Nokia: A Mildly Interesting Blip in the Telecom Universe

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Nokia. Yes, the name still occasionally surfaces, mostly when someone is reminiscing about the pre-smartphone dark ages. It’s a company that once commanded attention, then… didn’t. It’s a bit like a forgotten sock drawer; you vaguely remember it existing, but rarely venture inside. After the iPhone happened – a device which, let’s be honest, was less a technological marvel and more a societal agreement to carry a tiny, glowing rectangle everywhere – Nokia pivoted. It became a maker of the stuff that makes the rectangles work. Which is… less glamorous, really. Less likely to be featured on late-night talk shows.

Now, a partnership with Nvidia has caused a ripple – a very small ripple, admittedly – in the financial ponds. Wall Street, ever susceptible to shiny objects, is taking notice. The claim is this could be Nokia’s moment. A ‘recovery.’ A ‘long-term winner.’ (These phrases, incidentally, should always be viewed with the same level of skepticism one reserves for fortune cookies and unsolicited email.) The idea is that Nokia is transforming itself – yet again – into an ‘AI company.’ (A term that currently means very little, but sounds impressive during earnings calls.)

Nokia and the Quest for Artificial Sentience (or Something Like It)

Nokia’s core business – building the infrastructure for mobile networks – is, shall we say, fundamentally unexciting. It’s the plumbing of the digital world. Necessary, yes. Celebrated? Rarely. But recently, they’ve been engaging in a series of partnerships – with Verizon and Lockheed Martin, among others – as if hoping to stumble upon the secret to artificial intelligence by sheer force of collaboration. They even purchased Infinera, an optical networking company, for $2.3 billion. (Which, in the grand scheme of things, is roughly the price of a very large number of socks.)

However, the Nvidia deal is the one causing the mildest of stirs. The plan is to develop AI-powered radio access networks – essentially, smarter cell towers. (The implications of this are, as yet, unclear. Will your phone suddenly start offering unsolicited life advice? Will it develop a fondness for poetry? Time will tell.) Nvidia, naturally, has invested a cool $1 billion in Nokia. (A gesture that could be interpreted as either confidence or a very expensive bet.) This is all, of course, intended to pave the way for 6G. (A technology that, at this point, exists primarily in PowerPoint presentations.) As Nvidia put it in their press release, this marks the beginning of the “AI-native wireless era.” (Which sounds remarkably like something out of a science fiction novel, doesn’t it?)

Financial Happenings (Or, The Numbers Game)

The $1 billion investment from Nvidia came at a price of $6.01 per share. The stock is currently trading higher, which is, logically enough, a good thing. (Though it doesn’t necessarily mean anything profound.) Analyst firm Omdia predicts the RAN market will reach $200 billion by 2030. Nokia’s net sales over the last four quarters were 19.7 billion euros ($23 billion). So, the possibility of revenue growth exists. (A statement that, while technically true, feels somewhat underwhelming.)

In the third quarter of 2025, Nokia’s revenue increased by 12% year-over-year to 6.0 billion euros ($7.0 billion). This is an improvement over the 4% growth seen in the first nine months of the year. (Small victories, one supposes.) The stock price has surged, increasing by over 45% in the last year. (A performance that, while impressive, could easily be attributed to market fluctuations and the inherent unpredictability of human behavior.)

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The P/E ratio of 38 might make Nokia seem a bit pricey, but the forward P/E of 18 suggests an improving profit picture. (Or, it could simply be a statistical anomaly. It’s really hard to say.)

A Long-Term Winner? (Don’t Hold Your Breath)

Thanks to these AI deals and the Nvidia partnership, Nokia’s stock might finally be poised for long-term growth. (Or, it might not. The future is, after all, famously uncertain.) Considering the forecast profit growth, Nokia may have only just begun its run as a winner in the AI space. (A statement that should be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism. After all, in the grand cosmic scheme of things, Nokia is just a company. And companies, like stars, are born, they shine for a while, and then… well, you know.)

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2026-01-25 19:57