, and looming loss-of-exclusivity impacts in select international markets.

2025 results and strategic update

CEO Mike Doustdar said Novo Nordisk delivered 10% sales growth and 6% operating profit growth in 2025 (at constant exchange rates). He said the company “sharpened” its focus during the year, doubling down on obesity and diabetes, and marked 2025 as the end of the strategic aspirations set in 2019.

Doustdar said obesity care sales increased from DKK 6 billion in 2019 to DKK 82 billion in 2025, and that Novo Nordisk has increased its reach by an additional 16 million people with obesity and diabetes treatments since 2019. He also pointed to rare disease positioning for growth, citing late-stage assets Denecimig (formerly Mim8) and Etavopivat.

Leadership changes

Management also announced changes to the executive team. EVP of U.S. Operations Dave Moore and EVP of Product and Portfolio Strategy Ludovic Helfgott will leave the company. Doustdar said Moore is departing for personal reasons, while Helfgott will pursue new opportunities.

The company named two successors:

• Jamie Miller will join as EVP of U.S. Operations starting Feb. 5, coming from UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Specialty Holding.
• Hong Chow will join as EVP of Product and Portfolio Strategy starting Feb. 15, coming from Merck Healthcare where she led China and International and oversaw cardiovascular, metabolism, and endocrine portfolio work.

Commercial performance: GLP-1 growth led by Wegovy

Helfgott said the global GLP-1 market grew more than 30% in 2025. Novo Nordisk’s U.S. operations grew 8% and international operations grew 14%, with U.S. growth helped by “one-offs.”

Key commercial points discussed on the call included:

• GLP-1 diabetes sales increased 6% globally (U.S. +5%, international +7%).
• Insulin sales decreased 1%; international insulin sales fell 2% due to market share losses.
• Obesity care sales increased 31%, driven by Wegovy (U.S. obesity care sales +15%, international +73%).
• Rare disease sales rose 9%, with growth attributed primarily to rare endocrine disorder products including Sogroya launch uptake.

International operations posted 44% GLP-1 volume growth in 2025, and Helfgott said Novo Nordisk remains the GLP-1 market leader with 62% volume market share. International Wegovy sales reached DKK 28 billion in 2025, up 134%, and Wegovy was launched in 35 new countries during the year.

U.S. update: Wegovy pill launch and prescription trends

Moore said U.S. GLP-1 diabetes care sales increased 5% in 2025, driven by Ozempic uptake and partially offset by Victoza and Rybelsus. He said weekly Ozempic prescriptions are around 610,000, and that Ozempic benefited from gross-to-net adjustments and market growth but faced market share losses and lower realized prices. He added that Ozempic’s self-pay offering is running at roughly 8,000 prescriptions per week.

The U.S. obesity discussion centered on the Wegovy pill, which Moore said was approved by the FDA on Dec. 22 and launched in the U.S. on Jan. 5. He characterized it as “the first and best-in-class oral GLP-1 for weight management,” and said early prescription levels were “encouraging.” Novo’s compiled data showed about 50,000 total prescriptions for the week ending Jan. 23, including around 45,000 self-pay.

Moore said the Wegovy pill is available at over 70,000 retail pharmacies, through NovoCare Pharmacy, and through telehealth partners. He said commercial coverage was progressing through CVS, Prime, Optum, and Anthem, amounting to just under half of the covered lives Novo has for injectable Wegovy.

On injectable Wegovy, Moore said 2025 U.S. Wegovy sales increased 16%, driven by volume but offset by lower realized prices. He cited about 230,000 weekly prescriptions in the holiday week ending Jan. 23, and attributed a recent early-2026 decline in injectable prescriptions largely to benefit changes at the turn of the year, including states dropping Medicaid coverage of anti-obesity medicines.

Moore also said Novo launched NovoCare Pharmacy in March 2025, and that self-pay accounts for roughly 30% of total injectable Wegovy prescriptions. He said the company will continue investing in direct-to-patient initiatives, including a collaboration with Amazon Pharmacy.

Pipeline updates and 2026 outlook dominated by pricing headwinds

Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange reviewed late-stage and mid-stage pipeline activity, including a Phase 3 readout from REIMAGINE 2 evaluating CagriSema in type 2 diabetes. He said CagriSema 2.4 mg demonstrated superior A1c reduction and weight loss versus semaglutide 2.4 mg, with an A1c reduction of 1.91 percentage points versus 1.76 percentage points for semaglutide, and weight loss of 14.2%. He said the profile appeared safe and well tolerated, with gastrointestinal adverse events most common.

Lange also discussed Phase 2 results for Senagametide (formerly amycretin) in type 2 diabetes, and outlined timelines for upcoming programs, including the Phase 3 obesity program AMAZE expected to start in the first quarter of 2026 and a Phase 3 program in type 2 diabetes called AMBITION planned for the second half of 2026.

CFO Carsten Munk Knudsen said 2025 gross margin fell to 81% from 84.7% in 2024, citing amortization and depreciation related to the Catalent site acquisitions, plus one-off restructuring costs tied to a company-wide transformation announced in the third quarter. He said operating profit was reduced by restructuring costs of around DKK 8 billion; excluding those costs, operating profit would have increased 6% in Danish kroner and 13% at constant exchange rates.

For 2026, Knudsen introduced a shift to reporting outlook on an adjusted basis to exclude certain exceptional and non-recurring effects. He said adjusted sales growth is expected to be -5% to -13% at constant exchange rates, and adjusted operating profit growth is expected to be -5% to -13%. Management attributed the outlook to lower realized prices, U.S. pricing effects including “most favored nations” impacts, channel and mix shifts tied to cash-pay dynamics, and loss of exclusivity for semaglutide in certain international markets, among other factors.

Knudsen also said Novo expects free cash flow (as newly defined) of DKK 35-45 billion in 2026 and capital expenditure of around DKK 55 billion.

On shareholder returns, Novo said the board will propose a final dividend of DKK 7.95, for a total 2025 dividend of DKK 11.70, representing a 2.6% increase and the 30th consecutive year of increasing dividend per share. The board also approved a new share repurchase program of up to DKK 15 billion over the next 12 months.

About Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, best known for its leadership in diabetes care and metabolic health. The company traces its roots to early Danish insulin production in the 1920s and was established in its current form through a 1989 merger of predecessor companies. Novo Nordisk develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and devices that address chronic and serious diseases, with a strong emphasis on long-term treatment and patient support.

The company’s core product portfolio centers on diabetes therapies, including a range of insulins and modern incretin-based treatments.