Nokia Oyj shares declined on Friday, pulling back from recent gains driven by enthusiasm over artificial intelligence. The Finnish telecommunications equipment maker’s stock fell 3.27% to €13.44 on Nasdaq Helsinki, while its American depositary receipts dropped 5.96% to $15.63 in New York, according to the company’s investor page.
The selloff came as Nokia announced the pricing of €500 million in senior unsecured notes due June 5, 2032, carrying a 3.625% annual coupon. Proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes and to refinance €500 million in 3.125% notes maturing in May 2028. The move shifts investor attention back to Nokia’s financing costs and capital discipline.
Nokia has recently been re-rated by the market as a play on AI data-center spending, rather than solely a mobile network hardware provider. That narrative remains intact but has become more volatile. The stock surged earlier in the week, hitting €14.805 on June 3, before slipping to €13.895 on June 4, with daily swings exceeding 6%.
The broader Finnish market also weakened, with the OMX Helsinki 25 index falling 1.06% to 6,475.13, touching a session low of 6,472.77. Trading followed the regular Nasdaq schedule for Helsinki-listed stocks, with no holiday disruptions on June 5.
Investor optimism about Nokia’s AI and cloud exposure has been fueled by strong first-quarter results. Comparable operating profit rose 54% to €281 million, surpassing the Infront consensus of €250 million. Sales to AI and cloud customers jumped 49%, and the company reported €1 billion in new orders from those segments. Nokia now competes not only with Ericsson but also with optical and networking firms such as Ciena, Cisco, and Arista.
CEO Justin Hotard said in the Q1 release, “We are increasing our growth assumption for Optical and IP Networks and we are investing to capture accelerating demand from AI & Cloud customers.” However, the company also highlighted risks including heightened competition, shifts in customer network spending, rising component costs, supply chain disruptions, currency fluctuations, tariffs, and higher interest rates.
The key question for investors is whether the AI-driven order momentum can sustain the stock’s elevated valuation. If AI data-center orders falter or if higher spending in optical and IP networks fails to translate into improved margins, the market may react negatively to any soft guidance. The debt sale does not alter Nokia’s strategic direction but does bring financing costs and refinancing discipline back into focus.
Nokia’s next major catalyst will be its second-quarter and half-year report, scheduled for July 23. Until then, shares are likely to trade around the central issue: whether the AI network buildout is large and fast enough to justify the recent rerating.
