Nokia Corporation is scheduled to announce its financial results for the first quarter on Thursday, April 23. The Finnish telecommunications equipment manufacturer will publish the figures at approximately 8 a.m. Eastern European Summer Time. According to consensus estimates, the company is projected to post an adjusted operating profit of 253 million euros on sales revenue of 4.56 billion euros for the period.
This quarterly disclosure marks a significant shift, as it will be the first to reflect a comprehensive overhaul of Nokia's financial reporting framework. Investors will gain new insights from expanded segment details, including three distinct operating segments and separate business-unit sales data for both its Network Infrastructure and Mobile Infrastructure divisions. In a previous outlook provided in January, management guided for a full-year 2026 comparable operating profit in the range of 2.0 billion to 2.5 billion euros. However, they cautioned that first-quarter sales were likely to experience a steeper-than-typical seasonal decline following a robust fourth quarter.
Analyst forecasts anticipate adjusted earnings per share to reach 0.04 euro, a slight increase from the 0.03 euro reported for the same quarter in 2025. The projected adjusted operating profit of 253 million euros would represent a substantial year-over-year increase of approximately 62% from the 156 million euros recorded in Q1 2025. Sales are expected to rise nearly 4% from the prior year's 4.39 billion euros, a figure that was negatively impacted by a one-time settlement charge within the Mobile Networks unit.
Strategic Push into AI and Network Innovation
Nokia's recent strategic moves have heavily emphasized artificial intelligence and next-generation network infrastructure. In March, the company secured new partnership agreements with TIM Brasil and Deutsche Telekom. More recently, Nokia, in collaboration with Orange and Nvidia, unveiled an AI-RAN (Artificial Intelligence-Radio Access Network) initiative. This project aims to integrate AI capabilities directly into the radio hardware that facilitates connections between mobile devices and network towers.
These developments follow Nokia's acquisition of Infinera and a significant $1 billion equity investment from Nvidia last year, underscoring a concerted strategy to capitalize on the burgeoning demand for AI infrastructure. "AI is reshaping how networks are designed," stated Pallavi Mahajan, Nokia's Chief Technology and AI Officer, in a recent announcement. The company has pointed to AI and cloud demand as a primary driver behind a 17% surge in Optical Networks sales during the fourth quarter.
Further diversifying its portfolio, Nokia announced last week that Finnish operator Cinia will deploy its DDoS protection solutions to secure critical infrastructure. Jeff Smith, Vice President and General Manager of Nokia Deepfield, emphasized the objective is to safeguard "mission-critical networks."
Market Headwinds and Competitive Landscape
The near-term outlook for the sector, however, presents challenges. Ericsson, Nokia's primary Western rival, recently reported first-quarter core profits that fell short of market expectations. The Swedish company cited increased semiconductor costs—fueled by AI sector demand—and a sluggish North American market as key pressures. Ericsson's finance chief suggested the industry may need to "share the burden" of these higher costs with customers. Analysts at J.P. Morgan characterized Ericsson's results as "soft to in-line" and noted that Nokia could face similar headwinds in North America.
Nokia's own guidance from January highlighted volatility in customer network spending and fluctuating chip prices as material risks. Despite these challenges, management has reaffirmed its full-year 2026 profit target. In a recent note, J.P. Morgan analyst Sandeep Deshpande maintained a Buy rating on Nokia's shares with a price target of 6.90 euros.
In a separate corporate action on Tuesday, Nokia transferred 121,013 treasury shares to participants in its equity incentive plans. Following this transaction, the company holds 133,328,622 of its own shares, according to a regulatory filing.
Nokia's U.S.-listed American Depositary Receipts traded down approximately 1.2% to $10.47 in Tuesday's session. As the earnings release approaches, investor focus will center on whether growth from AI initiatives, optical networks, and software can sufficiently offset uncertain carrier capital expenditure, particularly in the key North American market.
