Nokia Q2 profit beat as sales from AI, cloud doubled

STOCKHOLM, July 23 : Nokia reported a bigger than expected rise in its quarterly comparable operating profit on Thursday, as the Finnish telecom gear maker got a boost from artificial intelligence and cloud customers, and expects the growth to continue.Comparable operating profit jumped 18 per cent to 434 million euros ($496.11 million) in the second quarter of 2026. That was above the average estimate of 382 million euros from analysts polled by LSEG.Nokia has been shifting its focus to selling fibre-optic equipment to big tech companies building AI data centres. The company, however, was not immune to the sudden increase in memory chip prices due to AI companies cornering the market and impacting telecom equipment makers."Demand remains strong, while supply continues to be the main indus