By Josh Nathan-Kazis and Elsa Ohlen

Novo Nordisk vowed to cut costs Wednesday amid intensifying competition and a cratering stock price as it reported second-quarter earnings.

"We have lowered our full-year outlook due to lower growth expectations for our GLP-1 treatments in the second half of 2025," outgoing CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said in a statement. "As a result, we are taking measures to sharpen our commercial execution further, and ensure efficiencies in our cost base while continuing to invest in future growth."

Earnings per share in the quarter came in at 5.96 Danish kroner ($92 cents), which was preannounced last week alongside a profit warning which it reiterated early Wednesday. The stock fell 23% after the preliminary earnings last week.

Second-quarter sales were 76.9 billion kroner.

Shares were down 0.4% at 304.65 kroner in morning trading in Copenhagen. The stock is down 63% over the past 12 months. Its American depositary receipts were up 0.3% in early premarket trading.

This is breaking news. Read a preview of Novo Nordisk below and check back for more analysis soon.

The drugmaker Novo Nordisk is slated to report its second-quarter financial results early Wednesday, after shares plunged late last month when the company previewed its earnings report and cut its full-year guidance.

Novo said last week that it had earned 5.96 Danish krone (DKK) per share, beating the FactSet consensus estimate of 5.90 DKK per share.

At the same time, it slashed its full-year estimates, saying it now sees sales growth in 2025 of between 8% and 14%, down from its May estimates of between 13% and 21%.

The company also cut its estimate for profits, saying it now expects full-year operating profit growth of between 10% and 16%, down from its prior estimate of between 16% and 24%.

A steep selloff greeted the July 29 announcement. The stock fell about 22% the day of the announcement, and has continued to slide in the days since.

The company also announced a new CEO, Maziar Mike Doustdar, a Novo executive who formerly led international operations for the company. Doustdar will succeed Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen on August 7.

The selloff comes as sales of its weight loss drug Wegovy have fallen short of early estimates. As Barron's wrote last week, the guidance cut marked the definitive burst of the obesity drug bubble, which had been leaking air for about a year.

With the key earnings figure for the quarter and the guidance cut already announced, there are no huge question marks remaining for when the company reports earnings on Wednesday.

Investors will be looking for reassurance on a difficult regulatory landscape, the loss of market share to competitor Eli Lilly, and the impending leadership transition within the company.

Novo shares fell Tuesday following a downgrade from analysts at UBS, who cut their rating on the stock to Neutral from Buy.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com

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August 06, 2025 04:45 ET (08:45 GMT)

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