Nokia says third-quarter sales rose 10% as sales to AI and cloud customers more than doubled

As of 8:27 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026

Nokia said Thursday that its third-quarter net sales rose 10% from a year earlier to 5.154 billion euros, and that group net sales to AI and cloud customers grew 123%, according to the company's interim report.

The company said its full-year outlook was unchanged. Nokia expects comparable operating profit of 2.1 billion to 2.6 billion euros for 2026.

What Nokia reported

Comparable operating profit rose 35% to 605 million euros, and the comparable operating margin rose 2.2 percentage points to 11.7%, Nokia said. On a reported basis, operating profit fell 22% to 196 million euros, and the reported operating margin fell to 3.8%. Nokia attributed the decline in its reported margin to accelerated restructuring and integration costs.

Comparable diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were 0.09 euros, and reported diluted earnings per share were 0.03 euros, the company said. Order intake from AI and cloud customers rose 118%.

Network Infrastructure net sales grew 15% on a constant currency basis, led by 43% growth in IP Networks and 18% in Optical Networks, according to the report. Mobile Infrastructure net sales grew 5%, which Nokia said was in part due to revenue moving from the fourth quarter into the third.

"In AI & Cloud, net sales more than doubled year-over-year and we secured EUR 1.5 billion in new orders," President and CEO Justin Hotard said in the report. "We expect our combined Optical and IP Networks businesses to grow between 25% and 30% in 2027."

Restructuring and dividend

Nokia updated its assumption for 2026 restructuring and associated charges to 1.1 billion euros, saying it had increased the scale of some programs to simplify operations. It lowered its assumption for free cash flow conversion to 35% to 55% of comparable operating profit, citing 400 million euros in additional working capital investment this year and accelerated restructuring.

The board declared a dividend of 0.03 euros per share, with a record date of Oct. 27 and payment on Nov. 5, the company said.

What is not known

Nokia's summary release does not break down which AI and cloud customers drove the growth. The company said its detailed segment-level discussion is in the complete financial report.