Novo Holdings assets fall 34% in 2025 as Novo Nordisk's market value drops

Novo Holdings, the investment company that holds a controlling stake in Novo Nordisk, said its total assets under management fell 34% in 2025, from €142 billion ($163.8 billion) to €93 billion ($107.3 billion) ^[1][2]. The company attributed the decline primarily to the significant drop in the market value of Novo Nordisk, the maker of the GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide) ^[1][2].

The headline number does not reflect Novo Holdings' own investing performance. The company said its investment portfolio returned 9.2% in constant exchange rates in 2025, down from 14.8% in constant exchange rates in 2024, and 2.3% in Danish kroner ^[1]. Total income and investment returns were DKK 21 billion (€2.8 billion), made up of DKK 15 billion (€2.0 billion) in dividends from the Novo Group companies and DKK 5.8 billion (€0.8 billion) in returns from its investment assets ^[1]. The investment portfolio itself grew from DKK 216 billion (€29 billion) at the end of 2024 to DKK 226 billion (€30 billion) at the end of 2025 ^[1].

Novo Holdings said two other factors weighed on the results: the US dollar depreciated by more than 11% against the Danish krone, and Novo Nordisk suspended its share buyback in 2025, so Novo Holdings received no proceeds from one ^[1]. "We delivered a strong performance during the year, driven by, among other things, significant monetisations such as the exit of Clario and KabaFusion," CEO Kasim Kutay said, adding that the year came "against a backdrop of considerable headwinds for the life sciences industry" ^[1]. KabaFusion closed in the first quarter of 2026, and Clario is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026 ^[1].

The portfolio is split between Life Science Investments, which held DKK 124 billion (€17 billion) and returned -0.3% in Danish kroner but 9.8% in constant exchange rates, and Capital Investments, which held DKK 114 billion (€15 billion) and returned 6.4% in kroner and 9.8% in constant exchange rates ^[1]. Novo Holdings deployed DKK 13 billion (€1.8 billion) into life sciences during 2025, added 12 new companies, exited 36 and held 170 companies at year-end ^[1]. Its five- and 10-year returns are 8.0% and 8.9% in constant exchange rates ^[1].

The report closes a turbulent stretch for the Novo group of companies. The Novo Nordisk Foundation overhauled Novo Nordisk's board in May and removed CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who was succeeded by Maziar Mike Doustdar ^[2]. Novo Nordisk's market value in February 2026 fell to a low not seen since before Wegovy's approval in June 2021 ^[2]. In early February 2026, the drugmaker said it expects sales to decline 5% in 2026, mainly because of lower drug prices in the US ^[2]. Doustdar said the launch of oral Wegovy was going "extremely well," with 100,000 Americans taking the pill in the first weeks after launch ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

These figures describe the finances of Novo Nordisk's parent company, not the medicines. The 34% decline reflects the market value of Novo Nordisk shares, not a change in what semaglutide does or whether it is available. The results do not report any interruption in the supply or availability of Ozempic or Wegovy ^[1][2].

Where patients could eventually feel an effect is pricing and competition. Novo Nordisk told investors it expects a 5% sales decline in 2026, mainly due to lower US drug prices ^[2]. Lower prices or more competing products can affect what insurers cover and what people pay at the pharmacy, but the results do not disclose how any individual patient's out-of-pocket cost will change ^[1][2].

Competition is also moving. Eli Lilly's orforglipron, an experimental oral GLP-1 pill, is expected to receive FDA approval soon and launch in the second quarter ^[2]. Novo Holdings' returns fund the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has philanthropic objectives ^[1]. Whether the smaller asset base affects the foundation's grantmaking has not been disclosed ^[1].

What happens next

KabaFusion closed in the first quarter of 2026, and the Clario exit is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026 ^[1]. Lilly's orforglipron is expected to receive FDA approval soon and launch in the second quarter of 2026 ^[2]. Novo Nordisk has forecast a 5% sales decline for 2026 ^[2].

Novo Holdings did not say whether it expects assets under management to recover in 2026, and no such guidance has been reported ^[1].