Nokia’s third-quarter profit came in ahead of analyst expectations. The reason was not phones, and not the cell towers people still picture when they hear the name.
Instead, the Finnish company rode a wave of spending on data center networking gear, the plumbing that connects the servers behind the artificial intelligence boom.
The numbers behind the beat
Nokia reported net sales of €5.154 billion for the quarter. That is a 10% rise from a year earlier on a reported basis, or 9% once adjusted for comparability.
The standout figure came from AI and cloud customers. Sales to that group climbed 123% year over year, which means the business more than doubled in twelve months.
Orders from AI and cloud customers rose 118% to €1.5 billion during the quarter.
Profitability improved alongside the top line. Nokia’s comparable operating profit margin reached 11.7%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points.
The Network Infrastructure segment did much of the heavy lifting. Its sales grew 15% on a comparable basis, powered by a 43% jump in IP Networks and an 18% gain in Optical Networks.
Guidance holds, and a few milestones
CEO Justin Hotard kept the company’s full-year outlook unchanged. Nokia still expects comparable operating profit of €2.1 to €2.6 billion for 2026.
The company also expects Network Infrastructure to grow 12% to 14% for the full year. Hotard pointed to continued momentum in AI and data centers as a driver.
Hotard also highlighted progress on the Infinera acquisition. Nokia says the integration is on track to wrap up ahead of schedule, by the end of 2026.
Infinera adds capabilities in optical networking and data center interconnects.
On the technology front, Nokia completed what it described as the world’s first live AI-RAN call. The call took place on October 21, 2026, on T-Mobile’s network, in collaboration with NVIDIA.
AI-RAN refers to running AI workloads within the radio access network, the part of a mobile system that connects phones to towers. About 20 operators are involved in pilots related to the technology.
From telecom vendor to AI supplier
This quarter reflects a strategic shift Nokia began in early 2026. The company reorganized into two main business segments and started reducing its dependence on traditional telecom operators.
Nine of the ten largest cloud providers currently use Nokia’s technology, giving it a foothold in a customer base that is spending aggressively on AI capacity.
What this means
The 123% jump in AI and cloud sales is the headline figure, but the €1.5 billion in orders may matter more, as orders suggest demand is not confined to a single quarter.
There are risks worth watching. Concentration is one: when a few enormous cloud companies drive growth, any pullback in their AI budgets would ripple straight into Nokia’s results.
The margin expansion offers some reassurance. A 2.2 percentage point improvement to 11.7% suggests the new business is not just adding revenue but adding it profitably.
If operators adopt AI within their radio networks, Nokia would be selling AI-related technology to its old telecom customers as well as its new cloud ones. With about 20 operators in pilots, that remains a question for future quarters.
Key things to watch next: whether AI and cloud orders keep climbing, whether Network Infrastructure lands inside its 12% to 14% full-year growth range, and whether the Infinera integration finishes on its accelerated timeline.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.