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Buy Corning as a Potential AI Beneficiary in 2026 Amid Robust Outlook
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Key Takeaways
Corning beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates, with optical communications sales up 24.3% year over year.
GLW is positioned for AI-driven data center growth with high-speed optical fiber, cables and connectors.
Corning raised its Springboard targets and sees up to $11B in incremental annualized sales by 2028.
Corning Inc. (GLW - Free Report) – a giant communication components manufacturer – reported strong fourth-quarter 2025 earnings results. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.72 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.70 and the year-ago EPS of $0.57. Quarterly revenues of $4.41 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.1% and the year-ago revenues of $3.87 billion.
In the reported quarter, net sales of the core optical communications business climbed 24.3% year over year. Total operating margin increased 1.7% from the year-ago quarter to 20.2%. Free cash flow nearly doubled in 2025 to $1.72 billion from $880 million in 2024.
After benefiting the semiconductor industry immensely, the astonishing growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) technology globally is going to boost the communication components segment, especially the optical technology.
AI-powered data centers need very high speed and efficiency to deliver outputs. As a result, the demand for optical communication components is expected to skyrocket in the near future. Coring is all set to tap this growth trajectory.
Extensive AI-Focused Portfolio
GLW offers several products focused on data centers, with a portfolio consisting of optical fiber, hardware, cables and connectors, enabling it to create optical solutions to meet evolving customer needs. This augurs well for its long-term growth.
The growing adoption of innovative optical connectivity products for generative AI applications is expected to be a key growth driver for GLW in the upcoming quarters. Since both consumers and enterprises are using networks more extensively and the data thus generated is increasingly being used to train AI models, there is tremendous demand for quality networking.
Additionally, data consumption patterns are changing, with a growing propensity to consume video content, creating the need for faster data transfer. Since optical networks are more efficient and most existing networks are copper-based, the demand for GLW’s optical solutions is particularly strong.
Major Collaborations
Corning's fiber-optic products are in high demand from technology giants. The company is a technology partner of generative AI-focused semiconductor behemoth NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) . GLW supports NVDA’s silicon photonics ecosystem-based AI infrastructure.
Recently, Meta Platforms Inc. (META - Free Report) clinched a deal with GLW for a total consideration of $6 billion through 20230. Per the agreement, GLW will supply cabling, optical fiber, and other communication components to META’s data centers.
Strong Guidance
Corning projected that core sales would be in the range of $4.2-$4.3 billion in first-quarter 2026. Adjusted per-share earnings are expected between $0.66 and $0.70. GLW also raised its internal “Springboard” growth plan. The company is expected to generate $6.5 billion in incremental annualized sales by the end of 2026 and $11 billion by the end of 2028. The previous guidance was $6 billion and $8 billion for 2026 and 2028, respectively.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Corning has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11% and 20.5%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.3% in the last seven days. The stock has a long-term (3-5 years) EPS growth rate of 18.8%, higher than the S&P 500’s growth rate of 16%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Investment Thesis
Corning currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The stock price has soared more than 100% in the past year. However, after the fourth-quarter results, it fell more than 5%. That was primarily due to the fact that the stock reached a 52-week high level the previous day on its META deal.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
GLW is set to capitalize on the AI boom with robust business execution and an industry-leading product portfolio. At this stage, each and every fall in the stock price will open a good entry point.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
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Buy Corning as a Potential AI Beneficiary in 2026 Amid Robust Outlook
Key Takeaways
Corning Inc. (GLW - Free Report) – a giant communication components manufacturer – reported strong fourth-quarter 2025 earnings results. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.72 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.70 and the year-ago EPS of $0.57. Quarterly revenues of $4.41 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.1% and the year-ago revenues of $3.87 billion.
In the reported quarter, net sales of the core optical communications business climbed 24.3% year over year. Total operating margin increased 1.7% from the year-ago quarter to 20.2%. Free cash flow nearly doubled in 2025 to $1.72 billion from $880 million in 2024.
After benefiting the semiconductor industry immensely, the astonishing growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) technology globally is going to boost the communication components segment, especially the optical technology.
AI-powered data centers need very high speed and efficiency to deliver outputs. As a result, the demand for optical communication components is expected to skyrocket in the near future. Coring is all set to tap this growth trajectory.
Extensive AI-Focused Portfolio
GLW offers several products focused on data centers, with a portfolio consisting of optical fiber, hardware, cables and connectors, enabling it to create optical solutions to meet evolving customer needs. This augurs well for its long-term growth.
The growing adoption of innovative optical connectivity products for generative AI applications is expected to be a key growth driver for GLW in the upcoming quarters. Since both consumers and enterprises are using networks more extensively and the data thus generated is increasingly being used to train AI models, there is tremendous demand for quality networking.
Additionally, data consumption patterns are changing, with a growing propensity to consume video content, creating the need for faster data transfer. Since optical networks are more efficient and most existing networks are copper-based, the demand for GLW’s optical solutions is particularly strong.
Major Collaborations
Corning's fiber-optic products are in high demand from technology giants. The company is a technology partner of generative AI-focused semiconductor behemoth NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) . GLW supports NVDA’s silicon photonics ecosystem-based AI infrastructure.
Recently, Meta Platforms Inc. (META - Free Report) clinched a deal with GLW for a total consideration of $6 billion through 20230. Per the agreement, GLW will supply cabling, optical fiber, and other communication components to META’s data centers.
Strong Guidance
Corning projected that core sales would be in the range of $4.2-$4.3 billion in first-quarter 2026. Adjusted per-share earnings are expected between $0.66 and $0.70. GLW also raised its internal “Springboard” growth plan. The company is expected to generate $6.5 billion in incremental annualized sales by the end of 2026 and $11 billion by the end of 2028. The previous guidance was $6 billion and $8 billion for 2026 and 2028, respectively.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Corning has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11% and 20.5%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.3% in the last seven days. The stock has a long-term (3-5 years) EPS growth rate of 18.8%, higher than the S&P 500’s growth rate of 16%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Investment Thesis
Corning currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The stock price has soared more than 100% in the past year. However, after the fourth-quarter results, it fell more than 5%. That was primarily due to the fact that the stock reached a 52-week high level the previous day on its META deal.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
GLW is set to capitalize on the AI boom with robust business execution and an industry-leading product portfolio. At this stage, each and every fall in the stock price will open a good entry point.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research