Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Is Nokia About to Be Smashed Into Little Pieces?

Is Nokia About to Be Smashed Into Little Pieces?

In Finland’s epic national poem, the Kalevala, a hero is tasked with retrieving the mythical sampo, a mill capable of producing salt, meal and gold that is a talisman of happiness and prosperity.
It’s a task that now befalls Pekka Lundmark, the executive appointed chief of Nokia Oyj on Monday with a mandate to return the troubled Finnish network-equipment maker to more prosperous times.

The time is right for his predecessor Rajeev Suri to hand over the reins. Appointed head of Nokia’s networks division in 2009, Suri became CEO in 2014 as that business became the firm’s main operation after the sale of the handset arm to Microsoft Corp. He has overseen the reshaping of a company that at the dawn of the millennium was one of the world’s biggest, with a market capitalization peaking at $290 billion in 2000, and the pride of Finnish industry.

By acquiring French rival Alcatel-Lucent in 2016, he ensured that Nokia remained one of the top three suppliers of telecoms equipment, even as China’s Huawei Technologies Co. spent aggressively to leapfrog it and Sweden’s Ericsson AB to become the biggest player.

But that takeover also caused problems for which Suri now seems to be paying the price. Nokia’s revenue grew more slowly than either of its two biggest competitors last year. Difficulties integrating the French company proved a distraction as the telecommunications industry started developing fifth-generation network technology. Carriers complain that Nokia now lags Ericsson and Huawei technologically, and the Finnish firm has struggled to compete on cost. Suri will hand over the reins in September.

Chairman Risto Siilasmaa said Nokia aims to resolve shortcomings in the semiconductors used in its base stations this year, which ought remedy some of the tech concerns. Siilasmaa already planned to step down, to be replaced in April by Sari Baldauf.

All of those missteps had helped drive shares of Nokia in its current form close to their all-time lows as a multiple of expected earnings. The stock was trading at less than 14 times forward earnings before the management change was announced. It traded as high as 29 times earnings on that basis in Suri’s first year at the helm.

That downward trajectory makes Nokia vulnerable to an approach from an activist investor who could seek a breakup of the company. Replacing the CEO might help the company get ahead of the problem. And it surely can’t be a coincidence that Lundmark’s appointment follows that of Baldauf as chair of Nokia’s board: While in the same role at Fortum Oyj, she appointed Lundmark to his current job as CEO of the Finnish utility. Under his leadership, the firm has outperformed its European peers, generating an 80% return for shareholders.

One recent event will give Lundmark some breathing space: U.S. regulators’ decision to approve the acquisition of Sprint Corp. by rival carrier T-Mobile US Inc. The delayed deal, which was first agreed two years ago, has meant that some spending decisions have also been pushed back. Both companies are big Nokia customers, which might help earnings this year.

But Lundmark might also learn from the Kalevala. In the poem, the quest results in a fight that sees the sampo smashed into little pieces. Lundmark has been made responsible for determining Nokia’s strategy, which will include deciding whether Suri’s approach to offering an “end-to-end” network solution still makes sense, or whether some businesses are worth divesting. If he dithers, then activists might take the decision out of his hands and lead Nokia to a sampo-like fate.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×