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Nokia's debt downgraded to junk status

Debt rating firm Moody's weighs in with its downgrade after Nokia warned its second-quarter financial performance would disappoint and that it would have to cut 10,000 jobs.

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Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Expertise Mobile, 5G, Big Tech, Social Media Credentials
  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
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Roger Cheng
2 min read
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has some serious work ahead of him.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop at last year's Nokia World. Stephen Shankland/CNET

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse for Nokia, Moody's steps in with a downgrade of its debt rating.

Moody's lowered its rating to junk status, citing earnings pressure and cash burn that is larger than the firm previously expected. The move comes after Nokia said yesterday that it would cut 10,000 jobs and warned its second-quarter financial result would again disappoint investors.

The downgrade is just the latest blow for Nokia, which is quickly seeing its prospects dim. A lower rating means it will cost more to issue debt, and the company will have a hard time refinancing its existing debt at favorable terms.

Despite several high-profile launches of phones such as the Lumia 800 abroad and the Lumia 900 here in the U.S., the company has failed to make a real splash. While the phones have sold well, they haven't made much of a dent in the dominance of Apple's iPhone or Android smartphones.

Despite the downgrade, Moody's said it applauded the move to restructure the business to cut costs and return to profitability. But the future will depend on a successful transition to Windows Phone and a stabilization of its basic phone business, and so far that remains unclear.

Much is riding on Nokia's use of the next version of Windows Phone, which is expected to be more tightly integrated with Microsoft's Windows 8 desktop and tablet software.

Moody's downgraded Nokia's long-term debt to Ba1 from Baa3 and its short-term debt to Not-Prime from Prime 3. The outlook on the firm's ratings remains negative.

CNET contacted Nokia for comment. We'll update the story when we get a response.