Nokia, the 161-year-old company, has become the hottest AI infrastructure stock, with shares soaring 140% so far this year.
The stock of the Finnish company that started as a paper mill rose from 6.50 at the beginning of the year to a 52-week high of 15.78 in May.
This marks the highest stock levels since 2008.
The reason behind the rally is Nvidia’s investment in October 2025 at 6.01 per share, acquiring around 3% stake.
This collaboration focuses on AI-RAN, which is an AI workload combined with a wireless network infrastructure. The project’s first implementation partner is T-Mobile, while Nokia’s AI-RAN offering has 10 public customers, including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, SoftBank and NTT Docomo.
The rally accelerated after Nokia’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report. The company reported revenue of around €4.5 billion, up 4% year-on-year, while comparable operating profit rose 54% to €281 million.
AI and cloud sales increased 49%, with Nokia securing cloud deals worth €1 billion in the quarter, most related to optical networking products used in AI data centers.
First quarter revenue at Optical Networks increased 20%. CEO Justin Hotard said cloud leaders will spend more than $700 billion on their AI infrastructure needs.
For now, Nokia’s infrastructure growth is expected to grow between 12% and 14%, while optical and IP networks are expected to grow between 18% and 20%.
