HELSINKI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Finland's Nokia on Thursday reported a comparable operating profit of 1.06 billion euros (1.26 billion U.S. dollars) in October-December 2025, down 3 percent year on year, while comparable net sales rose 2 percent to 6.13 billion euros, according to its quarterly results.
For the full year of 2025, Nokia's comparable operating profit came in at 2.02 billion euros, down 22 percent from 2.58 billion euros in 2024. Comparable net sales increased 4 percent to 19.90 billion euros, up from 19.22 billion euros a year earlier, the report said.
In a statement and an investor briefing, President and CEO Justin Hotard said the fourth-quarter performance was "in line with our expectations," citing "disciplined execution across the business." He said Nokia is investing for long-term growth linked to data centers and artificial intelligence (AI), describing optical connectivity as a key part of the infrastructure needed to support AI.
Nokia said its Network Infrastructure business posted growth in the quarter, including 17 percent growth in Optical Networks, supported by demand from AI and cloud customers.
Alongside its AI- and cloud-related push, Nokia has also been expanding in defense and mission-critical communications. The company has moved to build a dedicated defense business line and has highlighted rising demand for secure private wireless solutions, including 4G and 5G, for national security and tactical use cases.
"We believe AI is a long-term structural shift," Hotard said, adding that Nokia is investing to lead the transition toward AI-native networks and 6G. He said a partnership with NVIDIA announced in the fourth quarter will support that effort.
Nokia also issued guidance for 2026, targeting 2.0 billion to 2.5 billion euros in comparable operating profit.
Nokia shares fell about 6 percent in Helsinki trading after the earnings release. Juuso Kenkkila, an analyst quoted by business daily Kauppalehti, said investors may have been disappointed by optical growth, noting it had been around 20 percent in earlier quarters but was 17 percent in the fourth quarter. (1 euro = 1.19 U.S. dollars) ■