BofA Sees Room for Over EUR2 Billion in AI Orders at Nokia's Upcoming Q3 Results

12:46 AM EDT, 10/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- BofA Global Research sees room for Nokia (NOKIA.HE) to report another quarter with more than 2 billion euros in artificial intelligence-related orders in its upcoming third-quarter results on Thursday. "We believe there is scope for Nokia to print another EUR2bn+ AI order quarter, assuming optical orders at least on par with Q1 (we est. EUR1.6bn+) and switch orders (we est. EUR400mm+). Q3 orders will likely be a sequential decrease from Q2's EUR2.8bn, for the sole reason of the large switch design win's orders recognized in Q1. We believe orders significantly below EUR2bn may be less well received by the market. The other key question is whether Nokia will raise its FY26E guide. We think it may either raise the guide if they secure more supply, or leave FY26E guide unchanged but provide encouraging color on FY27E capacity run-rate to address market concerns on capacity," according to a third-quarter preview note. The research firm believes Nokia is well-placed to secure additional volume switch design wins, citing strong hyperscaler industry demand and supplier capacity constraints. "This would also be supportive to valuation given more customer stickiness and higher margins for switches generally," analysts added. Against this backdrop, BofA maintained its buy rating and price objective of 16 euros on the stock.