Corning Shares Slide Despite Second-Quarter Earnings Beat as Guidance Disappoints

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with adjusted EPS of $0.78 (beating $0.75 consensus) and revenue of $4.74 billion (beating $4.62B consensus, up 17% YoY). However, shares fell 11.2% as third-quarter guidance disappointed: adjusted EPS midpoint of $0.87 and revenue midpoint of $4.95 billion both fell below Wall Street expectations. Optical Communications was the strongest segment, with revenue up 32% YoY to $2.07 billion, driven by 65% growth in Enterprise Networks from generative AI infrastructure demand. Solar business revenue surged 90% but posted a net loss of $7 million due to an extended maintenance shutdown. CEO Wendell Weeks announced upgraded long-term sales targets: $20 billion annualized run rate by end of 2026, $30 billion by 2028, and $40 billion by 2030. The company also secured a multiyear, multibillion-dollar agreement with Amazon and a partnership with NVIDIA to expand US optical connectivity manufacturing capacity tenfold. Operational metrics improved, with adjusted gross margin expanding 120 basis points to 39.6% and adjusted operating margin rising 190 basis points to 20.9%. Adjusted free cash flow reached $1.42 billion in the quarter.