Valued at a market cap of $44.5 billion, Corning Incorporated (GLW) engages in display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses. The Corning, New York-based company produces advanced glass substrates that are used in a large number of applications across multiple markets.
This tech company’s shares have significantly outpaced the broader market over the past 52 weeks. GLW has soared 66.5% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 22.6%. Moreover, the stock is up 12.1% on a YTD basis, compared to SPX’s 3.1% rise during the same time frame.
Zooming in further, Corning has also outshined the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLK) 15.5% return over the past 52 weeks and marginal gain on a YTD basis.
On Jan. 29, shares of GLW plunged 2.8% after its Q4 earnings release, despite delivering a better-than-expected performance. While the company's adjusted earnings per share of $0.57 beat analysts' expectations and showed a significant 46.2% increase from last year, its overall GAAP sales figure of $3.5 billion fell short of forecasts. Nonetheless, Corning's core revenue, which excludes certain items, demonstrated strong growth. It reached $3.9 billion, exceeding predictions by 2.9% and growing by 18.3% year-over-year.
A massive 51% annual growth in the company’s Optical Communications segment sales, driven by higher demand for products supporting generative AI, primarily led to its strong performance. Moreover, robust growth in Display Technologies and Specialty Materials segment sales further aided the company and overshadowed a 7% decline in Environmental Technologies sales. For Q1 2025, Corning projects core sales to rise about 10%, reaching approximately $3.6 billion, and expects EPS to grow by roughly 30%, between $0.48 and $0.52.
However, despite delivering an above-par performance and an optimistic Q1 outlook, the stock declined that day due to two key factors: uncertainty surrounding the new DeepSeek R1 AI model and the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December 2025, analysts expect Corning’s EPS to grow 18.9% year over year to $2.33. The company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It topped the Wall Street estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 12 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy,” which is based on eight “Strong Buy” and four “Hold” ratings.
On Jan. 30, BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan maintained a “Buy” rating on Corning and raised its price target to $65- the Street high price target, which indicates a 22% potential upside from the current levels. The mean price target of $56.77 represents a slight 6.5% upside from GLW’s current price levels.
