Nokia and SoftBank agree on AI-RAN trial: EUR 16.00 target for Nokia stock

Published on 10/21/2026 at 09:13 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Nokia will test AI-RAN with SoftBank in Japan in 2027. Nokia stock costs EUR 8.21 on October 21, 2026, 0.91 percent above Xetra close.

AI-RAN and earnings dates

Nokia and SoftBank agreed on an AI-RAN field trial for Japan in 2027 on October 20, 2026.
Second-quarter sales rose 8.00 percent to EUR 4.8 billion.
Nokia stock trades at EUR 8.21 at 9:09 a.m. CEST at Lang & Schwarz on October 21, 2026, 0.91 percent above the Xetra close of October 20, 2026.
Bank of America set a EUR 16.00 target and expects more than EUR 2.0 billion in AI-related orders before the third-quarter report.

Pop-Art-Comicbild eines Ingenieurs, der auf einen Sendemast zeigt — Nokia Oyj (FI0009000681) Pop-Art-Comic zeigt begeisterten Ingenieur vor riesigem Sendemast mit Halbton-Signalwellen, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Nokia (ISIN FI0009000681) was trading at EUR 8.21 at Lang & Schwarz on October 21, 2026, at 9:09 a.m. CEST, 0.91 percent above the Xetra close of October 20, 2026 at EUR 8.14. The market is weighing a new commercial AI-RAN project ahead of Nokia's third-quarter report.

On October 20, 2026, Nokia said it had agreed with SoftBank to conduct an AI-RAN field trial in Japan in 2027. The test will run under commercial traffic conditions and combine Nokia's anyRAN software with SoftBank's AITRAS platform and an NVIDIA accelerated computing platform.

Commercial testing raises the stakes

The trial moves the project beyond laboratory development toward a live network environment. Nokia said the companies will assess AI-RAN capabilities and the coordination of artificial intelligence and radio workloads on shared infrastructure. The stated objective is to support new AI services while retaining carrier-grade network operations.

The announcement gives investors a concrete milestone, but it does not yet provide an order value or revenue contribution. That distinction matters because the trial is planned for 2027, while Nokia's next earnings report will provide the nearer-term evidence on demand and delivery capacity.

What does the trial mean for orders?

Bank of America reiterated its buy rating on October 19, 2026, and set a EUR 16.00 target for Nokia. According to MarketScreener, the bank expects more than EUR 2.0 billion in AI-related orders before the third-quarter report, below the EUR 2.8 billion Nokia reported for the second quarter. The EUR 16.00 target is 94.88 percent above the Lang & Schwarz price.

Nokia's second-quarter sales rose 8.00 percent year over year to EUR 4.8 billion, while underlying operating profit rose 18.00 percent to EUR 434.0 million, according to The Economic Times. The same report said net profit was EUR 5.0 million after restructuring charges, compared with EUR 96.0 million a year earlier.

Results arrive on October 22

Nokia will publish its third-quarter and January-September 2026 interim report on October 22, 2026, at approximately 8:00 a.m. Finnish time. The analyst webcast is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Finnish time that day, according to Nokia.

Stock remains below the target

The immediate test is whether Nokia can turn AI-related demand into reported sales and operating profit. The October 22 report should clarify whether the commercial AI-RAN roadmap is supported by current order momentum.

Nokia was trading at EUR 8.21 at Lang & Schwarz on October 21, 2026, at 9:09 a.m. CEST, 0.91 percent above the Xetra close of October 20, 2026 at EUR 8.14. The further course of trading is shown by the continuously updated real-time quote of Nokia stock.