Novo Nordisk Uplifts Guidance as GLP-1 Momentum Keeps Driving Growth, But Shares Fall

Novo Nordisk raised its full-year outlook after Q2 results that beat on adjusted sales (up 7% to 78.49 billion DKK) and adjusted operating profit (up 11%). The company now expects sales and operating profit to fall up to 6% at constant exchange rates this year, a milder decline than previously anticipated, thanks to stronger U.S. demand for GLP-1 drugs (including Wegovy and Ozempic) and new international launches. Despite the upbeat guidance, the stock slid about 6% as investors weigh Novo’s reliance on GLP-1 therapies and its duopoly with Eli Lilly in that space.