Helsinki, May 27, 2026, 01:04 (EEST)
- Nokia shares in Helsinki finished up 5.9% at 13.84 euros on Tuesday. The stock hit an intraday high of 13.98 euros. The OMX Helsinki 25 was up 0.36%.
- The stock is up over 140% this year, turning the discussion from recovery to valuation, according to .
- Nokia is seeing some benefit from artificial intelligence demand, but AI and cloud made up just 8% of total group sales in the first quarter.
Nokia Oyj finished up 5.9% at 13.84 euros in Helsinki on Tuesday, climbing to a 52-week high of 13.98 euros during the session. The move builds on a strong artificial intelligence rally in Europe, as some investors keep viewing the Finnish group as more of a data-center infrastructure name and less a legacy telecom supplier.
Nokia’s rally is now hard to ignore. The stock has jumped over 140% this year, putting it at number four on the Stoxx Europe 600 leaderboard. Shares are trading at their best levels since 2008, according to Bloomberg, cited by The Edge Malaysia.
Valuation has come front and center. The 12-month forward price-earnings ratio is now near 36, more than twice what it was at about 17 at the year’s start. “The easy rerating is gone,” said Amanda Lyons, head of research at Energy Group Capital. The Edge Malaysia
Nokia boosted the Finnish market on Tuesday. The OMX Helsinki 25, tracking the top trades on Nasdaq Helsinki, ended at 6,556.86 for a gain of 0.36%. The index touched 6,592.82 earlier in the session before settling back.
Optical networking names are seeing fresh interest, with fibre-based hardware that pushes big data between servers in focus. Nokia’s first-quarter operating profit came in at 281 million euros, up 54%, as hyperscalers drove new orders, Reuters said last month. That number beat the 250 million euro average analyst view.
Nokia reported that first-quarter net sales from AI and cloud customers climbed 49%, making up 8% of its total sales. CEO Justin Hotard said demand had “accelerated significantly.” Nokia is now targeting an annual growth rate of 27% for its AI and cloud addressable market from 2025 to 2028, up from its previous estimate. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Nokia keeps pushing its story, launching an AI Networking Innovation Lab in Sunnyvale, California on May 21. Early tech partners include AMD, Keysight, Lenovo, Nscale, Supermicro, VIAVI and Weka. Rudy Hoebeke, Nokia’s VP for software product management, said the launch is a “major milestone.” Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Peer comparisons have changed as well. BNP Paribas analyst Jakob Bluestone said Nokia’s gains with cloud providers have led some to think there’s a “mini-Arista” and “mini-Ciena” within the company, meaning U.S.-listed Arista Networks and Ciena. Still, Bluestone said, the “old Nokia” is still there. The Edge Malaysia
Morgan Stanley analysts warned that targets focused on next year’s earnings could overlook the lasting value from AI-driven demand. Meanwhile, UBS analysts said Nokia might be better valued by breaking out its AI-exposed parts from its slower-growth businesses, arguing these pieces could get different valuations.
Nokia’s shares have run ahead of its business, with mobile networks still making up more than half its sales and posting a lower margin than the AI segment. Carrier spending is still under pressure. Sondre Solvoll Bakketun, portfolio manager at Skagen Vekst, said the AI business could end up oversupplied later, so the next rally may hinge on seeing broader orders and stronger profit.
Nokia is getting priced more like an AI infrastructure play than an old-line telecom name these days, but the market wants to see more proof that the cloud deals aren’t just a spike. So far, trading is doing the work. Investors are waiting for more data showing that its cloud order book can keep growing and not lose momentum with the wider group.
