Corning Q2 beats on EPS and revenue but Q3 guidance misses; shares fall 11.2%

Fiona Craig Tue, July 28, 2026 at 5:21 AM PDT 2 min read

GLW -1.56%

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, but investors focused on weaker-than-anticipated guidance for the third quarter, sending the specialty glass and materials manufacturer's shares down 11.2%.

The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.78, exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $0.75. Quarterly revenue reached $4.74 billion, ahead of expectations of $4.62 billion and up 17% from $4.05 billion in the same period last year.

Third-Quarter Forecast Falls Short of Market Expectations

Despite delivering a solid quarterly performance, Corning's outlook for the third quarter failed to impress investors.

• The company expects adjusted earnings per share of between $0.85 and $0.89 during the third quarter. The midpoint of $0.87 was viewed as slightly below Wall Street expectations.
• Corning also forecast third-quarter revenue in the range of $4.9 billion to $5.0 billion. The midpoint of $4.95 billion came in below the analyst consensus estimate of $5.0 billion.

The weaker guidance overshadowed the company's quarterly results and updated long-term growth ambitions, contributing to the sharp decline in the share price.

Optical Communications and AI Demand Drive Growth

Optical Communications remained Corning's strongest-performing business during the quarter, with revenue rising 32% year over year to $2.07 billion.

• Within the segment, Enterprise Networks revenue surged 65%, supported by robust demand for products linked to generative artificial intelligence infrastructure.
• The Solar business also delivered strong top-line growth, with revenue climbing 90% to $438 million. However, the segment recorded a net loss of $7 million following an extended maintenance shutdown.

"In the second quarter, we delivered outstanding results, and we upgraded our Springboard Plan to grow sales to an annualized run rate of $20 billion by the end of 2026, $30 billion by the end of 2028, and $40 billion by the end of 2030." — Wendell P. Weeks, Chairman and CEO

Strategic Partnerships and Margin Expansion Support Long-Term Outlook

During the quarter, Corning announced a multiyear, multibillion-dollar agreement with Amazon to supply optical fibre and connectivity solutions.

The company also unveiled a long-term partnership with NVIDIA aimed at increasing US-based optical connectivity manufacturing capacity by tenfold.

Operational performance continued to improve:

• Adjusted gross margin expanded by 120 basis points to 39.6%
• Adjusted operating margin rose by 190 basis points to 20.9%

Corning generated adjusted free cash flow of $1.42 billion during the quarter, reflecting continued strength in cash generation despite the softer near-term guidance.

Corning stock price