Nokia under Justin Hotard is no longer asking investors to underwrite another radio-cycle recovery. The company is asking them to underwrite a conversion: optical and internet-protocol gear sold into artificial-intelligence data centers, funded by a still-large mobile franchise and a patent-licensing annuity. The June quarter is the first clean test of that story after the Infinera close, the Nvidia partnership, and the collapse of four reporting groups into two. Demand arrived. Cash and reported profit did not.
Network Infrastructure advanced on constant currency as Optical Networks and IP Networks both grew at a double-digit clip, and sales to AI and Cloud customers more than doubled. Order intake in that customer set reached almost three billion euros, and management states that about half of those orders convert over the next twelve months. Comparable operating profit still expanded, and comparable diluted earnings reached seven euro cents. Reported operating profit swung to a loss because restructuring charges of EUR 390 million hit the quarter as China integration and extra European cuts were pulled forward. Free cash flow was negative EUR 732 million as working capital built and incentive payments landed in their usual seasonal trough.
The investment debate is no longer whether hyperscalers want Nokia glass and routers. It is whether those orders turn into a durable mix shift before the mobile side, the patent book, and the cash conversion rate remind the market that this is still a European equipment conglomerate. The October print is the first check on whether third-quarter sales rise in the guided sequential band and whether comparable profit stays roughly flat as software recognition that pulled into June reverses.