The artificial intelligence boom is also making itself felt on the Helsinki stock exchange.
Nokia gained as many as 13,000 new retail shareholders between July and September, making it the second most widely owned stock on the exchange, according to the Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion.
Nokia overtook asset management company Mandatum in the number of shareholders. According to Sari Lounasmeri, CEO of the Foundation, the growing interest is explained by Nokia’s position in the AI boom.
“Nokia has become more interesting as part of the AI boom through its cooperation with chip giant Nvidia. It is increasingly positioning itself around telecommunications connections and equipment for AI companies and data centres,” Lounasmeri said in a statement.
Several other already popular Finnish companies also saw their shareholder numbers increase. Elisa gained around 5,400 new retail shareholders during the quarter, Kone 5,200 and Sampo 4,700.
According to the Foundation, Sampo’s shareholder base was boosted by a share sale carried out by the Finnish state in September. Interest in Kone, meanwhile, had already begun to strengthen in the spring following its acquisition of TK Elevator.
Wärtsilä benefits from data centre interest
Wärtsilä was also among the companies with the biggest increase in shareholder numbers, gaining around 6,400 new investors. It was the only company near the top of the list that was not already among the ten most widely owned shares on the Helsinki exchange.
According to Lounasmeri, Wärtsilä’s popularity also reflects international megatrends.
“Wärtsilä is attracting interest because the company is currently performing particularly well in data centre projects,” she said.
Nordea remained the most widely owned stock on the Helsinki exchange. The financial group had nearly 340,000 retail shareholders at the end of September.
According to the Foundation, the ten most popular stocks were held in the portfolios of around 1.9 million retail investors in total. The same investor may be counted more than once if they own shares in several companies on the list.
Finnair, Nokian Tyres and Qt lost the largest number of retail shareholders between July and September. The Foundation said this may partly indicate that long-term investors have been taking profits from those companies.
The Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion publishes its list of the most widely owned shares on the Helsinki stock exchange four times a year, based on register data from Euroclear Finland.