Nokia’s Pre-Earnings Sell-Off Piles Pressure on Thursday’s Q2 Report
Published on 07/22/2026 at 17:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The countdown to Nokia’s second-quarter results has turned into a painful wait for shareholders. The Finnish telecom equipment maker’s stock slid 3.7% in Helsinki on Wednesday to €9.06, extending a brutal one-month rout that has now erased 28.4% of the share price. From the 52-week high of €14.97 touched on June 3, the equity has tumbled nearly 40%.
Nokia publishes its half-year and second-quarter numbers at 8 a.m. Finnish time on Thursday, followed by an analyst webcast in the afternoon. The consensus calls for revenue of roughly €4.82 billion, a 6.1% year-on-year increase, with comparable operating profit rising 24.9% to €376 million — a margin of 7.8%. Earnings per share are pegged at around $0.07. That profit level would land at the upper end of the historical seasonal range, where the second quarter typically contributes 12% to 16% of full-year earnings.
The report arrives at a moment of heightened scrutiny. Nokia’s stock trades at roughly 28 times expected 2026 earnings, a valuation that leaves little room for disappointment. Adding to the anxiety, rival Ericsson recently flagged rising costs in its AI-related business that squeezed margins, putting Nokia’s own cost structure under the microscope.
AI-RAN Platform Takes Center Stage
Investors are laser-focused on whether Nokia’s strategic pivot to artificial intelligence is translating into hard orders. On July 15, the company launched what it calls the industry’s first commercial AI-RAN platform, developed in partnership with Nvidia, AWS and Google Cloud. The technology embeds artificial intelligence directly into mobile network infrastructure to improve spectrum efficiency.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nokia?
Thursday’s report is the first since that launch, and the market wants to see evidence in the order book. Bank of America Securities recently reiterated a buy rating with a €15.60 price target, arguing that strong AI and cloud orders will be a central theme of the quarter. In the first quarter, Nokia booked €1 billion in AI-related contracts, and the bank expects similar momentum.
Nokia CEO Justin Hotard has said the company is tracking above the midpoint of its full-year operating profit guidance of €2.0 billion to €2.5 billion. The mobile networks division — the focus of Nokia’s biggest strategic overhaul in years — is expected to post 2.4% revenue growth to €2.587 billion, while the network infrastructure unit should climb 11.9% to €2.044 billion.
A Tale of Two Markets
A curious divergence has opened up between Nokia’s two listings. While the Helsinki-traded shares have been under heavy selling pressure, the New York-listed American depositary receipts rallied sharply on Tuesday and continued to gain in after-hours trading. JPMorgan lifted its price target on the US listing to $21 from $14, maintaining an overweight rating — a bullish signal that contrasts with the jitters gripping European investors.
On the shareholder register, a regulatory filing from July 8 showed that FMR LLC’s indirect stake in Nokia has slipped below the 5% disclosure threshold to 4.87%.
Technical Damage and the Bigger Picture
The stock is trading well below its 50-day moving average of €11.79, and the relative strength index at 35.6 is flirting with oversold territory — a reflection of the intense selling pressure of recent weeks. Annualized volatility stands at nearly 67%, underscoring the market’s edginess ahead of the numbers.
Nokia at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Yet for all the recent pain, Nokia’s year-to-date performance remains striking: the shares are still up 62.2% since January. That rally was fueled largely by the acquisition of optical networking specialist Infinera and the growth narrative around data-center connectivity. Nokia is also expanding in Asia, having recently struck a deal with Taiwan Mobile to upgrade its 5G networks.
The question hanging over Thursday’s report is whether the AI-RAN strategy is already generating tangible revenue or whether the market’s expectations remain a promise that has yet to materialize. With the stock priced for perfection and the technicals flashing warning signs, Nokia’s management has a narrow window to convince investors that the sell-off has been overdone.
Ad
Nokia Stock: New Analysis - 22 July
Fresh Nokia information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
Disclaimer regarding our articles: No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Information on prices, companies, and markets is provided without guarantee; changes are possible at any time. Stock market transactions can lead to substantial losses. Our articles are created and reviewed in whole or in part automatically with the support of AI.
