Novo Nordisk reported second-quarter sales of DKK 78,488 million, up 2% as reported and 3% at constant exchange rates, which strip out currency swings [1]. Adjusted operating profit came in higher, at DKK 33,389 million, up 11% at constant exchange rates, so earnings grew faster than the top line.
The number the company most wants attention on is the oral version of Wegovy. In the week ending July 17, the pill passed 265,000 weekly prescriptions in the United States, and Novo said it has crossed 5 million prescriptions since launch. Chief Executive Mike Doustdar put the franchise at the center of the year. "The Wegovy product portfolio remains a key growth driver for Novo Nordisk in 2026, led by the continued rapid adoption of Wegovy pill in the US," he said.
Novo also improved its full-year 2026 guidance, to a range of 0% to negative 6% at constant exchange rates for both sales and adjusted operating profit. That range is worth reading carefully. Improved or not, the top of it is zero growth, and the bottom is a decline. For a company that spent recent years posting double-digit gains, a best case of flat is itself the news.
The throughline runs through price and access. A pill is easier to take than a weekly injection, and easier adoption is what drove the 265,000 weekly scripts. The list prices behind those scripts remain high, and US coverage is patchy, so the same launch that lifts Novo's numbers leaves out the patients who cannot get the drug covered. The quarter rewards shareholders with DKK 33,389 million in adjusted profit; it does not resolve who pays for the pill.
