Shares of Novo Nordisk fell by more than 15% in the past two months even as the company reported year-end sales growth of 28% in its obesity and diabetes portfolio. Investors punished the stock based on narrative momentum that favored Eli Lilly’s U.S. performance, driving Novo Nordisk’s valuation to a roughly 20% discount versus its peer despite delivering 35% operating profit growth in 2025. This divergence cannot be attributed to any deterioration in core fundamentals: revenue in its GLP-1 franchise expanded by DKK 15 billion year over year, and gross margins improved by 150 basis points thanks to manufacturing efficiencies in its new production facility in Hillerød, Denmark.

Novo Nordisk operates in more than 80 countries, with its international markets outside the U.S. now accounting for 60% of total sales. In the fourth quarter, ex-U.S. revenue climbed 32%, driven by strong uptake in Brazil, Japan and Australia, where healthcare reimbursement reforms expanded patient access to branded GLP-1 therapies. The company’s three recently commissioned biopharma plants—two in the European Union and one in Singapore—are set to increase annual pen and vial output by 40%, ensuring supply resilience as global demand for obesity pharmacotherapy accelerates.

Novo Nordisk’s oral GLP-1 candidate, approved in December under the brand name Wegovy Oral, has already secured formulary coverage in seven major markets and reached 100,000 new patients in its first six weeks on the market. Early real-world data show a mean weight loss of 9.8% over 16 weeks, statistically on par with injectable formulations. With four follow-on oral molecules progressing through phase 2 studies and two phase 3 trials expected to read out in H2 2026, the company is positioning itself to capture an even larger share of patients who prefer oral medication over injections, including those in emerging markets where cold-chain logistics pose barriers.