Novo Nordisk quarterly profit meets expectations as Wegovy maker narrows full-year guidance

Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported third quarter earnings broadly in line with expectations and narrowed its 2024 full-year growth guidance.

The Danish pharmaceutical giant said that its net profit in the third quarter hit 27.3 billion Danish kroner ($3.92 billion), above an LSEG aggregate estimate of 26.95 billion Danish kroner.

EBIT — earnings before tax and income — came to 33.8 billion Danish kroner, also just above the LSEG forecast of 33.51 billion Danish kroner.

The company also narrowed its sales growth guidance for the full year 2024 to 23% to 27% from 22% to 28% at constant exchange rates.

Novo Nordisk has weathered increasingly strong competition, but also received promising news in the weight-loss space in recent months.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said all doses of Wegovy were now available in the U.S. after previously noting that the lowest dose of Wegovy was in short supply. The news was taken as a signal that Novo Nordisk's efforts to ramp up supplies of Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic are paying off.

Also in October, a study showed that Ozempic could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, suggesting its potential to delay or prevent the memory-robbing condition.

— CNBC's Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this story