12:42 PM EDT, 05/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) first-quarter results topped Wall Street's projections, while the Danish drugmaker tempered its 2025 sales outlook as competition from compounded obesity and diabetes drugs in the US impacted the early part of the year.

The company on Wednesday reported per-share earnings of 6.53 Danish kroner ($0.99) for the quarter ended March 31, up from 5.68 kroner a year earlier. The FactSet-polled consensus was for EPS of 6.02 kroner. Sales jumped 19% year on year to 78.09 billion kroner, surpassing the Street's view of 76.95 billion kroner. US and international sales reported double-digit revenue gains.

Revenue in the company's diabetes and obesity care segment climbed 21% to 73.47 billion kroner, led by an 85% jump for its Wegovy weight loss drug to $17.36 billion. Sales of the Ozempic diabetes treatment grew 18%, while Victoza, which helps keep blood sugar levels in check, fell 46%. Novo's US-traded shares were up 2.3% intraday.

For full-year 2025, the pharmaceutical company now anticipates currency neutral sales to grow between 13% and 21%, compared with the previous growth range of 16% to 24%. The company lowered its operating profit growth expectation to between 16% and 24% from a previous outlook of 19% to 27%. Analysts polled by FactSet expect EPS of 26.10 kroner on reported revenue of 337.33 billion kroner.

"We have reduced our full-year outlook due to lower-than-planned branded (glucagon-like peptide 1) penetration impacted by the rapid expansion of compounding in the US," Chief Executive Lars Fruergaard Jogensen said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) is actively focused on preventing unlawful compounding, as well as the efforts to expand patient access on our GLP-1 treatments."

US compounding pharmacies were allowed to make legal copies of Novo's Wegovy and Ozempic due to a shortage, but the Food and Drug Administration announced in February that their shortage was over.

"Following the US FDA removal of semaglutide injectables from the drug shortage list, the sales outlook assumes a reduction in patients on compounded GLP-1 treatments during the second half of 2025," Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen said on the call.

Wegovy and Ozempic are chemically known as semaglutide, Reuters reported.

Tariffs so far announced do not significantly change Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) financial outlook for this year, although the company is closely following potential duties on pharmaceutical products in the US, company officials said.

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the FDA to reduce the amount of time it takes to approve domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing plants. The order also directs the FDA to "increase fees for and inspections of foreign manufacturing plants."

"All of the 2025 expectations are based on assumptions that the global and regional macroeconomic and political environment will not change significantly business conditions for Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) during 2025 including changes in tariffs and duties," Knudsen told analysts.

He warned that "a potential expansion or increase of tariffs may have a negative impact on Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) and our industry."

Price: 67.55, Change: +1.26, Percent Change: +1.90