Novo Nordisk Shares Plunge Up to 7% After Capital Markets Day Fails to Satisfy Investors Seeking Near-Term Clarity

Novo Nordisk shares fell as much as 7% on Monday after CEO Mike Doustdar used the company's Capital Markets Day in London to outline an ambitious but largely long-dated growth strategy that left investors hoping for a stronger near-term turnaround disappointed. The Danish drugmaker targeted more than five multi-blockbuster drug launches by 2030, more than 150 billion Danish crowns (roughly $23 billion) in pipeline sales by 2035, and at least 25 Phase 3 programs in obesity and diabetes by 2030. Revenue growth from 2026 through 2030 is expected to be broadly in line with industry peers, with broadly stable operating margins, but the absence of more specific short-term financial targets was the central source of investor frustration.

Doustdar acknowledged that competition in obesity has reached what he called an unprecedented level, with nearly every major pharmaceutical company now targeting the market that Novo helped pioneer. The company has already ceded ground to Eli Lilly and faces early signs of semaglutide losing exclusivity in some markets, with Ozempic and Wegovy patent expirations in major markets expected early next decade. To cut costs, Novo disclosed an additional 4,000 job reductions, bringing total restructuring-related headcount cuts to approximately 13,000.

The company did deliver one piece of positive clinical news: its next-generation experimental drug CagriSema achieved an estimated average weight loss of 12.4% at week 60 in the REIMAGINE 5 late-stage trial, versus 9.1% for Eli Lilly's tirzepatide at the 1.0 mg dose of each component, a result Novo described as superior. On the commercial side, CEO comments revealed that 50% of the entire Wegovy franchise and 90% of Wegovy pill US sales now flow through the self-pay channel rather than insurance, and the company has recorded 7 million prescriptions for the Wegovy pill in the United States so far. Novo also said it is expanding into new segments including women's and men's health, liver disease, cardiovascular, and a newly created blood and endocrine disorder unit.