HELSINKI, July 10, 2026, 14:43 (EEST)
Nokia HEL:NOKIA traded down 0.5% at €11.14 as of 14:33 EEST Friday, giving up some ground while the OMX Helsinki 25 index moved up 0.5%. The stock had jumped 9.6% in the last session but is still up about 101% so far this year.
Nokia handed out 43.55 million treasury shares to staff in its equity incentive plans on Thursday. The block, at Friday’s price, was valued at about €485 million. Treasury shares are company-held and not available for trading, so by giving these existing shares, Nokia kept the total share count steady.
FMR LLC’s indirect stake dropped to 279.84 million shares on July 8, down from 298.78 million as of June 29, a decrease of 18.94 million shares valued at about €211 million. The filing didn’t say if FMR sold shares on the exchange or how the position changed.
| Disclosed ownership movement | Shares | Share of Nokia capital | Multiple of 20-session volume | Value at €11.14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer to employee plan | 43.55 million | 0.76% | 3.51 times | €485 million |
| FMR cut stake | 18.94 million | 0.33% | 1.53 times | €211 million |
| Total versus liquidity | 62.49 million | 1.09% | 5.04 times | €696 million |
The combined figure works as a liquidity benchmark and doesn’t confirm any actual selling. Employees could keep their shares, and it’s not clear how FMR cut its stake. The two changes together represent roughly five standard Helsinki sessions, using Nokia’s 20-day average volume of 12.41 million shares.
Finland’s benchmark tracked higher Thursday, moving with Nokia after the stock jumped 9.64%. The OMXH25 index added 1.84%. The index caps any company’s weight at 10%, which would put Nokia’s move at about a 0.96 point boost—more than half the day’s gain. Nokia’s real impact depends on its weight at the close, so the full contribution could shift.
Nokia’s American depositary receipt NYSE:NOK jumped 7.95% Thursday, but the move wasn’t just in that name. Ciena NYSE:CIEN was up 4.85%, Ericsson NASDAQ:ERIC rose 4.89%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.30%.
| July 9 U.S. session | Share-price move | Trailing P/E |
|---|---|---|
| Nokia ADR | up 7.95% | roughly 79 |
| Ciena | rose 4.85% | about 154 |
| Ericsson ADR | gained 4.89% | around 15 |
| Nasdaq Composite | added 1.30% | — |
The trailing P/E ratio is share price divided by earnings per share from the last 12 months. It’s a rough tool for comparing across companies, but the spread suggests investors see Nokia more as an AI infrastructure play than a typical telecom gear firm, though its multiple is still about half of Ciena’s.
Nokia is leaning into optical networking, betting on fiber equipment to carry more data across and between data centers. First-quarter sales to AI and cloud clients jumped 49%, hit 8% of total sales, and brought in €1 billion in orders. Sales for the Optical Networks unit were up 20%. The group now sees combined Optical and IP Networks sales climbing 18% to 20% this year. “We are increasing our growth assumption for Optical and IP Networks and we are investing to capture accelerating demand from AI & Cloud customers,” CEO Justin Hotard said. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Still, competition, valuation, and order conversion could reverse gains. Omdia’s Ian Redpath said Nokia’s North American optical-network market share jumped to 27.3% in 2025 from 6.3% a year earlier, though Ciena kept the lead at 50.1%. Daryl Schoolar at Recon Analytics said Nokia is “basking in the glow of the AI halo.” Amanda Lyons at Energy Group Capital said, “The market is now waiting for the earnings to catch up to the story.” If AI spending slows, components are delayed, or margin gains stall, Nokia’s about 79-times earnings multiple gets harder to justify. The Wall Street Journal
Ericsson will post Q2 numbers on July 14, offering investors a first look at where telecom-equipment demand stands. Nokia is set to report on July 23. Investors will be watching its optical order intake, book-to-bill, lead times, and margins to see if operating profit is starting to catch up with the rally in the share price.
The main issue isn’t if the full 62.49 million shares get to market—maybe they won’t. The question is whether a stock that’s already doubled can handle that kind of ownership switch, which equals five days of normal trading, ahead of earnings that could reset the profit view.
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