Novo Nordisk Q1 2026 earnings beat on Wegovy pill demand
Key takeaways
- During the first quarter, the pill — which entered the U.S. market in January — tallied roughly 1.3 million prescriptions and brought in 2.26 billion Danish kroner ($353.6 million) in revenue, the company said.
- Reported first-quarter net sales reached 96.82 billion kroner, a 24% increase, and operating profit came to 59.62 billion kroner, up 54%.
- On an adjusted basis, operating profit reached 32.86 billion kroner — clearing the 28.74 billion kroner mean estimate from a company-compiled analyst poll, according to Reuters.
Novo Nordisk Q1 2026 earnings beat on Wegovy pill demand Quartz · Nur Photo / Getty Images Cris Tolomia Wed, May 6, 2026 at 6:40 PM GMT+7 3 min read NVO Novo Nordisk raised its full-year guidance on Wednesday after first-quarter sales of its Wegovy weight loss pill came in well ahead of expectations, sending the Danish drugmaker's stock up about 7% in Copenhagen trading.
During the first quarter, the pill — which entered the U.S. market in January — tallied roughly 1.3 million prescriptions and brought in 2.26 billion Danish kroner ($353.6 million) in revenue, the company said. Analysts polled by Reuters had projected pill sales of just 1.16 billion kroner, meaning the result came in at roughly twice that level, according to CNBC. Cumulative prescriptions since the pill's launch have surpassed 2 million, Novo Nordisk said, calling it the strongest-ever GLP-1 volume launch in the U.S.
Reported first-quarter net sales reached 96.82 billion kroner, a 24% increase, and operating profit came to 59.62 billion kroner, up 54%. A $4.2 billion reversal of a provision tied to the U.S. 340B Drug Pricing Program — treated as a non-recurring item — inflated both figures. Once stripped out, constant-currency adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit each declined, by 4% and 6% respectively.