Novo Nordisk raises annual guidance as Wegovy pill sales beat estimates

Patent expirations in several markets open the door to generic competition

Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker, raised its annual guidance on Wednesday after third-quarter sales of its Wegovy weight-loss pill reached 5.39 billion Danish kroner, equivalent to $807.2 million. The amount exceeded the 4.5 billion kroner expected in a FactSet poll of analysts as the company continued rolling out the pill beyond the United States.

Novo Nordisk now expects adjusted sales and operating profit for the year to range from a 2% decline to 2% growth at constant exchange rates. That range improved on prior guidance for declines of up to 6% in both measures and followed analysts’ expectations that Novo Nordisk would raise its outlook because of strong uptake of the pill in recently launched markets.

Novo Nordisk’s third-quarter adjusted group sales rose 6% from a year earlier to 79.2 billion kroner. Adjusted operating profit increased 34% to 31.72 billion kroner.

Both measures beat a FactSet poll that forecast adjusted operating profit of 28.66 billion kroner on sales of 73.65 billion kroner. Novo Nordisk shares climbed 4.5% on the news. Separately, the market ticker carried in The Wall Street Journal’s Nov. 4, 2026, 3:41 a.m. ET update showed Novo Nordisk’s NOVO.B shares up 3.16%, a point-in-time snapshot distinct from the 4.5% climb in shares after the announcement.

The Wegovy pill’s sales outside the United States reached 1.22 billion kroner in the third quarter. Novo Nordisk described the initial performance as “encouraging” and cited an improved outlook for its key obesity and diabetes drugs, particularly in markets outside the United States.

The pill was first launched in the United States earlier this year and has since become available in the U.K., the United Arab Emirates and Germany. Novo Nordisk reported recent launches in Mexico, Spain, France and Poland. Additional launches are planned during the fourth quarter, and the company expects the pill to be available in more than 20 markets in 2027.

Novo Nordisk also said that Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen will leave at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities. Munk Knudsen, a 27-year company veteran, has served as finance chief since 2018. Galderma CFO Luigi La Corte will replace him.

The pill’s progress comes as Novo Nordisk faces intensifying competition in the weight-loss market. Eli Lilly’s rival injectable has eroded Novo Nordisk’s market share in the injectable segment, even as the pill has given the company a lead in the new market.

Patent exclusivity for the key ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic has expired this year in countries such as India, Canada and Brazil, with further countries soon to follow. The expirations open the way to generic competition and lower prices.