Corning Reports Strong Sales, Expands Domestic Manufacturing Capacity

Epoch Times

29-04-2025

U.S. materials giant Corning Inc. reported first-quarter 2025 sales and earnings that rose above expectations, driven by strong demand for generative artificial intelligence (AI). It also sees strong demand for U.S.-made solar products. Its shares rose in pre-market trade.
On the morning of April 29, the upstate New York-based company
The core operating margin expanded by 250 basis points year over year, to 18 percent.
In Optical Communications, enterprise business sales climbed 106 percent due to continued strong demand for new products related to generative AI.
Meanwhile, Corning is expanding its domestic manufacturing capacity to meet the strong demand for U.S.-made solar products.
In early March, Corning, together with Suniva and Heliene,
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The company expects sales growth to continue in the second quarter, with core sales reaching $3.85 billion and core earnings per share growing faster than sales, ranging from $0.55 to $0.59.
Management credited Corning's robust performance to its Springboard
'We're well positioned to maintain momentum despite a dynamic external environment because our growth is underpinned by powerful secular trends that are underway today,' said Wendell P. Weeks, the company's chairman and CEO.
'For example, we're seeing remarkable customer response to both our innovations for Gen AI data centers and our U.S.-made solar products, and we are accelerating our production ramps for both.'
As of 12:50 p.m. EST on April 29, Corning's
Corning has long been a serial innovator, surviving scores of recessions and depressions by mastering the art of 'creative destruction'—the shedding of mature products and businesses, and redirecting resources to new companies that develop products for emerging, fast-growing markets.
Over its 174-year history, the company has resurrected itself several times by leveraging and combining core capabilities—the processing of glass substances—to develop scores of blockbuster products. This strategy has helped the company reduce innovation costs while creating higher and more sustainable competitive 'moats.'
Corning's blockbuster products have included the glass for Edison's electric lamp, traditional TV tubes, heat-resistant glass for missiles and kitchenware, fiber-optic cables that power the Internet, and glass for flat-panel TVs.
Some of Corning's products have created an entirely new market category, such as flat glass that changes the shape and appearance of TVs and computers. Others are required by government regulations, such as the catalytic converter system and ceramic substrate, which help neutralize the toxic mix of gaseous pollutants, including hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide.
More recently, Corning
Gorilla Glass Ceramic significantly improves drop performance on rough surfaces compared to competitive aluminosilicate glasses. It makes the screens of mobile devices such as iPhones almost unscratchable and more than tough enough to handle daily wear and tear.
In March, Corning
'With GlassWorks AI, Corning is drawing on its world-leading expertise in materials science to create breakthrough products that expand the possibilities of generative AI for our customers, both inside and outside the data center,' said Sean Kelly, vice president and business director for Corning's Data Center Business Unit.
'Our new Contour Flow cable is a great example of our innovations—helping data centers connect their city-to-city networks quickly and cost-effectively, delivering future-ready optical performance without the need for expensive infrastructure buildouts.'