Nokia has reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, with surging demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure customers driving significant sales growth and prompting the Finnish telecommunications equipment maker to raise its full-year profit outlook, according to Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. The company announced that comparable operating profit increased 18% year-on-year to €434 million ($496 million), while net sales rose 8% to €4.82 billion, exceeding market expectations. Sales to AI and cloud customers more than doubled to €446 million, supported by €2.8 billion in new orders from hyperscale data centre operators.
Chief Executive Justin Hotard said Nokia’s strategy to capitalise on the global AI infrastructure boom is beginning to deliver tangible results. Since joining the company, Hotard has accelerated Nokia’s expansion into fibre-optic networking, optical transport, and internet protocol (IP) technologies that support AI data centres. He noted that demand remains robust despite supply constraints and higher memory chip prices, which have encouraged customers to place longer-term orders to secure future capacity.
Growth was led by Nokia’s Network Infrastructure division, where optical network sales rose 20% and IP network sales increased 16%, reflecting rising investment by major technology companies building AI computing infrastructure. The company also secured a major partnership with Nvidia to strengthen its data centre networking business. While restructuring charges reduced reported earnings, Nokia raised its 2026 comparable operating profit guidance to €2.1 billion–€2.6 billion, up from the previous range of €2.0 billion–€2.5 billion.
The results underscore Nokia’s successful transition from a traditional telecom equipment supplier to a key provider of AI and cloud networking infrastructure. Analysts say sustained investment in AI data centres, cloud computing, and high-speed connectivity is expected to remain a major growth driver for the company, positioning Nokia to benefit from the expanding global AI ecosystem while strengthening its competitiveness against rivals in the telecommunications equipment market.
