Demand for Wegovy oral tablets was strong, Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) Q3 revenue and profit surpassed expectations, and the annual results guidance was raised again

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) announced financial reports for the first three quarters of 2026 on November 4. Third-quarter sales were 79.195 billion Danish kroner (about 11.9 billion US dollars), up 6% year on year (fixed exchange rate caliber 4%), higher than the company's summary analysts' estimates of 73.22 billion kroner; adjusted operating profit of 31,720 billion kroner (about 4.7 billion US dollars). The fixed exchange rate volume surged 27% year on year, higher than the forecast of 28.39 billion kroner. Adjusted net profit was 25.602 billion kroner, up 12% year on year, and adjusted diluted earnings per share (per ADR) of 5.79 kroner.

According to the reporting caliber (IFRS), operating profit for the quarter was 23.011 billion kroner, the fixed exchange rate fell 9% year on year, and net profit fell 16% year over year, mainly due to confirmed non-cash impairment of 8.7 billion kroner during the quarter — of which 4.6 billion were related to the cardiovascular pipeline drug ziltivekimab (neither ZEUS nor HERMES reached the main end point), and 4.1 billion came from production capacity adjustments in the production base network. Furthermore, the high growth rate of adjusted operating profit of 27% benefited in part from the low base due to global transformation costs of 9 billion kroner in the same period last year.

The growth engine is still in the obesity business: sales for the quarter were 26.146 billion crowns, and the fixed exchange rate increased 22% year over year. Among them, Wegovy's oral tablets, which were only released in the US in January this year, sold 5.394 billion kroner in a single quarter, up 53%, far exceeding the company's consolidated forecast of 4.62 billion kroner — the total number of prescriptions in the US so far is about 3.6 million, and the cumulative total since launch has exceeded 8 million, making it the strongest GLP-1 release in US history. The Wegovy series still ranks first in the US branded diet pills market with a share of more than 50%, according to the number of new patients. Traditional products are under pressure: Wegovy injections sold 20.407 billion kroner, a year-on-year decrease of 2% (CER), Ozempic fell 5%, and the overall diabetes business fell 5%. Looking at the subregions, the US business increased by 1% (CER) and the international business increased by 8%. Among them, EUCAN increased by 18% and China decreased by 5%.

The company also raised its full-year guidelines for the third time during the year: adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit growth rate (fixed exchange rate) were raised from -6% to 0% to -2% to +2%, and free cash flow guidance was raised from 45 billion to 55 billion kroner to 60 billion to 70 billion kroner. In terms of pipelines, Cagrisema lost 21% of weight in 68 weeks in the RedeFine 9 trial, lost 12.4% of weight in the REIMAGINE 5 trial, and was superior to 9.1% of tirpotide 5 mg. The company is preparing to launch it in the US in early 2027 (pending regulatory approval).

President and CEO Mike Doustdar said that the company handed over a better-than-expected third quarter and raised its full-year outlook; growth was led by the obesity portfolio, and Wegovy oral tablets continued to be released in the US, and the early international launch performance was encouraging.