The company’s A shares are not listed and are held by Novo Holdings A/S, a Danish public limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

The Foundation has a dual objective: to provide a stable basis for the commercial and research activities conducted by the companies within the Novo Group (of which Novo Nordisk A/S is the largest), and to support scientific and humanitarian purposes. According to the Articles of Association of the Foundation, the A shares cannot be divested.

As of 8 November 2024, Novo Holdings A/S also held a B share capital of nominally DKK 17,756,050. Novo Nordisk A/S A and B shares are calculated in units of DKK 0.10. Each A share carries 100 votes and each B share carries 10 votes.