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Corning Rises 43.6% Year to Date: Reason to Buy the Stock?

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Key Takeaways

  • Corning has gained 43.6% YTD, beating sector and S&P 500 growth, though trailing peers CommScope and Amphenol.
  • Optical Communications revenue jumped 41% on strong Gen AI demand.
  • Apple, Samsung and Broadcom tie-ups bolster Cornings growth prospects.

Corning Incorporated (GLW - Free Report) has gained 43.6% compared to the communications components industry’s growth of 31.3%. The stock has also outperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500’s growth during this period.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

It has underperformed compared to its competitors, such as CommScope Holding Company, Inc. (COMM - Free Report) and Amphenol Corporation (APH - Free Report) . CommScope has surged 205.4%, while Amphenol has gained 55% in the past year.

GLW Rides on Portfolio Strength, Healthy Demand

Corning’s competitive strength lies in its strong focus on innovation. Operating primarily in five market segments — Mobile Consumer Electronics, Optical Communications, Automotive, Life Sciences and Display — the company boasts a leadership position in each of these market segments. The restructuring of its operating structure to better align executive management and business teams around these market segments is paying off well. It has increased efficiency and created an opportunity to reuse assets and capabilities developed for customers in one market ecosystem to serve customers in another. 

The newly introduced Solar Market Access Platform, focused on developing the domestic solar supply chain in the United States, has gained solid market traction in the last two quarters. Management anticipates GLW will generate $2.5 billion in revenues from this new MAP by 2028.

It is benefiting from solid demand in multiple segments. In the second quarter, the Optical Communication segment generated $1.56 billion in revenues, up 41% year over year, beating our estimate $1.47 billion. It is steadily developing innovative optical connectivity products for generative AI applications. This helps better equip the company to compete against other industry leaders such as CommScope and Amphenol.

Specialty Materials generated $545 million in revenues, up 9% year over year, backed by healthy traction in the premium smartphone segment. Samsung has opted to deploy Corning Gorilla Armor 2 cover material for its latest Galaxy S25 Edge device. Growing demand for Corning’s most advanced Gorilla Glass among major smartphone manufacturers augurs well for long-term growth.

GLW Benefits From Strategic Collaboration

Apple has committed $2.5 billion investment to develop all of iPhone and Apple Watch’s cover glass in Corning’s Kentucky manufacturing facilities. The initiative aligned with Apple’s $600 billion multiyear investment commitment in the United States. In this program, Corning has emerged as a major player. GLW is developing the most advanced glass production line in its Kentucky facility to match Apple’s requirements. This will likely drive net sales growth in Corning’s Specialty Materials segment in the upcoming quarters.

Corning has also entered into a multi-year collaboration with Broadcom Incorporated, a premier designer, developer, and global supplier of a broad range of semiconductor devices. Through this partnership with Corning, Broadcom is aiming to deliver a next-generation co-packaged optics infrastructure designed to enhance the processing capabilities of data centers, marking a significant step toward addressing the growing demands of artificial intelligence workloads.

Estimate Revision Trend

Earnings estimates for Corning for 2025 and 2026 have increased over the past 60 days.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Key Valuation Metric of GLW

From a valuation standpoint, GLW is currently trading at a discount compared to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 24.6 forward 12-month earnings, lower than 28.1 for the industry.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

End Note

Corning is benefiting from solid demand in the Optical Communications and Specialty Materials segment. Its U.S.-made solar products are also gaining solid market traction. Growing collaboration with major technology giants such as Apple, Broadcom and Samsung is a major tailwind. The positive estimate revision portrays bullish sentiments about the stock’s growth potential. Hence, with an attractive valuation and Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy), Corning appears to be a good investment option right now. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.


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