Daniel Djurberg

Daniel Djurberg asked for more color on the visibility of the North American RAN market in 2026, specifically if it's expected to be more back-end loaded due to larger customers' spectrum asset holdings, and later followed up on the impact of a large contract on Cloud Software and Services Q1 seasonality.

Answer

Lars Sandström, SVP and CFO, and Börje Ekholm, CEO, stated that healthy investment levels are expected to continue for the full year in North America, but quarterly phasing is difficult to predict. Börje added that active components are still needed despite cautious CapEx guidance from customers. Lars later noted that excluding the large contract would bring Cloud Software and Services Q1 seasonality closer to normal, also mentioning a significant currency headwind expected in Q1 2025.

Daniel Djurberg from Handelsbanken asked for an update on the progress of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) as a key use case and network driver in various global markets, including the U.S. and India.

Answer

CEO Börje Ekholm described FWA as a key use case that has not yet driven major network investments but shows promise. He noted North America was a front-runner and that progress in India is particularly interesting, as its commercial viability there suggests CPE prices have fallen, making FWA globally competitive. He contrasted this with Europe, which remains a 'fiber continent'.

Daniel Djurberg from Handelsbanken asked if the strong Q3 Network gross margin guidance of 45-47% could be extrapolated to Q4 and beyond, and whether the intensified competition is primarily from one Chinese vendor or more broad-based.

Answer

CFO Lars Sandstrom stated that Ericsson is only guiding for Q3 due to market uncertainty. CEO Börje Ekholm clarified that his comments on competition were meant to highlight that Chinese vendors remain a significant and broad-based competitive force, countering a perception that they had faded from the market.

Daniel Djurberg questioned the reported loss from the newly acquired Infinera and asked for details on the EUR 120 million one-time contract settlement in Mobile Networks, including its cause and risk of recurrence.

Answer

CFO Marco Wiren clarified that Infinera was profitable in March and the reported figure was for accounting purposes, reiterating confidence in synergy targets. President and CEO Justin Hotard explained the settlement related to a specific customer project from 2019, predating portfolio improvements. He stated it was a one-time charge to fully address the issue and that he does not foresee similar risks with other customers.

Inquired about the reported loss from the newly acquired Infinera and the nature of the EUR 120 million onetime contract settlement in Mobile Networks, including whether it was related to T-Mobile and if similar charges could recur.

Answer

The reported Infinera figure was only for one month (March), which was actually profitable; the pro-forma view shows Infinera was loss-making in 2024 due to scale issues the acquisition will solve. The EUR 120 million settlement was for a specific customer project from 2019, is not related to T-Mobile, and is considered a one-time issue with no similar risks foreseen.

Daniel Djurberg requested more detail on the 18,000 net new base station sites won, asking for a gross number and ASP trends. He also asked about the 5G standalone core deployment, questioning if initial deployments are partial, implying further build-out potential.

Answer

CEO Pekka Lundmark confirmed the 18,000 figure is a net number reflecting market share gains and declined to provide a gross number, attributing the few losses to aggressive pricing from Chinese competitors. Regarding 5G standalone, he acknowledged its rollout has been slower than expected market-wide but is now picking up, representing a significant growth opportunity for the Cloud and Network Services (CNS) business. He also highlighted strong order intake in the Enterprise Campus Edge business as another key CNS growth driver.