Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) & Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO): Two Weight-Loss Pill Players Just Got Punished for Growing Fast

Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE: HIMS ) shares fell over 2% on Tuesday even after the telehealth company posted second-quarter revenue of $753.2 million, up 38% and above the $699 million analysts expected. The firm raised its full-year revenue outlook.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO ) suffered a similar fate a week earlier, with shares dropping about 6% despite raising its own annual guidance.

Both companies are chasing the same booming GLP-1 pill market, and investors punished both stocks around their latest updates for the same underlying worry: rising costs are eating into the profits that fast growth is supposed to deliver.

That raises the real question: is this normal growing pains in a hot new category, or a sign the weight-loss pill business is tougher to profit from than the market first assumed?

Subscriber count grew 19% to 2.89 million, and monthly revenue per average subscriber rose 21% to $92. The company raised its full-year revenue outlook to $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion, and its third-quarter guidance of $880 million to $900 million tops the $792 million analysts expected. CFO Yemi Okupe said the company has even more conviction now in its 2030 target of at least $6.5 billion in revenue.

Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) swung to a $127.9 million net loss from a $43.5 million profit a year earlier, far worse than the 5-cent-per-share loss analysts expected. Gross margin fell for a fourth straight quarter as the push into branded GLP-1 drugs and international markets drove cost of revenue up sharply. CFO Okupe said margins will likely stay below historical levels going forward. The company also faces an FTC lawsuit over alleged misuse of user data, which it disputes.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)'s updated guidance is technically an improvement, now calling for adjusted sales and operating profit down 6% to flat, versus a prior range of down 4% to 12%. Its Wegovy pill has topped 5 million prescriptions since its January launch, and CEO Mike Doustdar said roughly 300,000 UK patients started taking it within its first three weeks there.

Wegovy pill sales of 3.22 billion kroner missed the 3.33 billion kroner analysts expected. Novo's guidance also flagged a coming sales decline in its US business, citing tougher competition and lower realized prices tied to its pricing deal with the Trump administration. Mizuho's Jared Holz said the lack of upside in pill sales is what sent the stock lower.