Helsinki, May 20, 2026, 17:03 EEST
Nokia shares in Helsinki gained Wednesday, last at 11.98 euros, up 3.37% at 16:17 EEST, per the company’s investor page. Nasdaq Helsinki trades from 10:00 to 18:25 EEST.
Nokia said late Monday the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has conditionally cleared its Beacons and optical network terminal (ONT) devices, including future versions, from Covered List restrictions. The ONT is used in homes to connect fiber to broadband. The Covered List includes equipment considered a national-security risk. Nokia Fixed Networks president Sandy Motley said the move means customers can keep rolling out devices “without disruption.” Dell’Oro Group’s Jeff Heynen said it leaves Nokia in “a strong position.” Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Nokia is working to keep its U.S. broadband business moving as investors focus on its AI and optical networking pitch. The regulatory nod doesn’t mean a new contract, but it does take away one procurement headache for operators using Nokia’s in-home broadband equipment.
Nokia said in a stock exchange release at 17:00 EEST that it handed out 975,289 treasury shares to people in its equity-based incentive plans. The shares went out without consideration, so the recipients paid nothing for them. After this, Nokia holds 132,353,333 own shares.
Nokia’s rerating is still mostly about network infrastructure. In April, the company posted Q1 net sales of 4.5 billion euros. Sales to AI and cloud customers jumped 49%. Nokia also raised its 2026 Network Infrastructure growth target to 12%-14%. CEO Justin Hotard said Nokia was tracking “above the mid-point” of its full-year comparable operating profit outlook, which doesn’t include items like restructuring costs or acquisitions. GlobeNewswire
Optical transport gear could see a big jump in 2026. Dell’Oro Group on Tuesday said it expects the optical transport equipment market to rise 16% that year, topping $18 billion in revenue as AI data centres expand. Optical transport refers to the fibre gear used to move huge amounts of data between networks. Jimmy Yu, vice president at Dell’Oro, said the main thing holding back growth this year could be supply.
Tough race in optical transport. Dell’Oro’s 2025 market review put Huawei, Ciena, Nokia, ZTE and Cisco at the top for optical transport systems. In data centre interconnect, or DCI, Ciena, Nokia and Cisco led. DCI connects data centres with high-capacity fibre.
Risks remain around both regulatory and AI issues, since there are conditions. The FCC gave conditional approval for Nokia’s Beacons, ONT-based Beacons and Fastmile Gateway routers, all set to expire Oct. 31, 2027. If U.S. security rules tighten, or there’s a holdup in manufacturing or customer buying, deployments could still get pushed back.
Nokia’s U.S. broadband setup looks clearer for now, with optical networking demand still holding up in the market. Next up, the focus shifts to moving from approvals, AI deals and tight supply chains to actual margin gains, while keeping expectations in check with what can be delivered.
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