Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson ADR ERIC

Recent Lull in Global Mobile Equipment Demand Is Not Indicative of Ericsson’s Long-Term Opportunity

In its core business of selling to wireless carriers, Ericsson enjoyed success in the early stages of public 5G network buildouts. According to Ericsson, its global radio access network, or RAN, market share, excluding China, jumped from 33% in 2017 to 39% in 2022. While carriers typically source from multiple vendors, and Ericsson has benefited by the explicit or implicit exclusion of Huawei and ZTE equipment in many Western markets, there is little doubt Ericsson has outperformed, as Nokia has acknowledged RAN market share weakness. Ericsson is poised to capitalize on its early inroads as a preferred vendor. As its customers continue building out their 5G networks, Ericsson should take an outsize share of follow-on services and subsequent equipment needs.