Corning Incorporated
GLW · NYSE
Next quarter
Expected to report Oct 27, 2026 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.
Consensus is $0.88 EPS for Sep 2026 across 4 estimates, ranging $0.86 to $0.89.
GLW Jun 2026
- 2.63%
- -1.56%
- $0.76
- $0.78
- —
- —
Highlights
- Core growth: Second-quarter core sales rose 17% year over year to $4.74 billion and 9% sequentially, while core EPS increased 30% to $0.78, $0.02 above the $0.76 consensus.
- Optical Communications: Sales increased 32% year over year to $2.07 billion and segment net income rose 77% to $438 million, driven by 65% growth in Enterprise Networks and accelerating generative-AI product demand.
- Solar ramp: Solar sales surged 90% to $438 million, but the segment posted a $7 million loss versus $2 million of income a year earlier as Corning completed an extended maintenance shutdown and equipment upgrade; management expects profitability to improve in Q3.
- Margin expansion: Core gross margin expanded 120 basis points year over year to 39.6% and core operating margin expanded 190 basis points to 20.9%, with core ROIC up 180 basis points to 14.9%.
- Cash generation: Operating cash flow was $1.72 billion and adjusted free cash flow was $1.42 billion, aided in part by a $1.0 billion customer deposit tied to a long-term supply agreement.
- Springboard upgrade: Corning is targeting an annualized sales run rate of $20 billion by year-end 2026, $30 billion by year-end 2028 and $40 billion by year-end 2030, implying a 19% sales CAGR from Q4 2026 to Q4 2030.
- Customer commitments: Amazon agreed to a multiyear, multibillion-dollar U.S. optical infrastructure supply arrangement, while NVIDIA and Corning announced plans to expand U.S. optical connectivity capacity tenfold and fiber capacity by more than 50%.
- Third-quarter outlook: Management expects core sales of $4.9 billion to $5.0 billion, up approximately 16% year over year, and core EPS of $0.85 to $0.89, up approximately 28%.
Analysis
Corning’s second quarter was a strong beat-and-raise print centered on continued AI-related demand in Optical Communications and early execution of its upgraded Springboard plan. Core EPS of $0.78 exceeded the $0.76 consensus by 2.6%, while GAAP sales of $4.51 billion, operating income of $698 million and diluted EPS of $0.64 compared with $3.86 billion, $573 million and $0.54 in the year-ago quarter. Against the prior quarter, GAAP sales increased 9% from $4.14 billion and diluted EPS increased from $0.43; core sales rose from $4.35 billion and core EPS from $0.70.
Optical Communications supplied most of the earnings acceleration: sales grew $506 million year over year and segment net income increased $191 million, with Enterprise Networks and generative-AI products driving the advance. Solar added $207 million of sales growth but remained loss-making during its capacity ramp, leaving meaningful upside if management’s expected Q3 profitability improvement materializes. The quarter also showed better underlying economics, with core operating margin reaching 20.9% and adjusted free cash flow reaching $1.42 billion. Corning used Amazon and NVIDIA partnerships, alongside a $1.0 billion customer deposit, to support a much more ambitious long-term growth framework.
Optical Communications
Optical Communications was the clear engine of the quarter. Sales rose 32% year over year to $2.07 billion from $1.57 billion and increased 12% sequentially from $1.85 billion. Segment net income rose 77% to $438 million from $247 million, reflecting strong incremental profit on higher revenue. Management attributed the growth primarily to Enterprise Networks, where sales increased 65%; generative-AI products grew substantially faster than the overall business. The company’s agreements with Amazon and NVIDIA provide evidence of customer demand beyond the quarter, while also supporting additional U.S. manufacturing capacity.
Solar ramp
Solar sales rose 90% year over year to $438 million and 18% sequentially from $370 million, driven by growth in polysilicon, wafers and modules. Profitability, however, temporarily deteriorated: segment net income was a $7 million loss versus $2 million of income in the prior-year quarter and $7 million of income in Q1. Corning said the result reflected an extended maintenance shutdown, equipment upgrades and temporarily higher costs while ramping capacity. Management expects the earnings impact to improve beginning in Q3 and is building toward a solar revenue stream exceeding $3 billion with strong profit and cash flow.
Springboard acceleration
The quarter was presented as proof that Corning can support a substantially larger growth trajectory. The upgraded Springboard plan targets an annualized sales run rate of $20 billion by the end of 2026, $30 billion by the end of 2028 and $40 billion by the end of 2030, versus the $13 billion starting run rate when the plan was launched in 2023. Management expects sales to compound at 19% from Q4 2026 to Q4 2030, with earnings growing faster than sales, higher returns on invested capital and greater free cash flow. Amazon’s multiyear, multibillion-dollar optical supply agreement and the NVIDIA partnership are the principal customer proof points cited for the plan.
Margins and cash flow
Underlying profitability improved despite Solar’s ramp costs. Core gross margin expanded 120 basis points year over year to 39.6%, while core operating margin increased 190 basis points to 20.9%; core operating income was $989 million versus $770 million a year earlier. Core ROIC reached 14.9%, up from 13.1%. GAAP operating cash flow increased to $1.72 billion from $708 million, and adjusted free cash flow reached $1.42 billion versus $451 million. The cash flow comparison benefited from a $1.0 billion upfront customer deposit under a long-term agreement, partially offsetting the quarter’s $422 million of capital spending.
Third-quarter outlook
Corning expects the growth cadence to continue into Q3, with core sales forecast at $4.9 billion to $5.0 billion, approximately 16% above the year-ago period, and core EPS of $0.85 to $0.89, approximately 28% higher year over year. The outlook incorporates improving Solar profitability and continued strength in Optical Communications. Capital intensity is also rising: first-half capital expenditures were $754 million, and management expects approximately $2.0 billion for full-year 2026. Corning ended June with $2.5 billion of cash, $8.42 billion of total debt and $1.5 billion of undrawn revolving credit capacity.
