Novo Nordisk Beats Earnings Expectations, Stock Surges
Company Highlights:
* Reporting strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings.
* Exceeding Wall Street estimates with $40.5 billion in full-year revenue, up 25%.
* Reporting $11.6 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, a 30% increase year-over-year.
Key Drivers:
* Success of blockbuster semaglutide drugs, Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes.
* Combined revenue of $24.9 billion for the year, accounting for 60% of total.
* Dominance in the weight loss market with a 52% share driven by GLP-1s.
* Largest market cap in Europe at over $375 billion.
Recent Market Performance:
* Stock jumped over 3% in pre-market trading.
* Contrasts with Eli Lilly, which faced slower weight loss drug sales.
Outlook:
* Novo anticipates slower growth in 2025 (16%-24%).
* Company is working on next-generation weight loss drugs, with mixed results in clinical trials.
* Semaglutide drugs remain on the FDA's shortage list, leading to unauthorized sales.
* Novo is expanding manufacturing sites and expects increased debt financing.
Potential Headwinds:
* Medicare drug pricing negotiations, including Wegovy and Ozempic.
* Trump administration's approach to these negotiations remains unknown.
Author: Anjalee Khemlani, Senior Health Reporter at Yahoo Finance