HELSINKI, March 25, 2026, 16:01 (EET).
Nokia Oyj shares rose 1.88% to 7.17 euros on Nasdaq Helsinki by 15:32 local time on Wednesday, while the New York-listed American depositary receipt, or ADR, a U.S.-traded form of the share, was up 0.97% to $8.33 a minute earlier. The gain came as European equities extended a relief rally. 1
The move matters because Nokia’s investor-relations page showed its latest stock exchange release was dated March 18, leaving investors to trade off the company’s March run of AI, optical-networking and telecom-partnership announcements rather than a fresh disclosure. The next hard catalyst is April 23, when Nokia is due to report first-quarter results. 1
The backdrop helped. Reuters reported the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 1.4% by 0856 GMT on Wednesday, with all key sectors higher as investors bet on a possible easing in the Middle East conflict. 2
Nokia has given the market plenty to parse this month. Reuters reported on March 2 that the Finnish telecom equipment maker expanded partnerships with TIM Brasil and Deutsche Telekom after a multi-year Telefonica data-centre deal in Spain, and Nokia said on March 16 it had launched optical products designed for AI-era traffic and lower network costs. 3
In a March 1 release, Chief Executive Justin Hotard said “AI is the new workload” reshaping networks. David Heard, president of Network Infrastructure, said in a March 16 release that the sector was at a “critical inflection point.” 4
Outside experts have used much the same language. Rémy Pascal of Omdia said Nokia’s work on AI-powered radio access networks, or AI-RAN, was “gaining traction”, while Cignal AI analyst Kyle Hollasch said AI is “fundamentally changing optical networks” as hyperscalers, telecom operators and enterprises all add capacity. 4
The financial case is steadier than the share move. Nokia’s fourth-quarter 2025 net sales rose to 6.13 billion euros, and its adjusted operating profit — which the company calls comparable operating profit — was 1.06 billion euros; for 2026, Nokia is targeting 2.0 billion to 2.5 billion euros of comparable operating profit. 5
But the timing risk is plain. Nokia said first-quarter 2026 net sales excluding Nokia Technologies were likely to fall somewhat more than normal seasonality, with operating margin only slightly above the year-earlier level, and it flagged tariffs, currency swings and broader macro uncertainty in its outlook. 5
Competition has not eased either. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Vietnam has recently awarded some 5G contracts to Huawei and ZTE even as Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson help build the country’s core 5G network, underscoring how contested the market remains even as Nokia and Ericsson present themselves as trusted Western suppliers. 6
That leaves April 23 as the next scheduled test. Until then, Nokia’s stock appears to be trading on March’s AI announcements, a firmer market tone and the promise that the company’s next set of numbers will show whether the momentum in network infrastructure is turning into something more durable. 7
