Novo Nordisk hit as revenue and profit growth failed to meet high expectations

Ozempic and Wegovy owner Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) saw its shares slump on Wednesday, losing nearly 10% in New York, after the weight loss drug maker disappointed the market for the first time in a long time.

Profit for the second quarter was up 3% at $2.93 billion (or billion Danish kroner), on the back of a 25% rise in revenue up to 68.06 billion DKK.

"We are pleased with the sales growth in the first half of 2024, which has enabled us to raise the outlook for the full year,” chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said in a statement.

“The growth is driven by the increased demand for our GLP-1-based diabetes and obesity treatments, and we continue to reach more patients with our innovative treatments.”

Such are the high expectations, however, both metrics fell short with consensus forecasts pitched at 21.29 billion DKK of profit and 68.47 billion DKK of revenue.

Novo, meanwhile, downgraded its full-year profit growth guidance to a range of 20% to 28%, from a previous estimate of 22% to 30%, and is said it had higher hopes for revenue, with sales expected to grow by 22% to 28% versus an earlier estimate of 19% to 27%.

Neither Wegovy nor Ozempic met sales expectations as relative supply constraints meant the firm can’t keep pace with soaring worldwide demand.

Also today, Novo withdrew an FDA submission for Wegovy as a treatment for heart failure, and said it planned to resubmit next year, after it gathers more data.

In New York, Novo Nordisk shares were down $10.38 or 8% trading at $119.67 – earlier, the Oslo quote saw the stock drop 6.7%.