Nokia trades above Helsinki market on Lenovo pact and U.S. AI push

18 June 2026

HELSINKI, June 18, 2026, 14:35 EEST

Nokia gained 1.3% to €12.20, beating the OMXH25 index by roughly 2.2 percentage points.
Lenovo’s patent deal and new moves in optical networking and defence helped drive news flow. The companies did not release financial terms.
The stock is up about 119% this year, putting more pressure on earnings and patent revenue.

Nokia stock moved higher in afternoon trade Thursday after the company said it entered a multi-year patent deal with Lenovo. Shares gained 1.29% to €12.20 by 14:18 EEST. The OMXH25 in Helsinki dropped 0.90%.

Shares in Nokia are up roughly 119% since the start of 2026, as investors price in higher expectations for its moves in artificial-intelligence infrastructure, optical networking and tech licensing. The rally gives Nokia more leeway, but new deals and headlines need to turn into actual sales and earnings. The gap is key.

Nokia and Lenovo said a new cross-licence gives both sides access to each other’s patents across several technologies. The deal includes FRAND licensing for inventions tied to industry standards, meaning manufacturers can use essential tech on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. “The agreement reflects the strength of Nokia’s patent portfolio,” said Nokia licensing chief Susanna Martikainen. Nokia Corporation | Nokia

Terms of the deal weren’t released. When the companies settled a drawn-out patent dispute in 2021, Nokia got a net balancing payment and the litigation stopped in multiple countries; this time, Thursday’s update didn’t mention any payment details. So investors get another example of Nokia’s licensing pull, but still can’t price this deal into their models.

Nokia said late Tuesday it will spend about $30 million to expand its Allentown, Pennsylvania site. The move is set to lift testing and packaging capacity for photonic chips by up to ten times, with the new space planned to come online by the end of the third quarter. Jobs at the location are seen topping 500. “The AI supercycle is fundamentally reshaping network and infrastructure requirements,” Chief Executive Justin Hotard said. Nokia Corporation | Nokia

Nokia is seeing stronger operating momentum with first-quarter sales to AI and cloud customers up 49%. The company reported €1 billion in orders from those sectors. Comparable operating profit rose 54% to €281 million, driven by higher optical-networking demand.

Nokia said Wednesday it will upgrade the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand subsea cable for Symphony Communication. The upgraded system is designed to handle up to 30 terabits per second per fibre pair, triple the capacity of the current setup. Nokia did not say how much the contract is worth.

Nokia on Thursday said it’s working with KNDS, the Franco-German armoured vehicle group, on a defence project. Nokia’s deployable 5G tech will go into KNDS’s VBCI vehicle to give secure links to soldiers and unmanned systems in the field. Ari Kynäslahti, who heads Nokia Defense, said the project shows “high-performance connectivity can move with the mission.” Nokia Corporation | Nokia

Ericsson’s B shares picked up 0.8% to close at 110.60 Swedish crowns in Stockholm’s shortened session. Nokia outperformed, ending up more despite the drop in its home index, taking the edge over its Nordic rival.

But with the share price moving up, the risk is more visible. Nokia’s latest statements don’t spell out what near-term revenue might look like, and if big cloud players cut back spending, the extra capacity could sit idle. The company also points to variables like customer network budgets, component supply, currencies, tariffs and when and how much it earns from patent renewals as possible headaches. Disappointment in any of those could weigh on growth and squeeze margins.

Nokia’s next test lands July 23 with its second-quarter earnings. Investors want to see if first-quarter AI orders have started to convert into revenue. They’ll also watch if higher spending on optical capacity weighs on margins.

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Iwona Majkowska is a financial markets journalist at TS2.tech. She covers stocks, artificial intelligence and technology, with a focus on the stories moving U.S. and global markets. Before turning to financial journalism, she worked in equity research and financial analysis. She is a graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics. Follow Iwona Majkowska on Google News.

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