Novo Nordisk signage on the ground of the New York Inventory Alternate in New York, US, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
Novo Nordisk‘s U.S. shares plummeted Tuesday after the corporate mentioned it sees gross sales and revenue progress declining this 12 months, hit by decrease costs within the U.S. and lack of exclusivity for its blockbuster Wegovy and Ozempic in China, Brazil and Canada.
Novo’s American depositary shares fell as a lot as 14% in afternoon buying and selling, after a buying and selling halt. The outcomes have been printed after the closing bell in Copenhagen, the place the corporate has its main itemizing, and forward of the scheduled launch early Wednesday.
For 2026, the drugmaker sees gross sales and working revenue each declining between 5% and 13% at fixed trade charges, far worse than analysts had anticipated.
It comes because the Danish drugmaker is combating to regain its footing within the weight-loss area amid fierce competitors.
“In 2026, Novo Nordisk will face pricing headwinds in an more and more aggressive market,” CEO Mike Doustdar. “Nonetheless, we’re very inspired by the promising early uptake from the US launch of Wegovy capsule, and we stay assured in our means to drive quantity progress over the approaching years.”
The outlook displays expectations for a gross sales decline within the U.S., its greatest market, however gross sales progress ex-U.S. Novo mentioned. “In 2026, the worldwide GLP-1 market growth is assumed to proceed, enabling Novo Nordisk to extend affected person attain and develop volumes,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement.
In 2025, gross sales elevated by 10% and working revenue elevated by 6%, consistent with the corporate’s newest steering, which it lowered all through 2025, citing challenges within the U.S. market.
Novo additionally mentioned that it’s going to roll out Wegovy in additional markets in 2026 and expects to introduce the upper 7.2 mg dose in quite a lot of nations.
Mounting strain
Novo Nordisk inventory has seen steep declines over the previous 12 months.
Novo launched the oral model of the blockbuster weight-loss medication Wegovy within the U.S. early January, and, regardless of its promising begin, the market is intently watching how Novo Nordisk will fare together with U.S. rival Eli Lilly, which is predicted to launch its personal weight reduction capsule within the first half of 2026.
“Traders wish to see they’re profiting from this lead, notably within the direct to affected person (largely self-pay or money pay) channel, closing a few of the giant hole that widened between them and Lilly on this channel in 2025,” mentioned Morningstar analyst Karen Andersen.
Semaglutide, the energetic ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, is shedding exclusivity in markets like Canada, Brazil and China in 2026. Along with important pricing strain in its largest market, the U.S., analysts had forecast gross sales progress to average this 12 months to single digits after a number of years of a lot increased progress.
Coming into the print, Barclays analyst James Gordon mentioned the Novo information was anticipated to crystalize additional downgrades, nonetheless may additionally act as a clearing occasion given the “important investor concern” about this 12 months’s outlook.
“[Guidance] cuts might be a minimum of partly mitigated by traders taking the chance to then purchase into the Oral Wegovy US launch and Injectable Wegovy potential US quantity inflection this 12 months.”
Novo has confronted strain for the previous 18 months as rival U.S.-based Eli Lilly’s rival weight-loss drug tirzepatide – bought as Mounjaro and Zepbound – resulted in additional pronounced weight reduction than Novo’s medication, and surpassed Novo in U.S. market share.
Ozempic and Wegovy gross sales
Novo and Lilly in November introduced a cope with the Trump administration to chop costs for his or her best-selling medicine, that are anticipated to extend volumes however in the end damage whole gross sales.
The agreements concerned reducing costs of their GLP-1 medicine for Medicare and Medicaid in 2026 in addition to providing them on to shoppers at a reduction by means of the forthcoming TrumpRx.gov web site, anticipated to launch in January.
Within the fourth quarter, Novo web gross sales amounted to 79.1 billion Danish kroner ($12.5 billion), barely forward of analysts’ expectations of 77.8 billion kroner, based on LSEG estimates. Working revenue within the quarter was largely consistent with estimates at 31.7 billlion kroner, down 14% year-on-year.
Ozempic, its best-selling medication, introduced in 31.8 billion within the quarter, up 1% from the identical interval final 12 months at fixed trade charges. Wegovy gross sales have been 21.9 billion kroner, up 17%.
– CNBC’s Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report
