Novo Nordisk raises 2026 outlook for third time as Wegovy pill sales hit DKK 5.4 billion; shares jump 6%
Novo's Wegovy pill made DKK 5.4bn in Q3, beating forecasts. Sales of DKK 79.2bn topped estimates and the 2026 outlook rose for a third time. Shares up 6%.
At a glance
- Novo Nordisk's third-quarter sales were DKK 79.2 billion (about $11.9 billion), up 4% at constant exchange rates and well above the DKK 73.6 billion analysts expected, the Danish drugmaker said on Wednesday, November 4.
- The Wegovy pill brought in DKK 5.4 billion, up 53% from the second quarter and ahead of forecasts of around DKK 4.6 billion; US prescriptions passed 8 million since launch.
- Adjusted operating profit rose 27% at constant exchange rates to DKK 31.7 billion, but reported operating profit fell 9% after DKK 8.7 billion of non-cash impairments.
- Novo raised its 2026 outlook for the third time this year: adjusted sales and operating profit are now expected to move between -2% and +2%, up from -6% to flat. Shares rose more than 6% in early trading.
- Chief financial officer Karsten Munk Knudsen will leave at the end of 2026; Galderma's CFO Luigi La Corte will replace him.
Novo Nordisk raised its 2026 forecast for the third time this year on Wednesday, November 4, after its new Wegovy weight-loss pill sold far more than expected in the third quarter. The pill brought in DKK 5.39 billion (about $810 million) between July and September, and the Danish company's shares rose more than 6% in early trading in Copenhagen.
Group sales were DKK 79.2 billion, about $11.9 billion, up 4% at constant exchange rates and comfortably ahead of the DKK 73.6 billion analysts had pencilled in. For a company that spent much of 2025 and 2026 cutting forecasts and losing ground to Eli Lilly, it was the clearest sign yet that the slide has stopped.
The pill that carried the quarter
The oral version of semaglutide, the drug in Wegovy and Ozempic injections, is the product investors were watching. Its sales jumped 53% from the second quarter and beat the roughly DKK 4.6 billion that analysts expected in a consensus compiled by the company.
US doctors wrote about 3.6 million prescriptions for it during the quarter, taking the total since launch past 8 million. By the end of September the pill was on sale in the US, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and Germany.
The older injectable products also did better than feared:
| Product / measure | Q3 2026 | Analyst expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Group sales | DKK 79.2 billion (+4% at CER) | DKK 73.6 billion |
| Adjusted operating profit | DKK 31.7 billion (+27% at CER) | DKK 28.6 billion |
| Reported operating profit | down 9% (after DKK 8.7 bn impairments) | — |
| Ozempic (injection, diabetes) | DKK 29.7 billion | Beat |
| Wegovy injection (obesity) | DKK 20.4 billion | Beat |
| Wegovy pill | DKK 5.39 billion (+53% vs Q2) | about DKK 4.6 billion |
The gap between the adjusted and reported profit lines comes from DKK 8.7 billion of non-cash impairment charges, which pushed reported operating profit 9% lower than a year earlier even as underlying profit grew.
A third upgrade, still a flat year
The new outlook says adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit will each move somewhere between a 2% fall and a 2% rise in 2026 at constant exchange rates. In August Novo had forecast a range of a 6% fall to no growth, and earlier in the year it had expected worse.
That still describes a company standing still rather than growing — a sharp change from the years when Wegovy and Ozempic sales doubled. Price cuts in the US, cheaper compounded copies of semaglutide, and Lilly's rival drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound have all eaten into Novo's numbers.
Chief executive Mike Doustdar, who took over in 2025 and has since cut thousands of jobs, said the successive upgrades showed the recovery was gaining traction and the company was heading the right way. He also warned that one strong quarter does not prove a turnaround, and said staff must keep working before the recovery could be called complete.
Lilly's Foundayo is the rival to watch
The pill race matters because tablets are cheaper to make than injection pens, easier to ship and store, and appeal to patients who dislike needles. Eli Lilly's own obesity pill, Foundayo, missed analysts' sales expectations in the third quarter, even though Lilly said US prescriptions and new patients on it doubled from the previous quarter, and it is taking a growing share of new prescriptions.
Lilly raised its full-year forecast on October 29 on strong demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound, and remains far ahead of Novo in the US, the biggest market for both. Novo's shares are still down about 17% this year even after Wednesday's jump.
Change at the top of the finance team
Novo also said chief financial officer Karsten Munk Knudsen will leave at the end of 2026 after 27 years at the company, nine of them as CFO. His successor is Luigi La Corte, currently finance chief at Swiss skin-care group Galderma.
What it means for patients in Pakistan and South Asia
Novo's pills are not yet sold in Pakistan or India. The bigger change in the region is the end of patent protection on semaglutide in several markets this year, which has opened the door to cheaper generic versions from Indian and other manufacturers. For patients there, the price of injectable semaglutide — not Novo's pill — is likely to matter more over the next year.
Novo's next scheduled update is its full-year 2026 results in early February 2027, when it will give its first forecast for 2027.
Questions people are asking
How much did the Wegovy pill sell in Q3 2026?
Novo Nordisk said its Wegovy pill made DKK 5.39 billion (about $810 million) in the third quarter of 2026, up 53% from the second quarter and above analysts' forecasts.
Is the Wegovy pill available outside the US?
By the end of September the pill had launched in the US, the UAE, the UK and Germany, and Novo is adding more markets. It is not yet sold in Pakistan or India.
