HELSINKI, May 18, 2026, 14:00 EEST
Nokia stock climbed in Helsinki on Monday, holding close to last week’s highs as Cisco’s upbeat AI-related results lifted interest in networking hardware stocks. Nokia rose 1.2% to 12.05 euros at 13:55 EEST, just shy of its 52-week high of 12.30 euros.
AI demand isn’t just boosting chipmakers. Hyperscale cloud players are spending on network gear—switches, routers, optical and radio hardware—to handle the growth in AI data. Cisco’s numbers set off another look at suppliers including Nokia.
Cisco said third-quarter revenue was $15.84 billion, up 12%. Networking revenue grew 25% to $8.82 billion. The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue of $62.8 billion to $63.0 billion, raising its earlier outlook.
Orders stood out. Cisco reported $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers so far this fiscal year, upping its full-year outlook to $9 billion from $5 billion. “It’s more than just chips,” Ryan Lee, senior vice president of product and strategy at Direxion, told Reuters. Reuters
Nokia caught a boost from the read-through trade. Barchart said Sunday that Nokia’s U.S. shares jumped over 10% after Cisco’s results. The ADR was up about 116% for the year through its May 15 close, Barchart said.
Nokia’s April update set up the stock’s rally ahead of Cisco. The company reported first-quarter net sales to AI and cloud customers jumped 49% and said it took in orders worth 1 billion euros from that group. CEO Justin Hotard said Nokia is “investing to capture accelerating demand.” Nokia also raised its 2026 Network Infrastructure growth target to between 12% and 14%. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Nokia last week took its AI message out of the data center and into home and broadband networks. The company launched new agentic AI tools it says can handle operational jobs, not just respond to prompts. Nokia says the tools draw on what it’s learned from deploying over 600 million broadband lines. Sandy Motley, president of Nokia’s fixed networks unit, said the software “solve[s] problems before the customer is even aware.” Grant Lenahan at Appledore Research added, “AI only works with quality data.” Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Nvidia is still a key name in the Nokia story. Back in October, Nvidia said it would put $1 billion into Nokia to help speed up AI-RAN—AI in radio access networks, the systems that connect phones and other devices to mobile networks. Last week, a Motley Fool piece mentioned Nokia’s Anduril work in connection with defense communications too.
The defense business at Nokia is still much smaller than its data center push, but the company is working to tap new markets. Nokia Federal Solutions and Lockheed Martin said on May 5 they rolled out a modular 5G system aimed at U.S. and allied defense operators. The system is designed to let defense forces use commercial-grade 5G in military environments.
Cisco is now driving the near-term market, not just the old carrier spending patterns. Nokia’s Optical Networks grew 20% in the first quarter as AI and cloud demand pushed up network buying. Performance in optical and IP networking is now as critical as Nokia’s bigger mobile-network unit.
The rally makes the margin for error slimmer. Barchart put Nokia at 33.72 times trailing earnings and 27.59 times cash flow, both above sector medians. Nokia’s risk filings point to heavy competition, supply-chain issues, rising component costs, and changes in customer network spend.
Nokia keeps its full-year comparable operating profit guidance at 2.0 billion to 2.5 billion euros. The company is set to report second-quarter and first-half numbers on July 23. Investors want to see if AI and cloud orders actually show up as shipments, margin and cash.
