NVO
The top line is still doing fine
Novo Nordisk spent 2025 looking a lot like the kid who turned in a good report card — then got docked for talking back in class. Sales climbed 6% in Danish kroner, or 10% at constant exchange rates, to DKK 309.1 billion. That’s not exactly a company in retreat.
But the profit engine took a detour
Operating profit fell 1% in reported currency to DKK 127.7 billion, even though it would have risen 6% without about DKK 8 billion of company-wide transformation costs. In other words: the business is still throwing off money, but management is paying up now to reshape the machine later.
Obesity is still the shiny star
The real growth story is still in obesity and diabetes care, where sales rose 7% in Danish kroner to DKK 289.5 billion. Obesity care was the heavyweight here, jumping 26% as GLP-1 diabetes sales also kept growing. If you’re an investor, that’s the part of the business that still has the “people can’t stop talking about it” energy.
2026 comes with a side of caution
Novo also told investors to brace for adjusted sales growth of negative 5% to negative 13% at constant exchange rates in 2026, once you strip out the one-time boost from the reversal of 340B provisions. Management blamed lower realized prices, the U.S. “Most Favoured Nations” agreement, semaglutide patent expiry in some international markets, and competition. Translation: the growth story isn’t dead, but the easy part may be over.
Cash returns: still very Novo
The board plans a final dividend of DKK 7.95 per share for 2025, bringing the total dividend to DKK 11.70, and kicked off a new share repurchase program of up to DKK 15 billion. Big picture: Novo is still a cash-generating machine, but the market may care more about whether it can defend growth than whether it can keep printing nice-looking historical numbers.