Ozempic Maker Soars Past LVMH. Now Europe’s Largest Company

Welcome to the Level Ups. Modern business news in plain-Jane English.

Today, we cover:

• Novo Nordisk surpasses LVMH as Europe’s largest company.

• AI: New GPTs make life a little too easy.

• WeWork files for bankruptcy.

• Canadian Corner: New foreign worker rules.

Let’s get into it.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes & 30 seconds.

TOP STORY

Skinny Life > Luxury Life

LVMH was dethroned by the people who manufacture drugs that allegedly make us skinny. Novo Nordisk (Novo), a Danish company known for diabetes and obesity drugs (Ozempic and Wegovy, respectively), has seen incredible growth this year. You’ve probably heard of Ozempic.

It’s believed their drugs can help people lose weight “nearly risk-free.”

I haven’t taken either one, so I can’t say much. But the good news is that I don’t have to because the market has spoken (and absolutely believes it).

Novo’s share price is up over 47% this year.

• Sales are hitting record-breaking numbers. Third-quarter revenue was $3.32B for Ozempic and $1.07B for Wegovy.

• There was literally a shortage of Ozempic (it’s controversial because many bought it to lose weight, while diabetics need it for real treatment).

• The FDA might even expand the use of Wegovy (a very positive sign for Novo).

• Novo is spending an additional $6B to ramp up production.

There’s even speculation that Wegovy specifically can help reduce the risk of heart attacks (consult a doctor for a professional opinion).

Is It As Good As It Looks?

Pharmaceutical companies are often criticized, and many believe they do not have the best reputation.

While you could say the same for many major industries, the pandemic especially highlighted companies like Pfizer (who are already looking to create an Ozempic alternative) and their contributions to this record-low reputation.

Consult a physician before trying any of these medications.

TECH

New GPTs Are Too Easy:

We covered how OpenAI released “NewGPTs,” a groundbreaking ChatGPT update on Monday.

This new feature letting users create their own custom version of the program has already blown up. There are already 700+ NewGPTs. Here are some favourites:

• CanvaGPT: use Canva templates without leaving ChatGPT.

• The Negotiator: helps you advocate for yourself to get better outcomes.

• Creative Writing Coach: reads and gives you feedback to improve your writing.

• Emoji Generator: create custom emojis from your instructions.

You can see them all by logging in to chat.openai.com

For example, I asked the Emoji Generator to make us a few custom emojis as logos. Here’s the outcome (the text needs work):

If you haven’t already, consider creating a free account.

This is the future; even just using it for reports and email work will save you hours every week.

COMPANY PROFILE

WeBroke

In 2019, WeWork was valued at approximately $47B (with a B). They’ve now filed for bankruptcy, in one of the biggest losses I’ve ever seen. It was one of the most valuable startups in the United States at one point.

It may not have a major impact on commercial real estate overall, but it is expected to impact smaller markets significantly. WeWork would be pulled from all existing agreements, leaving landlords on the hook since they still owe $100M in fees on top of those rental agreements.

There have already been reports on an upcoming commercial real estate crash, which makes the point clear.

Remote work is winning.

• Companies don’t have to pay rent.

• Employees (in many cases, not all) prefer working from home.

• Remote work actually increases productivity in many cases (again, not all).

Pay $20,000/month rent, or take your entire company on an annual retreat to the tropics? It’s tough out there.

CANADIAN CORNER

Foreign Worker Rule Changes:

The federal government announced new regulations eliminating Canadian experience as a requirement for job postings.

In addition, it also adds additional protections and punishment for companies that fail to comply (such as not giving foreign workers access to healthcare when they’re supposed to).

It’s a step towards getting foreigners working sooner, ideally boosting the economy.

However, even if companies can’t make it a requirement, they can still prefer it. Will this make much of a dent? Probably not, but it’s a step towards getting people to work sooner (arguably a good thing).

Business Insolvencies Hit 10-Year High

With interest rates starting to normalize, household insolvencies (bankruptcies) have declined, but it’s the opposite for businesses, according to regulatory filings.

While it will take a few more months to confirm the total impact of the higher interest rates on businesses, the trend is worrisome.

What makes it worse is reports from less than two weeks ago citing how fewer businesses are opening, reaching lows not seen since 2020.

This report cites insolvency data from before last week’s report. So when they say the “good news is fewer businesses are closing,” it’s not true anymore.

The worst of it all? Canada is seeing fewer entrepreneurs and more federal employees. I very rarely share opinions without a source. I don’t need a source to tell you that’s a bad sign.

Wrapping Up:

Rough to end on bad news for Canadian readers, but there is a sliver of hope.

The Canadian federal government has programs to help small businesses secure funding through financial institutions. Details here.

Thank you for reading.