Nokia Corporation Q3 2026 Earnings Recap

Nokia shares fell 12.0% after the results, despite Q3 sales growth and margin expansion. The transcript doesn’t identify a specific quarterly miss; the main caution is that management’s positive narrative may not have been enough to satisfy investors, as the full-year outlook is only described as tracking above its midpoint and the cited growth acceleration is concentrated in AI and cloud.

Key Takeaways

• Group net sales grew 9% in Q3, and operating margin expanded 220 basis points to 11.7%.
• AI and cloud sales rose 123% year over year, reaching 12% of group sales; order intake increased 118% to €1.5 billion gross.
• IP Networks grew 43% and Optical Networks 18%. Both are now expected to grow somewhat above the prior 18%–20% full-year assumption; for 2027, Nokia expects combined growth of 25%–30%.
• Management said the company is tracking to deliver above the midpoint of its full-year outlook, but provided no specific outlook figures in the remarks presented here.
• Demand in IP and Optical Networks exceeds supply, according to management—an opportunity for growth, but also a constraint on meeting customer demand.