Weight-Loss Wars

Novo filed a lawsuit against its top rival, Eli Lilly, over "misleading national GLP-1 advertising campaigns"

(Getty Images) Hey Snackers, Remember when the fanciest thing you could add to your car was heated seats? Wealthy Americans are increasingly turning everyday SUVs into armored vehicles. Outfitting your car into something from a James Bond movie — or at least something that can protect you from a small handgun — starts at $50,000 and can easily top six figures. But some customers aren’t stopping there and are armoring multiple vehicles.  Stocks rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 gaining just under 1% and the Nasdaq 100 up almost 2%. PHARMA FOOD FIGHT Novo sues Lilly over “misleading national GLP-1 advertising campaigns” Novo Nordisk — the pharmaceutical giant behind Ozempic and Wegovy — filed a lawsuit against its top rival, Eli Lilly, on Tuesday, accusing Lilly of using outdated trial data to claim that its drugs are superior.  Lilly’s weight loss shot, Zepbound, did in fact beat Novo’s Wegovy in a head-to-head trial last year. But Novo has since gotten approval for a higher dose that has been shown to shed more pounds and has not yet been directly compared to Lilly’s competing product.   According to Novo, it asked Lilly to take down the ads in April, more than a month after its higher dose shot got approved in the US. Lilly did not respond to those requests, Novo said. “As new and more effective treatment options become available, people deserve accurate information that reflects the latest scientific evidence and helps them make informed care decisions,” Novo’s top lawyer, John F. Kuckelman said in a statement. It’s not the first time Novo has used the courts to win back market share: Earlier this year, the company sued Hims & Hers for selling a dupe of its Wegovy pill. Hims eventually took down the pill from its offerings and partnered with Novo to distribute the pharma giant’s branded products.  THE TAKEAWAY Denmark-based Novo, which was the first to bring a GLP-1 to market, has been outsold by its American rival Lilly for over a year now. That’s evident in their market performance — Novo is down more than 23% in the past year while Lilly swelled by over 50%, reaching a market capitalization of over $1 trillion.  In the first quarter of 2026, sales of Lilly’s GLP-1 shots hit $12.9 billion compared to Novo’s $7.3 billion. Analysts estimate that gap widened in the second quarter.  The lawsuit “does not seem like a decision that comes from a place of strength,” said Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management, which holds Lilly. “NVO is clearly worried.”  Novo does have one glimmer of hope: its Wegovy pill appears to be outselling Lilly’s weight loss pill, Foundayo. – J. Edward Moreno Snacks Shots 🏀 Lebron James’ next team: What team will LeBron play for in his 24th NBA season? The market gives the Cleveland Cavaliers a 38%* chance of getting the basketball legend on their roster, while Miami Heat are at a 36% chance. *Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC. Quarterly sales of “Magic: The Gathering” eclipsed $500 million for the first time in its 30-plus year history, Hasbro reported Tuesday. What else we're Snackin' The US is on the verge of losing its place as the world’s leading “farm superpower,” the FT reports. In 2025, Brazil exported just $2 billion less agricultural products — including fruits, vegetables and grains — than the US did, compared to a $56 billion gap in 2021.   Kraft Heinz and Disney have struck a deal, the WSJ reports. The food giant's products will be sold at Disney’s theme parks in North America in exchange for the ability to use Disney’s characters on some Kraft Heinz goods in stores. General Motors reported results that beat Wall Street estimates on Tuesday and raised its outlook, driven by higher sales of its most profitable models and fewer sales of its money-losing electric vehicles. Snack Fact of the Day South Korea's exports for the ‌first 20 days of July jumped 52.3% from a year ⁠earlier, led by a surge in shipments of semiconductors. Wednesday Philip Morris International and GE Vernova slated to release quarterly results ahead of the open. IBM, CSX, Texas Instruments, Tesla, Google, Crown Castle, ServiceNow, and Southwest Airlines slated to release quarterly results after the close. Craving more insights in your inbox? Subscribe to EntryPoint  and Scoreboard for quality reads. Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more Sherwood Terms and Conditions Our Editorial Standards Contact Us Advertise With Us Unsubscribe Privacy Policy SHERWOOD MEDIA, LLC, 85 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025