What happened
Shares of Nokia (NOK -0.81%) were climbing today after the company reported better-than-expected results in the second quarter. Nokia's shares jumped by more than 11% during morning trading.
As of noon EDT on Friday, Nokia's stock was up 6.3%.
So what
Investors were pleased to see that Nokia's net profit increased by 21% in the second quarter to 311 million euros ($367 million). That figure easily beat Wall Street's consensus estimate of 138 million euros in net profit. Nokia's nondiluted earnings per share of 0.06 euros in the second quarter was up from 0.05 euros in the year-ago quarter.
Image source: Getty Images.
The profit gains came even as the company's revenue decreased 11% from the year-ago quarter. CEO Rajeev Suri said that despite the challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, the company's second-quarter results "show that our execution has improved as planned and that we are well-positioned to end the year with a significantly stronger financial position."
Including today's gains, Nokia's stock is up 27.5% since the beginning of this year.
Now what
Nokia raised its full-year 2020 earnings guidance as a result of its second-quarter results. The company now expects EPS of 0.25 euros at the midpoint, up from the previous guidance of 0.23 euros. If the company meets its earnings guidance, it would be a significant improvement from the 0.03 euro loss per share in the second quarter of 2019. As with many companies right now, the coronavirus pandemic and economic headwinds in the U.S. could cause some volatility with Nokia's stock in the coming months.
