Nokia's profit could be impacted by millions as the tariffs come on
Even before the tariffs, net sales were down for the quarter
The vendor did announce an extension of its RAN deal with T-Mobile
Nokia’s new CEO, Justin Hotard, said that the Trump administration’s tariffs “could have a 20 million Euro [$22.7 million] to 30 million Euro [$34 million] impact to our operating profit in Q2” on Nokia’s first-quarter earnings call this week.
But, on the good-news front, the CEO also announced a new RAN deal with T-Mobile on the call. “I'm pleased to share that today we've also announced an extension of our RAN agreement with T-Mobile U.S.,” Hotard said. The deal is a significant multi-year extension of its strategic partnership with the operator, Nokia said.
The tariff challenge
CEO Hotard said that the telecom vendor is trying to figure what to do around the current and forthcoming tariffs - whenever many of them actually arrive. “We did not see anything that we would classify as a material impact in Q1,” Hotard noted during the Q&A session. “Obviously, we're spending a lot of time in looking at this for Q2.”
“Today, we don't see a material shift in demand in Q2, but this is something...we're spending time with our customers, both at my level and obviously, our broader teams levels to understand and assess, and be very responsive around that need and that's something that we're also considering in terms of our — leveraging our global manufacturing network,” the CEO continued.
Much like other telecom vendors, Nokia will have to wait to see what will actually happen with the tariffs. Ericsson’s CFO Lars Sandström said that the company was expecting a 1% impact on its margins from the U.S. tariffs in the second quarter, on its own earnings call last week.
Nokia's numbers
Nokia reported a net loss of 60 million Euros ($63 million) for Q1. Quarterly net sales were 4.39 billion Euros ($4.61 billion), down 3% from 4.44 billion Euros a year ago.
We’ll have to see what happens with the tariffs for Nokia - and others - in Q2. For the Finnish vendor, specifically, it seems like the tariffs could dampen its brief return to profit it experienced in the fourth quarter of 2024.