By Adria Calatayud

Nokia is scheduled to report results for the first quarter on Thursday. Here is what you need to know.

NET PROFIT FORECAST: The Finnish maker of telecommunication equipment is expected to report net profit of 126 million euros ($143.9 million), according to a consensus provided by FactSet and based on estimates by 11 analysts. For the first quarter of 2024, profit was 438 million euros.

SALES FORECAST: Nokia's sales are forecast at 4.44 billion euros, according to the consensus based on estimates by 19 analysts. This compares with 4.67 billion euros a year earlier.

Shares in Nokia rose 13% during the first quarter, but gave up part of those gains in April after U.S. President Trump's tariff plans caused market volatility. As of Tuesday's close, the stock was up 7.8% since the start of the year.

WHAT TO WATCH

--This will be Nokia's first set of results since Justin Hotard replaced Pekka Lundmark as chief executive. Hotard joined from Intel, where he led the U.S. chip maker's data-center and artificial-intelligence operations. Nokia has signaled an ambition to expand into new growth areas and in February completed the acquisition of networking-equipment provider Infinera as part of a bet on the data-center market. While investors consider Nokia a wireless-telecom equipment supplier, its portfolio mix is changing significantly after the Infinera deal, JPMorgan analyst Sandeep Deshpande said in a note. This means that the company is increasingly exposed to higher-growth markets, the analyst said.

--Demand for Nokia's products and services shouldn't be significantly affected by the global trade war and economic uncertainty, Jefferies analysts Janardan Menon and Om Bakhda wrote in a note to clients. Near-term investment plans are unlikely to change in the U.S. and around the world as telecom operators tend to react relatively late to the economic cycle, the analysts said. While tariffs will make Nokia's equipment more expensive in the U.S., customers won't be able to switch suppliers quickly and might be reluctant to dial back deployment plans, they added.

--Nokia expects comparable operating profit of between 1.9 billion and 2.4 billion euros this year. The company's outlook should be fairly resilient in the face of economic uncertainty, at least in 2025, the Jefferies analysts said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2025 09:36 ET (13:36 GMT)

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