GLW US S&P 500Russell 1000 Earnings call · transcribed from the recording
Corning Inc. (GLW) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $120.46 · 2026-11-11
Corning Inc. develops and manufactures products based on glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics. The company provides optical fiber, cable and connectivity solutions, glass substrates for displays, and materials for the automotive, life sciences, and semiconductor industries. It operates in multiple countries and serves global markets including telecommunications, mobile electronics, and healthcare. Source: 10-K annual report (2026-02-12)
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · published 27 Oct 2026 and 28 Jul 2026
Management sounded upbeat, though noticeably less so answering analysts.
1 · Numbers
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Figures not yet filed
Outlook given
2 · How management spoke
Upbeat
More upbeat than 89% of company calls
Answers to analysts: upbeat, but clearly less so than the script.
Last call it was different: script and answers matched.
3 · What stood out
Corning Inc. plans to double its size from $20 billion to $40 billion by the end of 2030.
Valuation
Is Corning Inc. undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 3.3% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $16.46 a share — the stock trades 632% above it. Today's price assumes 26.4% growth a year.
Current price
$120.46
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+26.4% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$16.46
Buy below
$12.35
Price vs fair value
Overvalued >200%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued >200%
Management expects
Sales +19% · from the Q3 2026 report: “GLW reported sales growth of 19% to $5.1 billion and EPS growth of 36% to $0.91, both of which exceeded company guidance.”
A guidance figure for sales, usually one year ahead, not a 10-year free-cash-flow rate.
Read between the lines
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Guidance
GLW reported sales growth of 19% to $5.1 billion and EPS growth of 36% to $0.91, both of which exceeded company guidance.
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Figure
Sales rose to $2.4 billion, up 44% year-over-year, while net income increased 80% year-over-year to $532 million, resulting in record profitability for the segment.
Source quote
“Sales were $2.4 billion, up 44% year-over-year. Net income was $532 million, up 80% year-over-year, with the segment again delivering record profitability.”
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Figure
Corning recently announced a price adjustment for its display glass substrates that will begin to take effect in the fourth quarter to address a weaker yen environment and rising costs such as critical…
Source quote
“Additionally, we recently announced a price adjustment for our display glass substrates that will begin to take effect in the fourth quarter to address a weaker yen environment and rising costs such as critical materials and energy.”
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Key theme
Corning alreadies have a strong dividend, and therefore, as it goes forward, its primary vehicle for returning cash to shareholders will be share buybacks.
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Guidance
The company reiterated its previous expectation that optical scale-up will begin to accelerate in 2028.
3 more
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Key theme
Management expects current trends to drive nice growth as the company moves into next year and beyond.
Source quote
“I would expect that to drive nice growth as we go into next year and then beyond that.”
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Figure
Enterprise sales quadrupled to a $6 billion run rate, indicating significant growth in the company's enterprise segment.
Source quote
“Since that time, we've quadrupled enterprise sales to a $6 billion run rate.”
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Figure
The AI data center component of the enterprise business grew 100% in Q3 2026.
Source quote
“As we share the AI data center component of our enterprise business grew 100%.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Management sounded noticeably less positive answering analysts than in its prepared script — a bigger drop than in 85% of calls. Scripts are polished in advance; a drop under questioning often marks the topics analysts pressed on, so the answers deserve a closer read than the script.
Sentences that drove the tone
“Looking ahead, we plan to double sales from $20 billion to $40 billion, grow EPS significantly faster than sales, expand ROIC, all while delivering robust free cash flow, even as...”
“We planned for our compound annual growth rate to increase to 19% beginning in 2027 through 2030, after already growing at a robust 15% CAGR for the first three years...”
“Looking ahead to the new springboard phase of accelerating growth, we are seeking to continue to increase free cash flow and improve our financial profile, even as we invest to...”
Full figures
Q3 2026 figures are not available yet: the company files its quarterly report (10-Q) a few weeks after the call. This page compares what management said; the figures are added when the report is filed.
Topics
Most discussed now
- Rising Corning increased operating margin 310 basis points to 22.7%, and it improved ROIC 330 basis points to 16.7%, all while...
- Rising Corning shared that it was entering a new phase of accelerating growth.
- Rising You should also note that Corning will be discussing its consolidated results using core performance measures unless it specifically…
Faded since Q2 2026
- Fading I'm just curious about like is this a minor piece of the overall optics business, a major piece of the...
- Dropped Across optical communications, Corning continues to expand and strengthen strategic agreements across its key customer base, reinforcing…
- Dropped Just if you can help us think about how Corning should think about margins and net income margins in Optical,...
- Dropped Corning has Customers really want its new product sets, right, as much as it can do.
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Corning reported third-quarter 2026 core sales of $5.08 billion, up 19% year over year, and core EPS of $0.91, which increased 36% compared to the previous year.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
Corning Incorporated entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Goldman Sachs to sell common stock at an aggregate offering price of up to $2,000,000,000.
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
Executive Vice President and CFO Edward A. Schlesinger will speak at the Citi 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9, 2026, to discuss business performance and market trends.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Corning reported core sales of $4.74 billion, up 17% year over year, and core EPS of $0.78, up 30% year over year for the second quarter of 2026.
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
Corning Incorporated executives will provide business updates at the J.P. Morgan 2026 Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference on May 19, 2026.
- Unregistered share sale; Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
Corning issued and sold warrants to NVIDIA for up to 18 million shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $500 million.
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
Corning Incorporated will host an investor event on May 6, 2026, and the CEO will participate in a CNBC interview on May 7, 2026, to discuss business progress and product developments.
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
Catalyst calendar
management-stated targets — from the latest earnings call; plans, not promises.
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fourth quarter
growth of sales and EPS
Source quote
“For the fourth quarter, we expect to grow sales about 19% year-over-year to a range of $5.2 to $5.3 billion and to grow EPS by about 36% year-over-year to a range of 96 cents to a dollar”
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by the end of 2026
growth of annualized sales run rate to $20 billion
Source quote
“in May of this year we upgraded and extended our springboard plan to grow our annualized sales run rate to $20 billion by the end of 2026, $30 billion by the end of 2028, and $40 billion by the end of 2030.”
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beginning in 2027 through 2030
increase of compound annual growth rate to 19%
Source quote
“We planned for our compound annual growth rate to increase to 19% beginning in 2027 through 2030, after already growing at a robust 15% CAGR for the first three years of springboard.”
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from our starting point through quarter four, 2026
growth of sales 60% and EPS over 150%
Source quote
“In the first three years of Springboard, from our starting point through quarter four, 2026, we will grow sales 60% and grow EPS much faster at over 150%.”
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By the end of 2026
all of the cover glass for iPhone, including iPhone Duo and Apple Watch, sold worldwide will be produced at our Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility
Source quote
“By the end of 2026, all of the cover glass for iPhone, including iPhone Duo and Apple Watch, sold worldwide will be produced at our Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility.”