Novo Nordisk's Pill, BMW's Struggle, Diageo Up

Hello, I'm Stephen Carroll. I'm in Brussels, where many of Europe's biggest decisions get made. And I'm Caroline Hepker in London. We're the hosts of the Bloomberg Daybreak Europe podcast. We're up early every weekday, keeping an eye on what's happening across Europe and around the world. We do it early so the news is fresh, not recycled, and so you know what actually matters as the day gets going. From Brussels, I'm following the politics, policy and the people shaping the European Union right now. And from London, I'm looking at what all that means for markets, money and the wider economy. We've got reporters across Europe and around the globe feeding in as stories break. So whether it's geopolitics, energy, tech or markets, you're hearing it while it happens. It's smart, calm and to the point. And it fits into your morning. You can find new episodes of the Bloomberg Daybreak Europe podcast by 7am in Dublin or 8am in Brussels, Berlin and Paris. on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. The Stock Movers Report. Your roundup of companies making moves in the stock market, harnessing the power of Bloomberg data. Let's take a look at some stocks on the move today in Europe. I'm Stephen Carroll with Caroline Hepker, and we're joined by Bloomberg reporter Chloe Melle. Chloe good morning Let start with Novo Nordisk this morning Their shares sharply higher a dose of optimism There was very strong demand for its weight loss pill in the first quarter And so that means that the sales decline for this year is actually going to be a little bit less severe than was previously expected. So just to give some numbers on this, as of the week that ended on April 17th, more than 2 million prescriptions of that weight loss pill had been issued in the US. So it's really a major success for Novo. And this is very reassuring after a lot of setbacks over the past year or so for the company. It is worth noting that although this does come as a relief, it's a really good performance for the Wigovie pill, there are some challenges ahead. And the big one is going to be that Eli Lilly has just launched its own obesity pill just last month. So there is a risk of losing market share to this new drug. And there's also questions surrounding supply capacity when the pill from Novo actually launches in other countries beyond the US. And that is expected to happen in the second half. So there's some things to iron out, some hurdles ahead, but there's also some relief too. And we can see that reflected in those shares. Yeah, absolutely amazing, isn't it? The obesity pill, amazing steps forward. Well, drink makers are also struggling. Lots of industries are struggling with the repercussions of this really massive change because of drugs like Ozempic Diageo though seems to be bucking the trend Why Yeah it a pretty good result from Diageo So the sales rose slightly in the quarter So that was actually much better than what analysts had expected which was expectations of a decline instead And there was really strong growth in some geographies. So Africa and Latin America did particularly well. And that was enough to offset some significant weakness in the US. So this actually echoes what we heard from AB InBev just yesterday with really strong beer demand in Colombia and Mexico and Peru managing to offset the weakness in the US and China. And so it seems that we have got this trend of lower alcohol consumption, which is driven by the uptake of weight loss drugs, as you mentioned, a general kind of health and wellness trend. And it was, of course, as well, the cost of living pressures. But that limited alcohol consumption, that's kind of limited now to some geographies, not all it seems to be. And the performance in the US was still quite weak. So that is something that will need to be addressed by management. And that is part of the CEO's plan. He said that some actions will be taken for that. He's also planning on fixing some other issues for the adjoin, things like poor service levels, things like too much focus on premium drinks as well. So now it'll focus more as well on some ready to drink, ready to drink portfolio like canned cocktails, which is something that AB InBev has been doing as well, actually. So we are seeing things turning around slowly for the edger. Okay turning then to BMW Shares also higher in BMW this morning up around 6 at the moment And this is despite the international competition that the carmaker is facing Yeah at first glance there actually some weakness for BMW We seeing some really intense competition, as you mentioned, in China. There's also the impact of tariffs, and those have really hurt the margin. But then orders in Europe were actually stronger than expected, and of EVs in particular, that was particularly strong. And cash flow was solid too. So, all of that has allowed BMW to keep its guidance. And so, that's what investors have decided to focus on this morning rather than the impact of that competition and of those tariffs. And analysts have called the results reasonable. So, it's not groundbreaking. But given that all the challenges that are being faced by car makers at the moment, the expectations are maybe not so high. But going forward, the risks really remain the same. China is still a big problem given how much market share BMW and those other companies are losing to local manufacturers. And then tariffs too, there's still that current threat of 25% tariffs unless the EU ratifies the current trade deal. So still some issues, but reassuring results so far. The Stock Movers Report from Bloomberg Radio. Check back with us throughout the day for the latest roundup of companies making news on Wall Street. And for the latest market moving headlines, listen to Bloomberg Radio live. Catch us on YouTube, Bloomberg.com and on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app.