Novo Nordisk A S (NVO)

Price$46.60Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-07 02:56 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look fairly priced because cheap earnings are offset by weaker growth and heavy investment.

The market values Novo Nordisk at roughly 11 to 13 times recent earnings, depending on whether trailing 2026 results or full-year 2025 profit is used. That is modest for a company with exceptional historical profitability, but the discount has reasons. Management still expects adjusted 2026 sales and operating profit to decline by as much as 6% at constant exchange rates. Meanwhile, 2025 free cash flow, meaning cash left after operations and capital investment, fell to about DKK 59 billion as factory spending rose sharply. The valuation therefore looks balanced rather than clearly cheap.

Big pictureNovo remains highly profitable, but its extraordinary growth phase has shifted into a tougher competitive period.

Revenue rose from DKK 127 billion in 2020 to DKK 309 billion in 2025, while net income climbed from DKK 42 billion to DKK 102 billion. That history shows unusually durable demand and strong earnings conversion. However, the cycle has changed: adjusted first-half 2026 sales grew only 2% at constant exchange rates, and full-year adjusted sales are guided between flat and a 6% decline. The main issue is company-specific competition and pricing in obesity and diabetes, especially against Eli Lilly, rather than a normal economic downturn.

Business strengthPowerful medicines still produce abundant cash, although debt and expansion spending have risen substantially.

Operating cash flow stayed near DKK 120 billion in both 2024 and 2025, supporting the durability of the underlying business. Capital spending jumped from DKK 26 billion in 2023 to DKK 60 billion in 2025 as Novo expanded manufacturing, reducing free cash flow to about DKK 59 billion. Net debt reached DKK 104 billion, but that is still below one year of 2025 operating earnings before depreciation. Shares outstanding were broadly stable around 4.44 billion; buybacks fell sharply while dividends rose to DKK 52 billion, limiting dilution without stretching cash excessively.

What could change the storyBetter obesity growth could make the shares cheap, while further drug setbacks could justify the discount.

The strongest bull case is that Wegovy pills and higher-dose products restore durable growth after the current transition. Weekly U.S. Wegovy pill prescriptions exceeded 265,000 by mid-July, and management raised 2026 guidance because expectations for these medicines improved. The bear case is that Lilly keeps taking share while Novo's replacement pipeline disappoints; CagriSema has already missed an important comparison target, and ziltivekimab failed a major heart-outcomes study. At today's earnings multiple, investors do not need a return to past growth, but they probably need profits to stabilize and eventually resume moderate growth.

AI: News

Guidance raised, shares fallNovo raised its annual outlook, but investors remained worried about competition and the quality of future growth.

On August 4, Novo raised its 2026 adjusted sales and operating-profit outlook to between flat and a 6% decline at constant exchange rates, from a previous 4% to 12% decline. Adjusted second-quarter operating profit rose 11%. Reuters reported that the U.S.-listed shares nevertheless fell about 6%, while Wegovy pill sales slightly missed market expectations. The reaction suggests investors were focused less on the guidance improvement and more on competitive pressure, pricing and confidence in Novo's next generation of obesity drugs.

Heart drug trial failsA major heart-drug study failed, weakening Novo's effort to diversify beyond diabetes and obesity medicines.

Novo announced on July 31 that ziltivekimab failed the ZEUS phase 3 trial involving more than 6,300 patients. The drug produced essentially no reduction in major heart events versus placebo, with a risk ratio of 0.99. Financial Times reported that Novo shares dropped as much as 10% following the news. The setback matters because successful cardiovascular medicines could have broadened Novo's earnings base; failure leaves more of the company's value dependent on its increasingly competitive diabetes and obesity franchises.

CagriSema misses comparison goalNovo's hoped-for Wegovy successor produced strong weight loss but failed an important comparison against Lilly's medicine.

On February 23, Novo reported that CagriSema produced 23.0% weight loss after 84 weeks among patients who adhered to treatment, versus 25.5% for Lilly's tirzepatide. It failed the study's main goal of proving it was not meaningfully worse. This matters because investors have expected CagriSema to extend Novo's obesity leadership after Wegovy. Novo continues developing the drug, including higher doses, so the setback does not eliminate its value; however, it raises the growth assumptions required from other pipeline products and oral Wegovy.

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Revenue

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2025

Net income

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Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Revenue	kr309.06B	kr290.40B	kr232.26B	kr176.95B	kr140.80B	kr126.95B	kr122.02B
Gross profit	kr250.28B	kr245.88B	kr196.50B	kr148.51B	kr117.14B	kr106.01B	kr101.93B
Gross margin	80.98%	84.67%	84.60%	83.92%	83.20%	83.51%	83.54%
Research & development	kr52.04B	kr48.06B	kr32.44B	kr24.05B	kr17.77B	kr15.46B	kr14.22B
Operating expenses	kr122.62B	kr117.54B	kr93.92B	kr73.70B	kr58.50B	kr51.89B	kr49.45B
Operating income	kr127.66B	kr128.34B	kr102.57B	kr74.81B	kr58.64B	kr54.13B	kr52.48B
Operating margin	41.30%	44.19%	44.16%	42.28%	41.65%	42.64%	43.01%
EBITDA	kr142.32B	kr136.88B	kr109.86B	kr81.36B	—	—	—
EBITDA margin	46.05%	47.14%	47.30%	45.98%	—	—	—
Net income	kr102.43B	kr100.99B	kr83.68B	kr55.52B	kr47.76B	kr42.14B	kr38.95B
Net profit margin	33.14%	34.78%	36.03%	31.38%	33.92%	33.19%	31.92%
Basic EPSper basic share	DKK 23.06	DKK 22.67	DKK 18.67	DKK 12.26	DKK 10.40	DKK 9.03	DKK 8.21
Diluted EPSper diluted share	DKK 23.03	DKK 22.63	DKK 18.62	DKK 12.22	DKK 10.37	DKK 9.01	DKK 8.19

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Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

Reported holdings Number of shares

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of NVO
Holder	Shares held
Dodge & Cox	20.4M
LOOMIS SAYLES & CO L P	18.59M
FRANKLIN RESOURCES INC	13.04M
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/	11.7M
MORGAN STANLEY	11.66M
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/	11.18M
Capital International Investors	9.72M
FOLKETRYGDFONDET	9.52M
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC	9.18M
Fisher Asset Management, LLC	8.32M
ARROWSTREET CAPITAL, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP	8.27M
EVERETT HARRIS & CO /CA/	6.48M
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CO	6.14M
STATE STREET CORP	5.87M
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA	5.4M
Capital World Investors	5.21M
FRED ALGER MANAGEMENT, LLC	4.91M
SUSQUEHANNA INTERNATIONAL GROUP, LLP	4.82M
WELLS FARGO & COMPANY/MN	4.66M
ENVESTNET ASSET MANAGEMENT INC	4.03M

Bars compare reported share counts. A matching total for this share class and reporting period is unavailable, so percentages are not shown.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)0$0.00 disclosed value

No insider transactions transactions were reported in the stored SEC coverage.

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

Community posts

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@tickerstat8 days ago
Novo licenses early-stage weekly obesity pill for $300 million upfront
Novo Nordisk ($NVO) has agreed to license Hengrui Pharma’s HRS-1596, an experimental oral medicine targeting both GLP-1 and GIP receptors. The agreement includes $300 million upfront within a potential $2.6 billion total, with the balance d ...
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@tickerstat16 days ago
Novo Nordisk sets new pipeline and manufacturing ambitions
Novo Nordisk ($NVO) outlined ambitions to launch more than five major new medicines by 2030 and generate over DKK150 billion in risk-adjusted sales from its current pipeline by 2035. It also intends to enter or complete at least five Phase ...
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@tickerstat19 days ago
Novo’s weekly growth-hormone treatment gains another European recommendation
Novo Nordisk ($NVO) received a positive European advisory opinion for once-weekly Sogroya in children with idiopathic short stature and persistent growth disturbance. The proposed expansion is supported by the REAL8 study, which found the w ...
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@tickerstat20 days ago
Novo Nordisk receives positive European opinion for hemophilia treatment
Novo Nordisk ($NVO) received a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee for FREHEMGO, its denecimig treatment for hemophilia A. The proposed indication covers adults and children, including pati ...
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@tickerstat1 month ago
Novo Nordisk reports positive STEP Young results in children aged 6 to under 12
Novo Nordisk announced first STEP Young Phase 3 results on 7 September 2026. Trial design and outcome The randomised, double-blind study involved 165 children aged 6 to under 12, comparing weekly semaglutide with placebo. Both groups receiv ...
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Novo Nordisk A S (NVO)

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