Business Description
Corning Incorporated operates in optical communications, display, specialty materials, automotive, and life sciences businesses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, such as cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories for the telecommunications industry, businesses, governments, and individuals. It also offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices. In addition, it manufactures products that offer material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, and software, as well as glass wafers and substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products for markets, such as mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables, aerospace and defense optics, radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. Further, the company provides ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications, as well as technical glass and optic products and solutions for the interior and exterior of vehicles. Additionally, it offers laboratory products, including plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware, and glassware and equipment under the Corning, Falcon, PYREX, and Axygen brands. It also offers polysilicon products and pharmaceutical glass tubing and vials. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989. Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York.
Business History
Generated: Jun 27, 2026 3:15amPrice Overview
Last updated: Jun 27, 2026 3:12am (5h ago)Price History (1 Year)
Revenue & Net Income Trend
| Period | Revenue | Net Income | Net Margin | YoY/QoQ |
|---|
Key Metrics
EPS (Diluted): 1.86
Total Equity: $11.81B
Shares: 860,000,000
Total Debt: $9.38B
Cash: $1.53B
EBITDA: $3.74B
Total Debt: $9.38B
Cash: $1.53B
Revenue: $15.63B
Revenue: $15.63B
Revenue: $15.63B
Total Equity: $11.81B
Tax Rate: 15.1%
Equity: $11.81B
Total Debt: $9.38B
Cash: $1.53B
Current Liabilities: $5.63B
Long-Term Debt: $8.48B
Total Debt: $9.38B
Total Equity: $11.81B
Shares: 860,000,000
Shares: 860,000,000
CapEx: -$1.28B
Shares: 860,000,000
Stock Price: $223.00
Net Income: $1.60B
Industry Benchmarks
Advanced Analysis Forensic deep-dive · three lenses
The 2021-2025 trajectory tells the story: revenue dipped from 14.08B in 2021 to 12.59B in 2023, then snapped back to a record 15.63B in 2025, with operating margin recovering from a trough of 7.1% in 2023 to 14.9% in 2025 and net income rebounding from 506M (2024) to 1.60B (2025). That round-trip shows the franchise has pricing/scale leverage but is meaningfully cyclical, not a smooth compounder. Earnings quality looks clean: OCF/NI of 2.55x, accruals -4.6% of assets, Beneish M of -2.36, and Altman Z of 7.8 all argue the reported numbers are real. FCF of 1.41B in 2025 funds the business with room to spare. Capital discipline is reasonable: diluted shares crept from 844M to 860M (about 0.5% CAGR) and buybacks offset 97.9% of the 1.8%-of-revenue SBC, so per-share value is not being quietly eroded. The blemish is the balance sheet: liquid cash is only 1.53B against roughly 7.85B of net debt, so this is a leveraged industrial - serviceable on 1.4B+ of FCF, but a constraint rather than a cushion. Insider tape is all sales (12 sells, 0 buys, ~54M over 12 months) including a 100K-share Weeks disposition for 18.6M, but most are paired with option exercises (M-Exempt) or tax withholding, which is routine for a large-cap and not a strong negative signal.
Verify before trusting this (5)
- Composition and maturity ladder of the ~7.85B net debt position and weighted interest cost
- Segment mix behind the 2025 margin recovery (Optical Communications / display / specialty) and how much is AI/datacenter-driven vs cyclical
- Customer concentration in Optical Communications and Display Technologies (Apple, hyperscaler exposure)
- Sustainability of 35.3% gross margin - is this a new structural level or peak-cycle
- Pension and other off-balance-sheet obligations not captured in net debt figure
The composite fair value of $23.60 and signal-adjusted $25.97 are almost certainly broken outputs (likely a per-share/total mix-up or a stale share count) - a -88% gap on a profitable industrial with rising fiber and substrate demand is not credible, so I am discounting those anchors. That said, the EPV floor of $13 and DCF of $29 both flag that even with generous assumptions the model cannot get near $223. Sanity-checking off the disclosed fundamentals: $15.6B revenue, $1.6B net income, $1.4B FCF on a $192B cap is roughly 9x sales, 120x earnings, 135x FCF - extreme multiples for a hardware/materials business graded only 'Solid'.
Verify before trusting this (5)
- 2026 capex guidance and FCF conversion outlook
- Display segment pricing vs Chinese competition
- Optical Communications backlog tied to AI/hyperscaler buildout
- Net debt trajectory and any buyback authorization
- Whether the e2e composite FV used a stale or wrong share count
The macro tape is neutral-to-slightly-heavy (VIX 18, S&P off 3.4%, 10y at 4.38%) and Corning's 1.16 beta would normally make it a middling follower of the market. But that's not what's pressing on this name right now. The dominant force is a live narrative upgrade: the Amazon multi-year fiber optics deal, the 52-week high print, a 10.8% single-session surge, and headlines explicitly tagging GLW as an 'AI play' have transformed a sleepy fallen-angel story into an AI-infrastructure pick-and-shovel trade. Micron's blowout and the broader AI capex rally are amplifying the bid. The tell that this is sentiment, not fundamentals, is the divergence between price ($223) and analyst target consensus ($175) - the tape has run well past where the sell-side sits, and only 2 revisions this month at an avg of $216 means analysts are lagging the narrative, not leading it. That gap is classic late-cycle tailwind: momentum and story are pulling the stock while backward-looking tone hasn't caught up. Narrative intensity is still rated minimal/fragile, which means the move is news-driven rather than cult-driven - durable while AI capex headlines keep coming, vulnerable the moment they pause.
Verify before trusting this (5)
- Whether analyst targets get revised meaningfully above $200 in coming weeks - confirms the narrative upgrade is sticking
- Pace of AI data-center / fiber deal announcements - the narrative needs feeding
- Any pause in the Micron-led AI capex rally that would remove the sympathy bid
- Options-implied move and skew - if calls go quiet, the momentum trade is cooling
- Whether the 'AI play' framing survives the next earnings print or gets reframed back to cyclical hardware
Deep Analysis
Pre-flight intelligence scans the company first, then routes to the right analytical methods.
Income Statement (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 27, 2026 3:15am (5h ago)| Metric | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $14.1B | $14.2B | $12.6B | $13.1B | $15.6B |
| Cost of Revenue | $9.0B | $9.7B | $8.7B | $8.8B | $10.1B |
| Gross Profit | $5.1B | $4.5B | $3.9B | $4.3B | $5.5B |
| Operating Expenses | $3.0B | $3.1B | $3.0B | $3.1B | $3.2B |
| Operating Income | $2.1B | $1.4B | $890.0M | $1.1B | $2.3B |
| Net Income | $1.9B | $1.3B | $581.0M | $506.0M | $1.6B |
| EBITDA | $4.2B | $3.5B | $2.5B | $2.5B | $3.7B |
| EPS | $1.30 | $1.56 | $0.69 | $0.59 | $1.86 |
| EPS (Diluted) | — | — | — | — | — |
Balance Sheet (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 27, 2026 3:12am (5h ago)| Metric | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash & Equivalents | $2.1B | $1.7B | $1.8B | $1.8B | $1.5B |
| Total Current Assets | $7.7B | $7.5B | $7.2B | $8.0B | $8.9B |
| Total Assets | $30.2B | $29.5B | $28.5B | $27.7B | $31.0B |
| Current Liabilities | $4.8B | $5.2B | $4.3B | $4.9B | $5.6B |
| Long-Term Debt | $7.0B | $6.7B | $7.2B | $6.9B | $8.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $17.6B | $17.2B | $16.6B | $16.7B | $18.7B |
| Total Equity | $12.3B | $12.0B | $11.6B | $10.7B | $11.8B |
| Retained Earnings | $16.4B | $16.8B | $16.4B | $15.9B | $16.6B |
Cash Flow (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 26, 2026 3:09am (1d ago)| Metric | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash Flow | $3.4B | $2.6B | $2.0B | $1.9B | $2.7B |
| Capital Expenditure | -$1.6B | -$1.6B | -$1.4B | -$965.0M | -$1.3B |
| Free Cash Flow | $1.8B | $1.0B | $615.0M | $974.0M | $1.4B |
| Acquisitions (net) | $187.0M | $38.0M | $67.0M | $0 | $0 |
| Debt Repayment | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends Paid | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stock Buybacks | -$335.0M | -$268.0M | -$106.0M | -$246.0M | -$163.0M |
| Net Change in Cash | -$524.0M | -$477.0M | $108.0M | -$11.0M | -$202.0M |
Analyst Estimates (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 27, 2026 3:12am (5h ago)| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue |
$19.0B $18.3B – $19.3B
|
$22.4B $20.9B – $23.6B
|
$27.3B $27.3B – $27.3B
|
$30.7B $29.4B – $32.3B
|
| EBITDA |
$4.5B $4.3B – $4.5B
|
$5.3B $4.9B – $5.6B
|
$6.4B $6.4B – $6.4B
|
$7.2B $6.9B – $7.6B
|
| Net Income |
$2.8B $2.7B – $2.8B
|
$3.5B $3.3B – $4.3B
|
$4.3B $2.2B – $7.4B
|
$5.5B $5.2B – $5.9B
|
| EPS | — | — | — | — |
Growth Trends (YoY %)
Last updated: Jun 27, 2026 3:15am (5h ago)| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | +0.8% | -11.3% | +4.2% | +19.1% |
| Gross Profit Growth | -11.0% | -12.8% | +8.8% | +29.0% |
| Operating Income Growth | -31.9% | -38.1% | +27.5% | +105.4% |
| Net Income Growth | -31.0% | -55.9% | -12.9% | +215.4% |
| EBITDA Growth | -15.8% | -29.0% | -0.9% | +49.9% |
Insider Trading (Recent)
Last updated: Jun 27, 2026 3:15am (5h ago)All SEC Form 4 codes
- P Purchase
- Open-market or private purchase of shares.
- S Sale
- Open-market or private sale of shares.
- A Award / grant
- Grant or award of securities (RSUs, options, etc.) under Rule 16b-3.
- D Return to issuer
- Securities disposed back to the company under Rule 16b-3.
- F In-kind (tax)
- Shares withheld or delivered to pay the option-exercise price or tax — not an open-market sale.
- I Discretionary
- Discretionary transaction under an employee plan — Rule 16b-3(f).
- M Option exercise
- Exercise or conversion of a derivative (option/RSU) into shares — exempt.
- C Conversion
- Conversion of a derivative security into the underlying shares.
- E Short expiration
- Expiration of a short derivative position.
- H Long expiration
- Expiration or cancellation of a long derivative position with value received.
- O OTM exercise
- Exercise of an out-of-the-money derivative.
- X ITM exercise
- Exercise of an in-the-money or at-the-money derivative.
- G Gift
- Bona fide gift of securities.
- L Small acquisition
- Small acquisition under Rule 16a-6.
- W Inheritance
- Acquisition or disposition by will or the laws of descent.
- Z Voting trust
- Deposit into or withdrawal from a voting trust.
- J Other
- Other acquisition or disposition (explained in a Form 4 footnote).
- K Equity swap
- Transaction in an equity swap or similar instrument.
- U Tender / buyout
- Disposition via tender of shares in a change-of-control transaction.
Compensation-plan codes (A, D, F, M) are routine and rarely directional. Open-market P (buy) and S (sale) carry the most signal.
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-22 | Gullo Michelle L | F-InKind | 18,378.00 | $209.83 | $3.9M |
| 2026-06-09 | WEEKS WENDELL P | M-Exempt | 100,000.00 | $27.03 | $2.7M |
| 2026-06-09 | WEEKS WENDELL P | S-Sale | 100,000.00 | $186.46 | $18.6M |
| 2026-06-09 | WEEKS WENDELL P | M-Exempt | 100,000.00 | $27.03 | $2.7M |
| 2026-05-22 | Amin Jaymin | M-Exempt | 7,917.00 | $27.00 | $213,759 |
| 2026-05-22 | Amin Jaymin | S-Sale | 27,395.00 | $192.14 | $5.3M |
| 2026-05-22 | Amin Jaymin | M-Exempt | 7,917.00 | $27.00 | $213,759 |
| 2026-05-15 | Nelson Avery H III | S-Sale | 20,000.00 | $195.93 | $3.9M |
| 2026-05-14 | Fang Li | M-Exempt | 8,725.00 | $19.65 | $171,446 |
| 2026-05-14 | Fang Li | M-Exempt | 8,725.00 | $19.65 | $171,446 |
| 2026-05-13 | Verkleeren Ronald L | S-Sale | 10,000.00 | $207.77 | $2.1M |
| 2026-05-13 | Becker Stefan | G-Gift | 126.00 | $0.00 | $0 |
| 2026-05-11 | TILLMAN MICHAUNE D | S-Sale | 3,260.00 | $207.02 | $674,870 |
| 2026-05-11 | Seetharam Soumya | S-Sale | 20,000.00 | $206.23 | $4.1M |
| 2026-05-11 | Zhang John Z | S-Sale | 10,000.00 | $198.34 | $2.0M |
| 2026-05-08 | STEVERSON LEWIS A | S-Sale | 27,750.00 | $196.06 | $5.4M |
| 2026-05-08 | Gullo Michelle L | S-Sale | 5,315.00 | $189.03 | $1.0M |
| 2026-05-08 | Becker Stefan | S-Sale | 21,000.00 | $188.08 | $3.9M |
| 2026-05-07 | Schlesinger Edward A | S-Sale | 22,562.00 | $186.08 | $4.2M |
| 2026-05-06 | Zhang John Z | S-Sale | 15,000.00 | $184.67 | $2.8M |
Dividend History (Last 20)
Last updated: Jun 21, 2026 6:39pm (5d ago)| Date | Dividend | Declaration | Record | Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-29 | $0.28 | 2026-04-30 | 2026-05-29 | 2026-06-29 |
| 2026-02-27 | $0.28 | 2026-02-11 | 2026-02-27 | 2026-03-30 |
| 2025-11-14 | $0.28 | 2025-10-08 | 2025-11-14 | 2025-12-12 |
| 2025-08-29 | $0.28 | 2025-06-25 | 2025-08-29 | 2025-09-29 |
| 2025-05-30 | $0.28 | 2025-05-01 | 2025-05-30 | 2025-06-27 |
| 2025-02-28 | $0.28 | 2025-02-12 | 2025-02-28 | 2025-03-28 |
| 2024-11-15 | $0.28 | 2024-10-02 | 2024-11-15 | 2024-12-13 |
| 2024-08-30 | $0.28 | 2024-06-26 | 2024-08-30 | 2024-09-27 |
| 2024-05-31 | $0.28 | 2024-05-02 | 2024-05-31 | 2024-06-27 |
| 2024-02-28 | $0.28 | 2024-02-07 | 2024-02-29 | 2024-03-28 |
| 2023-11-16 | $0.28 | 2023-10-04 | 2023-11-17 | 2023-12-15 |
| 2023-08-30 | $0.28 | 2023-06-21 | 2023-08-31 | 2023-09-28 |
| 2023-05-30 | $0.28 | 2023-04-27 | 2023-05-31 | 2023-06-29 |
| 2023-02-27 | $0.28 | 2023-02-08 | 2023-02-28 | 2023-03-30 |
| 2022-11-17 | $0.27 | 2022-10-05 | 2022-11-18 | 2022-12-16 |
| 2022-08-30 | $0.27 | 2022-06-29 | 2022-08-31 | 2022-09-29 |
| 2022-05-27 | $0.27 | 2022-04-28 | 2022-05-31 | 2022-06-29 |
| 2022-02-25 | $0.27 | 2022-02-02 | 2022-02-28 | 2022-03-30 |
| 2021-11-10 | $0.24 | 2021-10-06 | 2021-11-12 | 2021-12-17 |
| 2021-08-30 | $0.24 | 2021-06-30 | 2021-08-31 | 2021-09-29 |
Narrative Economics
market-narrative step).
Delvantic AI Findings
Independently, the trajectory is real but the price has run far ahead of it. Revenue went from $3.25B in Q2'24 to $4.14B in Q1'26 — call it ~27% over seven quarters — with quarterly net margin expanding from 3.2% to a 10-12% band. Annualizing the last four quarters gets roughly $16.3B revenue and ~$1.8B net income. At $192B market cap, that's ~107x earnings and ~12x sales for a capital-intensive materials manufacturer with $1.28B annual capex and $1.41B FCF (a ~0.7% FCF yield). Even if you believe 2027 earnings reach $2.5B on continued AI-fiber tailwinds and operating leverage, you're still paying ~77x forward. Corning's prior cycle peak earnings were $1.91B in 2021 at a market cap that briefly touched ~$35B. The same earnings power now commands 5x that valuation.
The synthesis verdict (fair value ~$26) is directionally right but absurd in magnitude — a DCF spitting out an 88% discount on a profitable, dividend-paying industrial means the model's terminal/discount assumptions are broken, not that the stock is worth $26. The Market Narrative engine correctly flags this: the gap isn't narrative premium, it's a miscalibrated DCF. I'd anchor fair value closer to $110-140 — roughly 55-70x current earnings normalizing toward 25-30x on $2.2-2.5B of 2027 net income, which still gives Corning credit for the optical/AI thesis. The Pre-Flight read (cyclical industrial at peak margins) and Market Forces (2025 = cyclical peak, not new baseline) are the most honest takes in the stack; the Mature Earner classification is too sleepy given the actual reacceleration. Lagging sector peers + decelerating recent quarterly trend (Q1'26 revenue down sequentially from $4.22B to $4.14B, margin compressed from 12.8% to 9%) is the tell the bulls are ignoring.
The contrarian case for staying long: optical communications is genuinely in a multi-year capex supercycle from hyperscaler AI buildouts, and Corning has a defensible duopoly position in specialty fiber with pricing power that didn't exist in prior cycles. If hyperscaler fiber demand sustains through 2027-28, the "cyclical peak" framing is wrong and 2025-26 is mid-cycle. But the Q1'26 sequential deceleration (-1.9% QoQ revenue, 380bp margin compression) is exactly the kind of data point that breaks that thesis — and insiders are exercising and selling, not buying, with multiple S-Sale lines through May-June 2026 totaling ~150K+ shares. That's not panic, but it's not conviction either. The PB of 6.4 and ROIC of 7.9% are also a tell: this is not a business earning its cost of capital at this valuation — the equity has been re-rated, not the underlying returns on invested capital.
I dissent from the synthesis's $26 fair value as mechanically broken, but I agree with its direction. Real fair value is roughly $110-140 depending on how much of the optical supercycle you underwrite. At $223, you're paying for ~$2.8B of normalized earnings (~75% above TTM) with no margin of safety if Q2'26 confirms the Q1 deceleration. The macro headwinds flag plus lagging-peer signal plus insider distribution plus a decelerating quarterly trajectory at peak multiples is a textbook setup for a 25-35% drawdown on any earnings miss. A patient buyer waits for either a re-acceleration print (Q2'26 revenue back above $4.22B with margins holding 11%+) or a pullback into the $140s. Owning here requires believing AI fiber demand compounds for another 3+ years with no air pocket — possible, but not at 107x trailing earnings with management selling.
GPT Critique
Corning Inc. shows a consistent revenue growth trajectory, moving from $12.59 billion in 2023 to $15.63 billion in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of around 11.4%. The company's margins have seen fluctuations, with net margins improving significantly from the low point in 2024 (-3.5% in Q3) to a healthier range of 10-12% in recent quarters. This recovery suggests a return to stability after a challenging period. However, the recent sequential decline in revenue from $4.22 billion in Q4 2025 to $4.14 billion in Q1 2026, along with a notable margin compression from 12.8% to 9%, raises concerns about the sustainability of this growth.
I agree with Opus's judgment that the stock is overvalued at its current price of $223. The price-to-earnings ratio of 106.3x and price-to-sales ratio of 12x are steep for a company in the capital-intensive materials sector. Opus highlights that even with optimistic projections for 2027, such as $2.5 billion in net income, the valuation remains unjustifiably high. I concur with Opus that the fair value is likely in the $110-140 range, which accounts for potential growth in AI-fiber and automotive electrification markets but acknowledges the cyclical nature of Corning's business and its historical earnings power.
Where I diverge slightly from Opus is in the assessment of the underlying narrative. The Delvantic AI Findings suggest that the DCF model's terminal or discount assumptions are miscalibrated. I believe the market's optimistic pricing may also be influenced by its perception of Corning's strategic positioning in high-growth sectors like AI data centers and 5G, despite the lack of strong narrative momentum. The company's strong cash flow quality and perceived stability might be providing undue confidence to investors, which doesn't fully align with the operational challenges indicated by recent insider sales and sequential revenue declines.
A careful skeptic might argue that the optical communications sector is indeed in a secular growth phase, driven by technological advancements and increased demand for data infrastructure. They could posit that Corning's leadership in specialty materials provides a competitive edge that justifies a higher multiple. However, the lack of a significant uptick in insider buying and the decelerating revenue trend cast doubt on this thesis, suggesting that the market may be overestimating the company's future growth potential.