Novo Nordisk's (NVO) U.S.-listed shares are rising 4% in premarket trading Wednesday after the Ozempic and Wegovy maker's better-than-estimated quarterly results offset slower 2025 sales growth projections amid "intensifying competition."

The maker of blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy reported fourth-quarter sales jumped 30% year-over-year to 85.68 billion Danish kroner ($11.97 billion), above the DKK80.62 billion estimate of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. Novo Nordisk's profit of DKK28.23 billion also topped estimates.

Wegovy sales soared 107% at constant exchange rates to DKK19.87 billion, just below estimates. Ozempic sales rose 12% to DKK33.85 billion, above expectations.

Novo Nordisk Sees 2025 Sales Growth of 16% to 24%

However, supply constraints and rising competition are weighing on its outlook. Novo Nordisk projected 2025 sales growth of 16% to 24% at constant exchange rates, below the 26% growth it produced in 2024. 

Novo Nordisk said that the guidance reflects "intensifying competition and continued pricing pressure within Diabetes and Obesity care." The company is a leader in the weight-loss drug space with Mounjaro and Zepbound maker Eli Lilly (LLY).

"In 2025, we will continue our focus on commercial execution, on the progression of our early and late-stage R&D pipeline and on the expansion of our production capacity," CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said.

Novo Nordisk's U.S.-listed shares have been trending lower since September, plunging in December after trial results for its weight-loss drug CagriSema disappointed. The Danish firm said Wednesday that "in order to secure supply chain readiness," it plans to file for the first regulatory approval of CagriSema during Q1 2026.