Shares of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) are tumbling on Thursday. The company’s stock lost 8.8% as of 3:20 p.m. ET and was down as much as 11.1% earlier in the day. The steep decline comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 1.7% and 2.2%, respectively.
The Finnish telecom and consumer electronics company posted numbers for its first quarter of 2025, coming in well below Wall Street targets.
A big miss
Nokia’s earnings report shocked investors with Q1 earnings of $176.9 million, a substantial 36% miss. Analysts had expected $277.2 million. There was a one-time charge in its mobile networks division that helps explain the massive miss, but even after adjusting for the charge, the company’s earnings fell short. Sales underwhelmed investors too, down 3% year over year.
The report comes just as a new CEO takes the helm. Justin Hotard previously headed Intel‘s AI data center division and was brought on in part to help the company boost its presence in that critical area.
Trump’s tariffs are concerning
Nokia admitted that U.S. tariffs would cause short-term disruption, estimating an impact of roughly $25 million in its Q2 profits. Much of the company’s supply chain is based outside the U.S., although it does have some domestic operations. Hotard appeared confident that the tariffs wouldn’t change the company’s long-term prospects and that he was not interested in moving the bulk of his company’s operations to the U.S.
T-Mobile flow
Despite the disappointing quarter, there are reasons to like Nokia stock. The company announced a multiyear extension of its partnership with T-Mobile to expand the carrier’s 5G network coverage in the U.S. This will help provide steady cash flow for some time. The company has also largely reversed a negative sales trend in the U.S. That being said, I would hold off until more clarity emerges around President Trump’s tariffs.
Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short May 2025 $30 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
