TLDR
- Nokia stock surged 12% after launching agentic AI tools that let networks diagnose and fix problems without human technicians.
- The new service is available to internet providers and home network users, and can prevent outages before customers notice them.
- A blowout quarter from Cisco — with revenue up 12% and networking revenue up 25% — lifted the whole networking sector.
- Cisco raised its full-year AI order forecast from $5 billion to $9 billion, boosting confidence in companies like Nokia that sell into the same market.
- Nokia now trades at 91 times trailing earnings, up from 35x a year ago, after the stock has nearly tripled in 12 months.
Nokia stock hit a fresh multi-year high on Wednesday, trading at $14.71 after jumping 12.1% — revisiting prices last seen in the spring of 2009.
The catalyst was the launch of Nokia’s new agentic AI tools for network management, now available to both internet service providers and home network users.
The platform can tune network performance, respond to voice commands, and run multi-step diagnostics to identify and fix problems automatically — no technician required.
“We are fundamentally changing how home and broadband networks are deployed and run,” Nokia executive Sandy Motley said in a statement.
For internet providers, the pitch is clear: prevent outages before customers even notice, cut the cost of sending repair crews, and speed up customer support.
Cisco’s Big Quarter Adds More Fuel
Nokia’s own launch wasn’t the only thing moving the stock. On Thursday, Nokia rose another 7% after Cisco reported quarterly results that blew past expectations.
Cisco posted revenue of $15.84 billion, up 12% year-over-year, with net income climbing to $3.37 billion. Networking revenue came in at $8.82 billion, up 25%, ahead of analyst estimates of $8.47 billion.
Cisco’s networking product orders grew more than 50% year-over-year in the quarter, while data-center switching orders rose more than 40%.
The company also raised its full-year AI order forecast to $9 billion, up from a prior estimate of $5 billion, and lifted its AI revenue outlook to $4 billion from $3 billion.
Nokia sells networking and optical equipment used in the same AI infrastructure buildout. Last month, Nokia raised its own growth targets, projecting the AI and cloud addressable market to expand 27% annually through 2028, up from a prior estimate of 16%.
A Valuation Worth Watching
The stock’s run has been something. Nokia has doubled in three months and nearly tripled over the past year.
At current prices, Nokia trades at 91 times trailing earnings. That’s up from 35x a year ago and just 5.1x back in May 2023.
The market cap now sits at $82 billion.
For Cisco’s current quarter, the company guided for adjusted earnings of $1.16 to $1.18 per share on revenue of $16.7 billion to $16.9 billion — well above analyst expectations of $1.07 per share on $15.82 billion.
Cisco also said it plans to cut fewer than 4,000 jobs this quarter, representing less than 5% of its workforce, with restructuring charges of around $1 billion.
Nokia’s 52-week range is $4.00 to $14.83, with Wednesday’s high of $14.82 touching the top of that range.
🚨 Our MAY Stock Picks Are Live!
A new month means new opportunities. Our analysts have just released their top stock picks for May, highlighting companies with strong momentum that rank highly on our KO Score algorithm. We’re also now sharing trade ideas for both long-term and short-term investors, giving you more ways to spot potential opportunities in the market.
Sign up to Knockout Stocks today and get 50% off to unlock the full list and see which stocks made the cut.
Use coupon code Special50 for your exclusive discount!
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
