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By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Agnieszka Olenska

April 17 (Reuters) - Sweden's Ericsson reported a first-quarter core profit that slightly missed market expectations on Friday, ‌citing increasing chip costs caused by artificial intelligence demand and a sales ‌slowdown in North America.

The network equipment maker is facing rising input costs partially due to high ​demand for AI technology that is driving up prices of semiconductors, CEO Börje Ekholm said in a statement.

"We are working together with our suppliers to mitigate this. But also, we will need to work with our customers to share the burden on ‌this," finance chief Lars Sandström ⁠added in an interview with Reuters.

Ericsson reported an adjusted operating profit of 5.2 billion Swedish crowns ($566 million), excluding restructuring charges, for ⁠the first quarter of 2026. Analysts polled by Infront were expecting 5.4 billion crowns on average.

The company's shares were down 1.6% in early Stockholm trading.

Ericsson, one of the ​main Western ​suppliers of network equipment alongside Finland's Nokia, ​has been betting heavily on ‌the U.S. market even as transatlantic ties have become strained under President Donald Trump's rule.

The Swedish group has significant U.S. exposure especially after winning a $14 billion deal with operator AT&T in 2023, which could help outweigh slower telecoms investments in other markets.

Sandström said sales in North America fell by a mid-single-digit percentage in the ‌quarter, compared to a strong year-ago period that ​was boosted by tariff-related demand. Underlying market conditions ​in the region remain solid, ​he added.

The group's quarterly net sales fell 10% from a ‌year ago to 49.3 billion crowns, below ​an Infront poll ​estimate of 50.7 billion crowns.

In a note to investors, J.P. Morgan said the results were "soft to in-line" and warned there could be a read-across effect ​on Nokia's shares due ‌to the weakness reported in North America. Nokia fell 1.5% in early ​Helsinki trading.

($1 = 9.1869 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Agnieszka ​Olenska in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)