In this podcast, Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser and contributor Matt Frankel discuss:
- Why Novo Nordisk is parting ways with Hims & Hers.
- Waymo and Uber‘s big Atlanta debut.
- What the potential tax deduction on autos could mean for consumers and companies.
- A financials-related stock that is worth a closer look.
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A full transcript is below.
This podcast was recorded on June 23, 2025.
Jason Moser: Breaking up is hard to do. You’re listening to Motley Fool Money. Welcome to Motley Fool Money. I’m Jason Moser, and joining me today is Motley Fool Analyst Matt Frankel. Matt, thanks for being here.
Matt Frankel: Always good to be here. It’s been a while, and I’m glad we get to do these more frequently now.
Jason Moser: Absolutely. On today’s show, Novo Nordisk is parting ways with Hims & Hers, Waymo and Uber make a big debut in Atlanta, who wins from a proposed tax deduction on auto loans, and will also take a closer look at a stock on Matt’s radar in the financial space. But before we dive in, let’s take a look at a few of the headlines driving the market today. Markets are up today as investors continue to digest the news coming out of the Middle East. While a ceasefire is still uncertain, the growing possibility of negotiations continues to keep investors at least somewhat optimistic. Despite recent reports, Starbucks clarified it’s not currently looking for a full sale of Chinese operations, though CEO Brian Niccol has confirmed that Starbucks is open to exploring partnerships in the country.
Last week, the Fed voted to hold rates steady, though it appears that sentiment could be starting to shift within the committee members. A recent update to the dot plot showed that nine of the 19 officials favored either zero or one cut this year, while eight saw two cuts, and now two others expect three. On Monday, Novo Nordisk, the producer of the popular weight loss drug, Wegovy, announced that it was ending its partnership with virtual healthcare provider Hims & Hers, and the market didn’t like that news at all. Shares of Hims & Hers fell almost 35% on the day. Matt, Hims & Hers’ shares have been on a tear recently. It’s easy to understand why. The company has grown revenue at about 80% annualized over the last five years, but what does this Novo news signal to you?
Matt Frankel: Just for some background, Novo partnered with Hims & Hers to sell their Wegovy drug, the popular weight loss drug, instead of its own compounded knock-off version, I guess, you would say. The idea was, this is an unauthorized compound. There was a lot of risk that there was going to be a legal battle between the two companies, so they just decided to come together and solve it that way. The partnership only lasted a few months. Generally speaking, by every account at every step of the purchasing process, Hims & Hers was still pushing people toward its own compounded version at, like I said, every step of the way. It’s easy to see why they make higher gross margins from their own product than selling Novo Nordisk’s version, but that wasn’t the agreement. Really, that was what management said in a statement when they described what happened. The real risk isn’t that this is going to be a big revenue hit to Hims & Hers. Obviously, like I said, there’s higher gross margins from their own product than selling at someone else’s. The risk now is that a lawsuit’s likely coming next if they continue to sell a knock-off version. That’s really why I see the stock down as much as it is. It’s not that it’s going to have 35% lower revenue. It’s that there’s a lot of legal risk now that they’re not partners.
Jason Moser: This seems to center around compounding drugs, which as you said, these are not FDA approved. Dave Moore, the EVP of Novo’s US operations, said regarding the decision, “We expected that the efforts toward compounding personalization would diminish over time when we didn’t see that. We had to make a choice on behalf of patients.” The bear on Hims would say, “They’re just out to make a quick buck.” Then the bull would say that they are looking out for the patient’s best interests in making certain medications more widely available. Is this becoming a bigger risk for Hims & Hers, at least the perception? I’m not necessarily saying it’s the case, but the perception that they’re not really looking out for their patients best interests.
Matt Frankel: Honestly, selling a compounded non-FDA-approved drug just doesn’t sound very like something like I would want to get involved in in the first place.
Jason Moser: I think I’d want FDA approval personally, but who am I?
Matt Frankel: But it’s also a big cost difference and things like that, so I can understand it. Like I said, it’s just a real big open question of how much these companies are going to be fighting with each other. It’s not that they’re not looking out for people. It’s just that they’re telling people this is not an FDA-approved product, but you can get it cheaper and things like that, but the general push was toward their own product and away from the real version.
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