Nokia posts quarterly profit miss, flags disruption from Trump’s tariffs

[HELSINKI] Nokia reported first-quarter profit well below market expectations on Thursday (Apr 24) and flagged a short-term disruption from US tariffs with an estimated impact of between 20 million and 30 million euros to its second-quarter profit.

Comparable operating profit fell to 156 million euros (S$232.7 million) in the first quarter of 2025, a 36 per cent miss against the average forecast of 243.83 million euros by analysts surveyed by LSEG.

A one-time charge in its mobile networks division had an impact of 120 million euros on quarterly margins, the company said.

Nokia’s sales in North America have been growing steadily despite losing market share to Nordic rival Ericsson, reflecting a renewed market strength after years of weakness.

But now the sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump could counter this trend, as companies might pause orders fearing price increases.

The Finland-based company also announced a strategic multi-year extension of its partnership with T-Mobile in the US to expand the carrier’s 5G network coverage.

“Telecommunications is not a place where customers tend to change their expenditures,” Nokia’s CEO Justin Hotard told reporters.

Its quarterly net sales totalled 4.39 billion euros, down 3 per cent on a constant-currency basis compared with a year earlier and a notch lower than the 4.41 billion euros expected by analysts.

Nokia confirmed its outlook for the rest of the year, which now includes the acquisition of Infinera, but said achieving the top-end of the range for operating profit would be more challenging than initially expected. REUTERS