Nokia’s AI-Network Advances Face a Skeptical Market Ahead of Key Earnings Report
Published on 07/19/2026 at 11:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Nokia is heading into its second-quarter earnings report on July 23 with a glaring disconnect: the Finnish network equipment maker has just unveiled what it calls the industry’s first commercial AI-RAN platform, yet its stock has been hit by one of its deepest weekly slides in months. The shares closed at €8.90 on Friday, down 2.39% on the day and a steep 18.31% lower than a week earlier. Over 30 days the loss widens to 25.90%, despite a year-to-date gain of 59.21% and a 12-month return of 115.18%.
The sell-off is not confined to Nokia. Canadian rival Ciena dropped 18.7% over the same week, while Swedish competitor Ericsson lost 13.56%. The OMX Helsinki 25 benchmark remained virtually flat, underscoring that the rout is concentrated on network equipment stocks. Ericsson’s chief financial officer pointed to the broader AI infrastructure buildout as a source of pressure on the entire sector, coming after his own company reported quarterly revenue that missed expectations, although its operating profit slightly beat forecasts. Nokia now trades roughly 40% below its 52-week high of €14.97 reached in early June, though it remains far above last August’s low of €3.45.
On July 15, Nokia announced the development of a commercial AI-RAN platform in partnership with Nvidia, promising to boost spectrum efficiency by more than 20% immediately. The company targets 50% improvement by 2027 and over 100% by 2028, effectively doubling capacity within existing frequencies. The solution works across 4G, 5G, and future 6G networks, and can be deployed on existing AirScale infrastructure, as standalone nodes, or via the cloud. Nokia is also offering a subscription model that delivers ongoing AI features and performance upgrades. Test installations are planned for late 2026, with commercial sales set for 2027.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nokia?
Just a day earlier, on July 14, Nokia expanded its 5G partnership with Taiwan Mobile, aiming to transform the operator’s networks into AI-native systems. The deal covers network intelligence, infrastructure, sustainability, and resilience. Nokia will supply its latest AirScale portfolio, including new base stations and radio technology, with AI software enabling real-time automation, predictive analytics, and fully autonomous network monitoring.
The market’s skepticism stands in contrast to some underlying momentum. In the first quarter of 2026, Nokia’s AI cloud revenue surged 49%, and the company booked new orders worth €1 billion. For the full year, management has guided for 12% to 14% revenue growth in the Network Infrastructure segment and a comparable operating profit between €2.0 billion and €2.5 billion. Those targets will be the key yardsticks at the upcoming earnings release.
Analysts remain broadly positive. The consensus on Nokia is a “Moderate Buy,” with 18 analysts setting an average 12-month price target of $12.57, though the range is wide—from $5.00 to $21.00. Meanwhile, the stock’s relative strength index has fallen to 31.5, a level often interpreted as oversold, suggesting the selling may have been overdone from a technical perspective.
The earnings report on July 23 will be the ultimate test of whether Nokia’s technological strides can outweigh the broader market’s anxiety over the profitability of AI-driven network investments. For now, the bulls and bears are locked in a standoff, with the former pointing to concrete product launches and surging cloud revenue, and the latter citing a sector-wide de-rating that has wiped out a chunk of this year’s impressive rally.
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