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Novo Nordisk A S key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, Novo Nordisk A S had return on equity of 61.6%, an operating margin of 41.3%, debt equal to 136.1% of equity and a current ratio of 0.80. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Novo Nordisk A S: financial ratios, annual
Fiscal year2019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025
Gross margin83.5%83.5%83.2%83.9%84.6%84.7%81.0%
Operating margin43.0%42.6%41.7%42.3%44.2%44.2%41.3%
Net margin31.9%33.2%33.9%31.4%36.0%34.8%33.1%
Free-cash-flow margin31.0%36.3%34.6%37.7%35.8%25.4%19.1%
Return on equity67.5%67.7%71.8%69.0%87.3%82.0%61.6%
Return on assets—27.1%28.4%24.4%29.9%26.3%20.7%
Asset turnover—0.820.840.780.830.760.62
Current ratio—0.940.860.890.820.740.80
Debt to equity7.8%28.1%70.7%57.5%51.0%116.0%136.1%
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)—138.8x—197.9x189.3x78.3x30.3x
Effective tax rate19.8%20.7%19.2%19.6%20.1%20.6%21.5%
R&D as % of revenue11.7%12.2%12.6%13.6%14.0%16.6%16.8%
Capital spending as % of revenue7.3%4.6%4.5%6.9%11.1%16.2%19.5%
Free cash flow ÷ net income97.2%109.5%101.9%120.2%99.3%73.1%57.6%
Dividends ÷ net income49.8%47.8%45.1%45.6%38.0%43.7%50.5%
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow91.8%80.2%84.2%74.0%74.2%87.2%90.1%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

3 of 7 checks passed · December 31, 2025
What it owns · $85.3bn
Short-term assets $27.1bnLonger-term assets $58.2bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $85.3bn
Short-term liabilities $33.9bnLonger-term liabilities $20.9bnShareholders' equity $30.5bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $27.1bn of assets due within a year against $33.9bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $27.1bn short-term assets against $20.9bn of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt $4.2bn of cash against $41.5bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 136% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 5% to 136% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $18.0bn of operating cash flow against $41.5bn of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Operating income of $19.3bn against $637m of interest.

From Novo Nordisk A S's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

Not assessed: fewer than five years of comparable figures in the filings. AI disruption exposure for this industry: Medium.

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

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Figures from Novo Nordisk A S's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved November 1, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Novo Nordisk A S.