For years, Nokia was viewed as a relic of the early mobile-phone era—a slow-moving telecom equipment stock tied to unpredictable carrier spending and thin investor excitement. However, 2026 has brought a massive shift. Nokia shares have surged roughly 100% this year as Wall Street and global investors re-evaluate the Finnish company not as a legacy gear maker, but as a critical player in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Modern AI data centers require far more than just powerful chips; they need high-speed networks capable of transferring massive amounts of data between servers and cloud regions. Nokia’s optical transport, IP routing, and switching equipment are filling this exact need for major cloud providers (“hyperscalers”).
The Numbers Behind the Surge
Major brokerages have aggressively upgraded the stock following strong financial indicators and massive order backlogs:
-
Massive Order Backlog: Nokia booked €2.4 billion in cloud and AI orders in 2025, followed by another €1 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone (primarily in optics). Because only €350 million of that was recognized as revenue in Q1, the company has a massive pipeline to support future sales.
-
Profit Explosion: Nokia’s Q1 comparable operating profit jumped 54% to €281 million, easily beating market expectations, while sales to AI and cloud customers grew by 49%.
-
Raised Growth Forecasts: The company increased its projected annual growth rate for the AI and cloud market to 27% through 2028 (up from its previous 16% estimate).
Wall Street Takes Notice
Top financial institutions are heavily bullish on Nokia’s trajectory:
-
Bank of America: Maintained its “Buy” rating and raised its price target to €15.6 (representing over 44% upside). BofA expects another massive wave of AI-related hardware orders to be revealed during Nokia’s Q2 earnings call on July 23.
-
Jefferies: Raised its price target to €13.8 and anticipates Nokia’s cloud and AI revenue growth to accelerate to 27% by 2027. The brokerage also bumped its 2027 earnings-per-share (EPS) forecast by 13%, predicting operating margins will climb to 16.8%.
Roadblocks to Watch
While the turnaround has been impressive, Nokia’s continued growth relies entirely on tech giants maintaining their massive AI capital expenditures. If hyperscalers pull back on data center investments, demand for Nokia’s high-speed optical and switching gear could cool off quickly. Furthermore, the company faces stiff competition and must consistently prove it can capture market share from traditional networking rivals.
