Nokia Reports Q2 Profit Growth Driven by AI Strategy

Nokia Oyj reported second-quarter 2026 financial results on Thursday, revealing an 18% increase in comparable operating profit to 434 million euros, beating analyst estimates. Net sales rose 8% to 4.82 billion euros, supported by a 105% surge in revenues from AI and cloud customers, which totaled 446 million euros. The company also secured 2.8 billion euros in new orders from the AI segment, driven by a strategic push into fiber-optic equipment and a partnership with Nvidia to launch an AI-native RAN platform.

CEO Justin Hotard attributed the performance to the company's AI super cycle strategy. Despite these operational gains, Nokia reported a group net loss of 50 million euros for the quarter, resulting from approximately 800 million euros in planned annual restructuring costs involving layoffs and organizational simplification. To streamline operations, the company sold its fixed wireless access unit to Inseego Corp. and planned the sale of its Enterprise Campus Edge division.

Nokia is expanding its American infrastructure to support future growth, including the purchase of an NXP Semiconductors fab in Arizona and the establishment of a new facility in San Jose. The company slightly raised its full-year 2026 comparable operating profit guidance to between 2.1 billion and 2.6 billion euros. While Nokia announced a dividend of 0.04 euro per share, it cautioned that geopolitical conflicts and macroeconomic uncertainty remain risks.