Forget Cisco: Nokia Is the AI Networking Stock Nobody’s Watching

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the AI networking sanction dominating each surface this month, with shares up 54.9% twelvemonth to day connected the backmost of a raised $9.0 cardinal FY26 AI infrastructure bid target.

But present is what investors should really beryllium watching.

The Cisco Trade Is Crowded and Fully Priced

Cisco opened Wednesday astatine $117.94, against a Wall Street statement people of $125.41. The banal trades astatine 25x guardant earnings, 7.8x sales, and 10.1x book. That is what a statement darling looks similar aft an 87.1% one-year run.

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The fundamentals are good. Q3 FY26 gross of $15.84 cardinal bushed estimates, networking grew 25% twelvemonth implicit year, and AI infrastructure orders twelvemonth to day reached $5.3 billion. The occupation for caller money: operating currency travel fell 7.39% twelvemonth implicit year, services gross declined again, and absorption telegraphed up to $1 cardinal successful restructuring charges crossed Q4 FY26 and FY27. Even retail has noticed the setup. A Reddit thread asking "Is past repeating itself? Cisco Systems (CSCO) YTD successful 2000 (Just Before the Dotcom Bubble Burst) vs. Today 2026" drew 105 upvotes and 156 comments. When WallStreetBets is partying similar it's 1999 connected a name, the casual wealth is down you.

The Better AI Networking Trade: Nokia

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is the picks-and-shovels AI networking play that institutions inactive dainty arsenic a bequest telecom instrumentality company. Three reasons that presumption is wrong.

1. Optical Networks is the existent AI bottleneck breaker. Q4 '25 Optical Networks gross deed $1.14 billion, up 17% successful changeless currency, with book-to-bill good supra 1. The Infinera acquisition closed successful February 2025, bolting connected optical transport scale, and Nokia is present shipping 800G ZR/ZR+ pluggables to a ample U.S. hyperscaler, with a 2nd Indium Phosphide fab opening successful San Jose earlier the extremity of 2026. AI clump networking is the chokepoint. Nokia owns hard assets successful it.

2. Nvidia enactment existent wealth connected the table. Jensen Huang made a $1.0 cardinal equity concern successful Nokia alongside a strategical AI-RAN partnership, with Nokia named preferred networking vendor for the Nscale information halfway buildout. The marketplace has not absorbed what it means for Nvidia to anchor a rival to Cisco alternatively than Cisco itself.