Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B.CO)

Novo Nordisk shares plunged after it missed estimates for its second-quarter operating profit as the company behind Ozempic sold fewer of its weight loss and diabetes drugs than expected and cut its profit forecast.

Sales increased 25% to DKK68bn (￡7.82bn/$9.94bn) in the period, below the 26.7% pace forecast by analysts.

Europe's largest company by market cap said that the 25% increase in net sales was driven by diabetes and obesity care as well as insulin sales. GLP-1 diabetes sales increased by 32% year-on-year, up from 30% in the previous quarter.

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Obesity care sales rose by 34% compared to a year ago, slowing from a 41% increase in the first quarter. Sales of the diabetes treatment Ozempic and the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy rose by 30% and 53%, respectively.

Earnings before interest and tax also came in below the forecasts at DKK25.93bn compared to DKK26.86bn for LSEG. Net profit for the quarter was DKK20.5bn, short of expectations of DKK21.3bn.

Additionally, Novo Nordisk trimmed its operating profit outlook for full-year 2024, saying growth was now anticipated to come in between 20% and 28%, rather than the previously expected 22% to 30% range.

CEO Lars Fruergaard J?rgensen said: "We are pleased with the sales growth in the first half of 2024, which has enabled us to raise the outlook for the full year." However, the firm has trimmed its operating profit growth forecast to between 20% and 28%, down from the 22% to 30% predicted in the first quarter.

Airbnb (ABNB)

Airbnb shares dropped over 15% in after-hours trading after the company reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations and amid signs of slowing demand from US customers.

The San Francisco-based company reported quarterly profit of $555m compared to $650m last year.

It expects third-quarter revenue to be between $3.67bn and $3.73bn, below analysts’ estimate of $3.84bn, according to London Stock Exchange Group data.

Revenue rose 11% from a year earlier to $2.75bn, slightly higher than analysts' forecasts.

The vacation-rental platform said it booked 125.1 million nights and experiences in the second quarter, a 9% increase from a year earlier.

However, it cautioned that it was “seeing shorter booking lead times globally and some signs of slowing demand from US guests.”

The company also said it had removed more than 200,000 low-quality listings since it launched its “quality system” more than a year ago.

Glencore (GLEN.L)

Glencore will retain its coal and carbon steel business as its boss seeks to boost profits for shareholders.

Chief executive Gary Nagle said there had been a “significant change in shareholder appetite” for holding coal assets, even in the past year. He added that said that after “considering both risk and opportunity scenarios” the board had decided to retain the coal business.

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The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) mining company had set out plans to spin off the segment after acquiring a majority stake in the steelmaking coal business of Canada-based Teck Resources (TECK-A.TO) for $6.9bn last year.

Glencore announced the decision on coal alongside its first-half financial results, with the miner reported that revenues increased by 9% in the first half of the year to $117.1bn but underlying profits dropped by a third to $6.3bn.

Nagel said this was down to “lower average prices for many of our key commodities during the period”.

Fortinet (FTNT)

Shares in Fortinet surged in pre-market trading after the cybersecurity company beat analysts' expectation for its fiscal second-quarter earnings report.

For the quarter ended June 30, Fortinet reported adjusted earnings per share of 57 cents, up from 38 cents in the same quarter of the previous year, on revenue of $1.43bn, up 11% year-over-year.

For the current quarter ending 30 September, Fortinet forecast revenue in a range of $1.445bn to $1.505bn.

The Sunnyvale, California-based firm said billings, a sales growth metric, was flat at $1.54bn, the same as a year earlier, compared with analyst estimates of $1.52bn.

"In the second quarter, we successfully balanced growth and profitability as our non-GAAP operating margin increased 820 basis points year-over-year to a company record of 35.1%, while billings and revenue were at the high end of their respective guidance ranges," said Ken Xie, Fortinet's founder.

Looking ahead, Fortinet raised its full-year 2024 guidance, now expecting revenue between $5.8bn and $5.9bn, up from its previous forecast and above analyst estimates of $5.79bn.

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