Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic Empire Is Cracking… and Wall Street Just Cut Off the King’s Head

Eight years ago, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen stepped in as CEO of Novo Nordisk. The stock was trading under $40. Fast forward to July of 2024, and Novo was flirting with $140 per share, its market cap had tripled, and Lars had become the guy who helped turn a sleepy Danish insulin shop into the face of modern weight loss.

He gave us Ozempic. He gave us Wegovy. And (if you believe the hype) he may have helped give your aunt Linda her jawline back… even though she still claims it was all diet and exercise. But this week, after 33 years with the company and 8 years in the top seat, Jorgensen was asked to wrap it up. Novo Nordisk announced he’s “stepping down” in a very classic “we won’t call it a firing if you don’t” arrangement. The real reason was that the stock has dropped 53% over the last 12 months.

Because on Wall Street, it’s not “What have you done for me?” It’s “What did you do for me this morning… and why wasn’t it 20% better than last quarter?” Let’s rewind a bit. Ozempic, first approved for type 2 diabetes, turned out to have a magical side effect: people were losing weight. Lots of it. So Novo fast-tracked Wegovy (a higher-dose version aimed specifically at obesity) and beat everyone to market.

Demand exploded. Novo literally couldn’t keep it on shelves. Supply bottlenecks were so bad, they had to upgrade their guidance three times in 2023 just to keep up. By the end of the year, Yahoo Finance named them Company of the Year. At the time, Novo owned the weight-loss market. It was theirs to lose.

Unfortunately… they did. While Novo was hurrying to scale production (eventually buying Catalent and selling off three manufacturing sites to itself just to speed things up), Eli Lilly showed up with a GLP-1 double tap: Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss. Both showed even greater fat-burning potential than Novo’s offerings.

In Q1 2025, Zepbound officially overtook Wegovy in new prescriptions. Mounjaro was on track to catch up with Ozempic by August, according to BMO Capital. And while Novo was still trying to shake its “we’re out of stock” reputation, Lilly had already cleared the FDA’s shortage list and ramped up supply.

Novo missed Q1 2025 earnings. They cut their full-year guidance. And the real pain in the neck was that compounding pharmacies flooded the market with knockoff versions of GLP-1 drugs (legally gray, yes, but enough to ding sales). Investors weren’t feeling forgiving. The share price cratered more than 50% from its 2024 high. And when Novo’s parent (the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which holds a controlling voting stake) starts pushing for new leadership, things move fast. Hence, Lars is “helping with the transition” (read: emailing HR for COBRA info), and a global CEO search is now underway.

To be fair, Jorgensen’s run was historic. Under his leadership, Novo redefined obesity treatment, brought in record profits, and built a product so popular it became a punchline on SNL. But when growth stalls and competitors pass you by, the market doesn’t care how many mountains you climbed. It just wants to know why you’re not climbing this one faster.

Even despite the firing… Lars is expected to join the board in 2026. Now it’s up to whoever comes next to keep Novo in the GLP-1 fight… because Lilly’s swinging, Wall Street’s watching, and the fat loss gold rush isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

PS: It’s a mess out there.

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We’re seeing violent price action. Especially in the small-cap space, where low floats and high anxiety are creating the perfect recipe for 100%+ pops before lunchtime. Some of these names are moving 200%+ in under 24 hours… and to our knowledge, NO ONE else is covering them.

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Stock.News does not have positions in companies mentioned.