Novo Nordisk's Q2 profit beats forecasts, raises outlook

Novo Nordisk reported a second-quarter adjusted operating profit above forecasts, raising its full-year profit and sales outlook as it battles to regain ground in the obesity drug market.

Novo Nordisk, the maker ​of weight-loss drug Wegovy, reported a ‌second-quarter adjusted operating ​profit above forecasts on Tuesday and raised its full-year profit and sales outlook. The Danish drugmaker is battling to claw back lost ground on Eli Lilly ‌in the lucrative obesity drug market, as investors look for signs its turnaround can last and its new Wegovy pill can support longer-term growth.

Novo, a key driver of Denmark's economy, reported an adjusted operating profit of 33.4 billion ‌Danish crowns ($5.15 billion) in the quarter, up 11% year-on-year, against a mean forecast of 28.74 billion from a ‌company-compiled poll. Novo said the change in this year's adjusted sales and operating profit were now seen in a range of zero to minus 6% at constant exchange rates compared with 2025, up from a previous range of minus 12% to minus 4% for both ⁠variables. CEO Mike ​Doustdar took the helm ⁠at Novo a year ago, seeking to steady a group battered by repeated sales shortfalls, a collapse in market value and a ⁠wave of job cuts, leaning heavily on the newly launched Wegovy pill to drive a recovery. Novo is now looking to ​go more on the offensive. The firm sued Eli Lilly in a U.S. federal court last month, ⁠accusing its American rival of false advertising. Lilly has denied any wrongdoing, saying it stands by its advertising. The lawsuit is the latest ⁠front ​in a rivalry that has come to define the obesity drug market, which some analysts expect to be worth more than $100 billion a year by 2030.

Lilly still leads in the U.S. market for injectable weight-loss drugs, ⁠and investors are watching for signs Novo can compete beyond its current medicines through new pipeline results, deals or ⁠a sustained recovery in ⁠prescriptions. The adjusted earnings excluded 6.3 billion crowns in non-recurring, non-cash impairment charges in the second quarter related to intangible pipeline assets, including 4.0 billion related to monlunabant an ‌oral experimental obesity ‌drug. ($1 = 6.4882 Danish crowns)