In the Finnish economy, the labor share of income already decreased during the depression
Summary
- Nasdaq Helsinki's operational earnings grew by 40% year-on-year in Q2, largely driven by Neste's EUR 860 million earnings improvement, while median earnings growth was 10%.
- In contrast, US corporate earnings growth was significantly higher, with EPS growth reaching 53% year-on-year in Q2, highlighting a disparity in growth rates between the two markets.
- The labor share of income in Finland has been declining steadily, with labor income accounting for around 58% of national income, a trend that may continue if AI investments increase.
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Automatic translation: Originally published in Finnish 03/09/2026, 04:44 GMT. Give feedback here.
Nasdaq Helsinki is not Wall Street, but both showed growth. The potential structural change in the economy is proceeding at different speeds.
I mentioned in Tuesday's macro review how corporate growth in the US has surged to new figures. According to data collected by WSJ, EPS growth accelerated to 53% year-on-year in Q2 and stood at 35% even without the technology sector. On Nasdaq Helsinki, earnings growth was also relatively robust, but for different reasons.
According to companies tracked by Inderes, the combined operational earnings on Nasdaq Helsinki increased by 40% year-on-year in Q2. However, this figure is almost entirely driven by a single company: Neste’s earnings improved by EUR 860 million, which alone explains the majority of the earnings growth for the entire group. Median earnings growth remained at 10%, which is still the best pace in a long time, as shown in the earnings season summary published yesterday by Juha Kinnunen.
Thus, earnings growth on Nasdaq Helsinki did not come close to US levels, and hardly anyone expected it to, as AI investments here are in their infancy compared to across the pond. However, relative to Finland's GDP, earnings growth was robust even by local standards.
What about the labor share of national income, which partly reflects the structural change in the economy? In the US, it has visibly declined in recent years. In Finland, it has also been on a downward trend, but differently than in the US. Here, the most drastic change in the labor share was seen alongside the structural change triggered by Nokia's rise and fall, after which the movement has been rather sideways, with the labor share of around 58% of national income. Should the US pioneer the AI boom and related investments truly pick up in Finland as well in the coming years, the labor share could likewise enter a new decline here too as companies capture an increasingly large share of national income.
Finland: Labor share of national income
Source: FRED
