Nokia’s comparable operating profit jumped 35%, driven by AI and cloud demand.

  • Nokia’s Q3 sales rose 10% to €5.15 billion, beating estimates, while EPS reached €0.09. 
  • Nokia’s AI and cloud revenue surged 123%, while orders from these customers rose 118%. 
  • Nokia is expanding its partnership with Nvidia to integrate AI into telecom networks.

Nokia Oyj’s (NOK) stock is heading for a weekly gain after the Finnish telecom equipment maker reported a 10% year-over-year increase in third-quarter (Q3) sales, fueled by surging AI and cloud demand. Comparable operating profit jumped 35%, while the company maintained its 2026 outlook.

Nokia stock edged 1% lower overnight, heading into Thursday. The stock has climbed 1.2% so far this week. 

AI And Cloud Demand Fuels Nokia’s Q3 Growth

Nokia posted Q3 net sales of €5.15 billion ($5.79 billion), up 10% from last year, with €0.09 earnings per share, both exceeding the analysts’ consensus estimates of €5.06 billion and €0.06, according to Fiscal AI data.  

Network Infrastructure division led the expansion, with revenue rising 15% year-on-year on a constant-currency basis to €2.15 billion. IP Networks revenue surged 43%, while Optical Networks sales climbed18%. 

“In AI & Cloud, net sales more than doubled year-over-year and we secured EUR 1.5 billion in new orders. Our strong order backlog also positions us for future growth. We expect our combined Optical and IP Networks businesses to grow between
25% and 30% in 2027, “ said Justin Hotard, President and CEO, Nokia. 

Nokia's AI and cloud customer business recorded 123% growth, and orders from these customers increased 118% year-on-year.

Nokia’s comparable gross margin slipped 20 basis points to 44.6%. Operating profit jumped 35% to €605 million, lifting the operating margin to 11.7%. The company reaffirmed its 2026 operating profit outlook between €2.1 billion and €2.6 billion. 

Nokia Builds AI Network Ecosystem With Nvidia

Hotard said Nokia’s technology and expertise put it in a strong position to meet the growing need for larger, more connected AI infrastructure.  

“AI-native networks are moving into the physical world, and our AI-RAN platform is being developed to deliver the performance needed for this market. Together with T-Mobile and NVIDIA, we completed the world’s first AI-RAN call in a live operator network in line with the commitment we announced last year.”

On Wednesday, Nokia said it is expanding its collaboration with Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) to bring AI deeper into telecommunications networks, with new technology aimed at improving wireless performance and automating network operations.

The two companies are integrating AI into radio functions, including signal estimation, beamforming and the allocation of network resources among users. Their platform combines Nokia's AI-native RAN software with Nvidia's Aerial RAN Computer to help improve network capacity and performance.

NOK Stock: Retail View 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’.

A user said, “Double beat. By a lots crazy forward guidance. Real timelines on projects Nvda and AI. Can’t have any better than this and it’s flat?” 

Another user said, “They are hold the most 5G/6G patents in the west. They are considered a national security stock in the US/EU. They have a strong legacy telecom hardware business. They hold a strong moat in the fast growing AI-RAN market. They have an exploding photonics, networking and cloud business. They also have a growing military division, just inked a deal with $LMT. Lastly they’re backed by $NVDA and just hit the Eurostoxx 50. Seems like Nokia is quite diverisifed.”

NOK stock has gained over 42% year-to-date. 

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