Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk's revenue rose 6.4% to DKK 309.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 41.3%, down from 44.2% a year earlier. Free cash flow was DKK 59.0 billion, down 20.1%. It paid out DKK 53.2 billion in dividends and buybacks, 90% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.3%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2019 to 2025, earnings per share grew 18.8% a year and net income 17.5% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 7%.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 10.7 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 15.7 | 26.5 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 40.3 | 27.2 | 33.5 | 115.9 | 143.0 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 29.6 | 14.6 | 19.1 | 100.2 | 116.5 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.7x | 0.8x |
| Debt to equity | 0.6x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.8x | 0.7x |
| Interest coverage | 202.9x | 197.9x | 189.2x | 78.3x | 30.3x |
| Current ratio | 0.9x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| F-score | 8 of 9 | 5 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −9.1% | −5.1% | −3.3% |
Compare
Put Novo Nordisk side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | FY25 | 6.4% | 41.3% | 19.1% | 36.1% | 0.8x | 6 | |
| Johnson & Johnson | FY25 | 6.0% | — | 20.9% | 28.6% | 0.7x | 4 | Compare |
| Eli Lilly | FY25 | 44.7% | — | 13.8% | 40.8% | 1.2x | 8 | Compare |
| Merck | FY25 | 1.3% | — | 19.0% | 24.8% | 1.2x | 4 | Compare |
| Pfizer | FY25 | −1.6% | — | 14.5% | 7.2% | 3.2x | 6 | Compare |
7 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||
| Revenue | 122.0 | 126.9 | 140.8 | 177.0 | 232.3 | 290.4 | 309.1 |
| Revenue growth | — | 4.0% | 10.9% | 25.7% | 31.3% | 25.0% | 6.4% |
| Gross profit | 101.9 | 106.0 | 117.1 | 148.5 | 196.5 | 245.9 | 250.3 |
| Research and development | 14.2 | 15.5 | 17.8 | 24.0 | 32.4 | 48.1 | 52.0 |
| Operating income | 52.5 | 54.1 | 58.6 | 74.8 | 102.6 | 128.3 | 127.7 |
| Net income | 39.0 | 42.1 | 47.8 | 55.5 | 83.7 | 101.0 | 102.4 |
| Diluted EPS (DKK) | 8.19 | 9.01 | 10.37 | 12.22 | 18.62 | 22.63 | 23.03 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 4,757 | 4,680 | 4,606 | 4,545 | 4,495 | 4,463 | 4,448 |
| Cash flow | |||||||
| Cash from operations | 46.8 | 52.0 | 55.0 | 78.9 | 108.9 | 121.0 | 119.1 |
| Capital expenditure | 8.9 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 12.1 | 25.8 | 47.2 | 60.1 |
| Free cash flow | 37.9 | 46.1 | 48.7 | 66.7 | 83.1 | 73.8 | 59.0 |
| Dividends paid | 19.4 | 20.1 | 21.5 | 25.3 | 31.8 | 44.1 | 51.8 |
| Share buybacks | 15.3 | 16.9 | 19.4 | 24.1 | 29.9 | 20.2 | 1.4 |
| Acquisitions | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.3 | 7.1 | 0.0 | 82.2 | 0.0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.4 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | |||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 15.4 | 12.2 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 15.7 | 26.5 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | — | 17.8 | 40.3 | 27.2 | 33.5 | 115.9 | 143.0 |
| Total assets | — | 144.9 | 194.5 | 241.3 | 314.5 | 465.6 | 542.9 |
| Total liabilities | — | 81.6 | 123.8 | 157.8 | 207.9 | 322.1 | 348.9 |
| Shareholders' equity | 57.6 | 63.3 | 70.7 | 83.5 | 106.6 | 143.5 | 194.0 |
| Margins and ratios | |||||||
| Gross margin | 83.5% | 83.5% | 83.2% | 83.9% | 84.6% | 84.7% | 81.0% |
| Operating margin | 43.0% | 42.6% | 41.6% | 42.3% | 44.2% | 44.2% | 41.3% |
| Net margin | 31.9% | 33.2% | 33.9% | 31.4% | 36.0% | 34.8% | 33.1% |
| Free cash flow margin | 31.0% | 36.3% | 34.6% | 37.7% | 35.8% | 25.4% | 19.1% |
| Return on capital | — | — | 56.0% | 60.6% | 73.3% | 55.2% | 36.1% |
| Return on equity | — | — | 71.2% | 72.0% | 88.1% | 80.8% | 60.7% |
| Return on assets | — | — | 28.1% | 25.5% | 30.1% | 25.9% | 20.3% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | — | — | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.7x | 0.8x |