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Novo Nordisk (NVO) Value Investing Data

🇩🇰 DenmarkNVO

As of 2026-08-07 · Last updated: 2026-08-09 · Source: Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2025 / SEC 6-K, stockanalysis (5-year financials), TradingView · Yahoo Finance (price, consensus), GlobeNewswire 2026-08-04 (Q2 2026 results), macrotrends (USD-converted financials), Company IR · CNBC · NEJM (competition, prescription share) · Prices & financials updated periodically (not real-time) · Information tool (not investment advice)

💊 Healthcare

Novo Nordisk (NVO) Financial Health Check

In short: There are some financial points to watch

Does it earn well?

Yes, very strongly

It earns very efficiently on invested capital and keeps a large slice of each sale as profit.

Metrics · ROE 59.8% · Operating Margin 41.3% · Net Margin 33.1%

Will the company survive?

Carries some debt

Debt burden is moderate, so it can be affected by the economic cycle.

Metrics · D/E ~63% · Current Ratio 0.87

Is the price expensive now?

Not a heavy price burden

The price is set low relative to its earning power.

Metrics · P/E 11.7 · P/B 6.2

High-margin GLP-1 pharma (81% gross, 41% operating, 60% ROE). Tight liquidity (0.87 current ratio). ~12x P/E reflects 2026 slower-growth guidance.

Compiled from public financial data. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. · Source: stockanalysis · Yahoo Finance (margins, debt, liquidity, P/B are TTM), as of 2026-08-07

Business Summary · Key Value Metrics

A Danish pharmaceutical company focused on diabetes and obesity drugs (the GLP-1 semaglutide franchise — Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus). FY2025 revenue was about $46B (DKK 309B) with a 41.3% operating margin. It reports financials in DKK, while the U.S. ADR (NVO) trades in USD.

Current Price

$47.26

+2.81% +$1.29 · Close 2026-08-07

Analyst Consensus Target (external reference)

$47.32

Avg. of 14 external analysts · stockanalysis · Investing.com · Yahoo Finance (about 14 analysts, 2026-08)

Current P/E

11.7x

TTM · 2026-08-07

Forward P/E

~15x

FY26 consensus (earnings decline)

P/B

6.17x

As of 2026-08-07

ROE

59.8%

TTM (FY2025 60.7%)

Operating Margin

41.3%

FY2025 (Q2 2026 adj. 42.5%)

Gross Margin

81.0%

FY2025 (FY24 84.7%)

Economic Moat · Key Business Segments

A pharma company leading the diabetes and obesity drug market with the GLP-1 semaglutide franchise (Ozempic, Wegovy). It sustains top-tier industry profitability with an FY2025 gross margin of 81.0% and operating margin of 41.3%. Oral Wegovy won FDA approval in December 2025, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation holds about 77% of the voting rights. That said, its U.S. GLP-1 prescription share was about 40% at the end of 2025, behind Eli Lilly (~57-60%).

Semaglutide franchise	Ozempic (diabetes), Wegovy (obesity), Rybelsus (oral). Oral Wegovy won FDA approval in December 2025 — the first oral GLP-1 obesity drug.
Top-tier profitability	FY2025 gross margin 81.0%, operating margin 41.3% (company annual report 2025).
Capacity expansion	The Catalent acquisition added sterile fill-finish capacity for injectables — addressing GLP-1 supply constraints.
Ownership structure	The Novo Nordisk Foundation (Novo Holdings) is a long-term controlling owner with about 28% of capital and 77% of voting rights.

10-Year Financial Trends

FY2025 revenue was about $46B (DKK 309.1B, +10% local currency), a 9-year CAGR of +12.2%. Operating margin fell from 44.2% in FY2024 to 41.3% in FY2025; gross margin from 84.7% to 81.0%. The first FY2026 guidance of -4 to -12% (CER) was raised to 0 to -6% on Aug 4, 2026 with Q2 results. Q2 reported sales rose only +3% (CER), but adjusted sales +7% and adjusted operating profit +11% (CER, DKK 33,389M), resuming growth. Reported operating profit fell -16% (CER) on DKK 6.3B impairments (incl. monlunabant) and the reversal of U.S. 340B rebate deductions.

10-Year Growth

Revenue$46.8B · CAGR +12.2%

Operating Income$19.3B · CAGR +11.6%

EPS$3.49 · CAGR +13.5%

10-Year Valuation

P/E (year-end)14.1x · avg 30.5x

ROE60.7% · avg 75.0%

Operating Margin41.3% · avg 42.9%

📊 Annual Data Table (NVO) — expand/collapse

Year	Revenue (B$)	Op. Income (B$)	EPS ($)	P/E (x)	ROE (%)	Op. Margin (%)
2016	16.6	7.2	1.12	—	82.2	43.3
2017	17.2	7.5	1.17	—	80.2	43.8
2018	17.6	7.4	1.25	—	76	42.3
2019	18.3	7.9	1.23	—	71.2	43
2020	19.7	8.4	1.38	—	68	42.6
2021	22	9.2	1.65	35.3	71.2	41.7
2022	25	10.6	1.73	38.5	72	42.3
2023	33.7	14.9	2.7	37.5	88.1	44.2
2024	42.1	18.6	3.28	27.2	80.8	44.2
2025	46.8	19.3	3.49	14.1	60.7	41.3

— = no data for that year/metric (P/E omitted before EPS turned positive)

Operating Income Growth Trend

Operating Income YoY growth:

25Q1 +21.8% → 25Q2 +29.0% → 25Q3 -30.0% → 25Q4 -13.6% → 26Q1 +53.7%* → 26Q2 -16.0%

9-Year CAGR: Revenue +12.2% · Operating Income +11.6% · Net Income +11.7% · EPS +13.5%

Sources: Novo Nordisk annual report · SEC 6-K, macrotrends (USD conversion at average annual FX). *Q1 2026 operating profit of +53.7% includes a one-off ~$4.2B reversal of a U.S. drug-pricing litigation provision — about -6% on an adjusted (CER) basis. Q2 2026 of -16.0% is reported (CER) and includes DKK 6.3B in intangible-asset impairments and the reversal of U.S. 340B rebate deductions — +11% on an adjusted basis.

Mega-Cap Value Metric Comparison

NVO's forward P/E of 15.4x is about half of Eli Lilly's (LLY) 32.3x, and its operating margin (41.3%, FY2025) is now below Lilly's (49.7%, TTM). Revenue growth is faster at LLY (~+45% in FY2025) than at NVO (+10% in local currency), and U.S. GLP-1 prescription share has flipped, with LLY at ~57-60% > NVO at ~40% at the end of 2025. Merck (MRK), a traditional large-cap pharma, grows slowly (~+2% revenue) but is cheaper at a forward P/E of about 21x.

Metric	★ NVO	LLY	MRK
Forward P/E	15.4	32.3	~21
Operating Margin	41.3%	49.7%	~33%
Revenue Growth (YoY)	+10%*	+45%	~+2%
ROE (TTM)	59.8%	102.4%	~37%

* NVO revenue growth is on a local-currency (CER) basis. Forward P/E and ROE from stockanalysis (2026-08); market share from each company's FY2025 IR and CNBC. LLY's high ROE reflects its equity base and buybacks. MRK's TTM is distorted by a one-off Q1 2026 IPR&D write-off → shown on a normalized (FY2025) basis.

Key Risk Factors (from 10-K)

●

Guidance for a 2026 earnings slowdown — The company guided FY2026 revenue and operating profit to -4 to -12% in local currency (May 6, 2026), then raised it to 0 to -6% on August 4, 2026 with its Q2 results. Growth is still expected to slow, with a possible decline.Source: Novo Nordisk 2026 outlook

●

Competitive disadvantage to Lilly in GLP-1 — Lilly's tirzepatide led in a head-to-head trial (SURMOUNT-5, 20.2% vs. 13.7%). At the end of 2025, U.S. prescription share was Lilly ~57-60% > Novo ~40%.Source: NEJM · CNBC

●

U.S. drug-pricing pressure — Under the MFN/TrumpRx agreement, U.S. list prices for Wegovy and Ozempic fall about 50% to $675 from January 1, 2027. The net Medicare/Medicaid price is $245.Source: The Hill · AJMC

●

CagriSema pipeline disappointment — CagriSema fell short of non-inferiority versus tirzepatide (REDEFINE 4) and missed its own ~25% weight-loss target. An FDA decision is expected in the second half of 2026.Source: BioSpace · company IR

●

Semaglutide patent cliff — The key U.S. patent expires in December 2031 (effective generics ~2032); Canada's already expired in January 2026, opening generic filings.Source: C&EN · Abel + Imray

✦ ValueCrab Dashboard PreviewNVO $47.26 +2.81% · as of 2026-08-07

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Value Investing FAQ (NVO)

Q. What are Novo Nordisk's (NVO) key value-investing metrics?Current P/E 11.7x (TTM), forward P/E ~15x, P/B 6.17x, ROE 59.8% (TTM), operating margin 41.3% (FY2025), gross margin 81.0%, and a 9-year revenue CAGR of +12.2% (sources: company annual report 2025 · stockanalysis, as of 2026-08-07).

Q. What is the analyst price-target consensus for Novo Nordisk?The average target across about 14 analysts is $47.32 (roughly +0.1% versus the current $47.26, i.e., near the current price). These are external consensus figures, not our own estimates. Sources: stockanalysis · Investing.com · Yahoo Finance, 2026-08.

Q. Why is the forward P/E (~15x) higher than the trailing P/E (11.7x)?Novo guided FY2026 revenue and operating profit to 0 to -6% in local currency (CER) on August 4, 2026 (raised from -4 to -12%). The steeply slower growth outlook is reflected in the forward P/E, making it higher than the trailing figure. Source: company IR.

Q. How does it look on Peter Lynch's PEG measure?In 'One Up on Wall Street' (1989), Peter Lynch offered a PEG range of 1.0-1.5 as a reference. On NVO's past high EPS growth, PEG looks low, but with 2026 guidance for sharply slower growth (adjusted 0 to -6%), PEG becomes of limited use.

Q. How does Novo Nordisk compare with Eli Lilly (LLY)?NVO's forward P/E of 15.4x is about half of LLY's 32.3x, and its operating margin (41.3%, FY2025) is now below Lilly's (49.7%, TTM). Revenue growth is faster at LLY (~+45%) than NVO (+10% in local currency), and U.S. GLP-1 prescription share at the end of 2025 was Lilly ~57-60% > Novo ~40%. Sources: company IR · CNBC.

Q. Why does Novo's financial data seem to mix dollars and kroner?Novo reports its financial statements in Danish kroner (DKK), while the U.S. ADR (NVO) trades in dollars. Some data sources mislabel DKK amounts as USD, so take care (e.g., EPS of 23 is in DKK, $3.49 is in USD). Revenue and profit on this page are USD-converted.

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