Nokia’s Mobile Infrastructure Gets a New Chief as AI Orders Surge and Industry Week Looms

Nokia names ex-Siemens executive Emma Falck as mobile infrastructure president; stock up 114% YTD as AI orders surge €1B and analysts boost price targets.

Nokia is about to enter a defining stretch. A brand-new leader for its most critical division takes the stage, the company heads into a major telecom gathering, and the stock’s explosive rally has already vaulted far beyond some analysts’ price targets. The pressure is on to prove that the AI narrative is more than just a good story.

Emma Falck, a former Siemens executive with a background in computational physics and a tenure at Boston Consulting Group, will become President of Mobile Infrastructure on 1 September 2026. She steps into a role that CEO Justin Hotard has been covering on an interim basis since Tommi Uitto departed six months ago amid reported strategic disagreements. Falck’s appointment signals Nokia’s intent to blur the line between traditional telecom and software-defined infrastructure — a shift already reflected in the company’s accelerating AI-related order book.

The stock closed Friday at €11.96, shedding 4.13% in a session that looked like profit-taking after a blistering run. The shares are still up 114.80% year-to-date and have nearly tripled over the past twelve months, hitting a recent high of €12.55. With the current price hovering just below that peak, the bar for any new positive catalyst is high.

Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Nokia from €7.50 to €8.50, maintaining a buy rating. The bank’s upgrade is built on stronger expectations for the optical and IP networking business, which it now sees growing 18% to 20%, plus an extra €400 million in revenue from data-center switching. JPMorgan was far more aggressive, doubling its target to €12.00 and keeping an “Overweight” call. Barclays, though raising its own figure, remains more cautious on valuation.

The financials released last quarter support the bullish case. Nokia posted first-quarter 2026 revenue of €4.5 billion, with comparable sales up 4%. The real engine was AI and Cloud, which surged 49% and now represents 8% of group revenue. During the quarter, the company booked more than €1 billion in AI-related orders. The Infinera acquisition has also begun to lift margins: comparable gross margin reached 45.5%, and Nokia’s net cash position stood at €3.8 billion.

Falck’s task will be to translate that momentum into a coherent mobile-network strategy. Nokia’s longer-term target is a comparable operating profit of €2.7 billion to €3.2 billion by 2028, which hinges on lifting network infrastructure margins into the 13% to 17% range. Her background in smart buildings, industrial automation, and consulting suggests a focus on private networks, 5G Advanced, and 6G — technologies Nokia believes will be essential for robots, autonomous vehicles, and factory floors rather than just smartphones.

The next few days will provide a public test of that vision. Nokia is a gold sponsor at the International Telecoms Week running 18–21 May in National Harbor, where its chief technology officer will deliver a keynote titled “Connectivity 2030” on 19 May and join a panel on GPU financing. Simultaneously, Nokia Federal will showcase private cellular solutions for defense and critical communications at the SOF Week. Both events give Falck’s future team a platform to reinforce Nokia’s claim to a broader, AI-infused networking market.

For now, investors are watching whether the company can back its story with fresh orders, margin improvements, and clear strategic messaging. The next scheduled earnings report comes on 23 July. Until then, every piece of news from National Harbor and beyond will be measured against a stock that has already run far ahead of most analysts’ expectations.