Nokia's Satellite Bet and FWA Exit Set the Stage for October Earnings Test

Nokia shares closed at EUR 9.47, up 2.2% Friday, extending a 69% year-to-date gain as investors weigh new partnerships before Q3 results on October 22.

Nokia shares finished the trading week at EUR 9.47, adding 2.2% on Friday in a session that carried no single company-specific trigger. The advance extends a remarkable run for the Finnish telecom equipment maker, whose stock has climbed 69% since the start of the year, leaving investors to weigh a string of strategic moves against the numbers due later this month.

A Space Play Aimed at Governments

On Thursday, Nokia unveiled a partnership with space technology firm ICEYE to build secure communication systems using satellites in low Earth orbit. The offering targets government agencies and defense-sector customers, reflecting network vendors' growing appetite for military and state security work. No financial terms were disclosed, and the first joint satellite launches are not expected before 2028.

The initiative slots into a broader repositioning of Nokia's portfolio around higher-margin, strategically sensitive segments. In Saudi Arabia, operator Zain KSA has gone live with Nokia's Deepfield Cloud Intelligence platform across more than 100 cities, a deployment designed to give the carrier real-time visibility into network traffic.

AI and Cloud Alliances Deepen

Those announcements build on earlier efforts to automate modern telecom networks. In mid-September, Nokia and Microsoft agreed to develop a unified data layer linking the Nokia Data Suite with Microsoft Fabric, aiming to enable AI-driven operations inside carrier networks. Alongside international operators including A1 Group, stc and Chunghwa Telecom, Nokia is also running trials of AI-RAN architectures built on NVIDIA platforms — work the company says has lifted spectral efficiency by more than 20%.

Inseego Deal Closes the FWA Chapter

At the same time, Nokia is shedding assets outside its core. Inseego completed its acquisition of Nokia's Fixed Wireless Access business on Thursday. Under the terms, Nokia received roughly 1.9 million Inseego shares, equal to about 11% of the US company, plus warrants for up to 0.8 million additional shares. Nokia has already made a USD 10 million cash investment and has committed to a further USD 10 million payment by October 15, 2026. The divestment tightens the company's offering and channels resources toward priority areas.

Jefferies Stays Bullish Ahead of the Print

Analyst support has provided additional tailwind. On September 24, Jefferies reportedly reaffirmed its "Buy" rating on Nokia and left its price target unchanged at EUR 13.80, implying substantial upside from current levels. The next hard milestone is already circled: Nokia will report third-quarter results together with figures for the first nine months of fiscal 2026 on October 22. That release will give shareholders their first clear read on whether the partnerships and portfolio reshaping are translating into earnings.