UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONWashington D.C. 20549 ☐REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934OR☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025OR☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934OR☐SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934Date of event requiring this shell company report……………For the transition period from _____ to _____ Commission file number1-15024Novartis AG(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)N/A(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)Switzerland(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)Lichtstrasse 354056Basel, Switzerland(Address of principal executive offices)Karen L. HaleChief Legal & ComplianceOfficerNovartis AGCH 4056BaselSwitzerlandTel.: +41-61-324-1111Fax: +41-61-324-7826(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registeredAmerican Depositary Shares each representing 1shareNVSNew York Stock ExchangeOrdinary shares, nominal value CHF 0.49 per share*NOVNNew York Stock Exchange* * Not for trading but only in connection with the registration of American Depositary Shares representing such ordinary shares.Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NoneSecurities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:None Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:1 908 151 679 ordinary sharesIndicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Note—Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 fromtheir obligations under those Sections. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during thepreceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for thepast 90 days. Yes☒No☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 ofRegulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒No☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company.Seedefinition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.Large accelerated filer☒Accelerated filer☐Non-accelerated filer☐Emerging growth company☐ If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not touse the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the ExchangeAct.☐† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the FinancialAccounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its auditreport.☒If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).☐Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing: International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standard