Corning third-quarter core sales rise 19% to $5.08 billion as core EPS hits $0.91

Corning Incorporated (GLW) said Tuesday that third-quarter core sales rose 19% to $5.08 billion and core earnings per share rose 36% to $0.91, according to a regulatory filing. The period ended Sept. 30, 2026.

Here's how the company did:

• Core earnings per share: $0.91 vs. $0.67 a year earlier
• GAAP diluted earnings per share: $0.78 vs. $0.50 a year earlier
• Core sales: $5.08 billion vs. $4.27 billion a year earlier
• GAAP net sales: $4.86 billion vs. $4.10 billion a year earlier
• Core net income: $795 million vs. $585 million a year earlier
• GAAP operating cash flow: $1.06 billion vs. $784 million a year earlier

Core results are non-GAAP measures that exclude items such as currency hedge adjustments, acquisition costs, restructuring charges and discrete tax items. The company said the gap between GAAP and core earnings per share mainly reflects adjustments for hedged exposures, along with discrete tax items.

GAAP net income attributable to Corning rose 58% to $680 million. Core sales rose 7% from the second quarter's $4.74 billion.

Core gross margin was 40.5%, up 150 basis points from a year earlier. Core operating margin was 22.7%, up 310 basis points. Core return on invested capital was 16.7%, up 330 basis points.

Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, chief executive officer, and president, said, "We delivered an outstanding third quarter."

Adjusted free cash flow was $661 million, up from $535 million a year earlier, as capital expenditures rose to $545 million from $334 million.

Through the first nine months, core earnings per share were $2.40, up from $1.81, and GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.85, up from $1.21.

Segment results

Corning began reporting Glass Innovations and Solar as segments in the first quarter of 2026. Glass Innovations combines the former Display and Specialty Materials segments. Prior-period results have been recast.

Optical Communications sales rose 44% to $2.38 billion, and net income rose 80% to $532 million. The release said Enterprise Networks sales grew 84%, with Gen AI product sales up more than 100%.

Glass Innovations sales fell 3% to $1.51 billion, and net income fell 10% to $328 million. The release said the unit outperformed TV, notebook and smartphone markets, which it said have been affected by memory pricing.

Solar sales rose 37% to $436 million, but the segment posted a net loss of $7 million, compared with net income of $30 million a year earlier. The release said production continued to ramp, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated.

The release also said U.S. trade action under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 improves the pricing environment and demand for U.S.-made solar products.

Automotive sales rose 4% to $470 million, and net income fell 1% to $67 million. Life Sciences and Emerging Growth Businesses sales rose 1% to $290 million and posted a net loss of $28 million, compared with $15 million a year earlier.

Customer agreements and growth plan

In the third quarter, the company secured four long-term, multibillion-dollar customer agreements, including with Verizon and AT&T, the release said.

The release described the quarter as evidence that acceleration under the "20-30-40" Springboard Plan has begun.

Ed Schlesinger, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, "When we upgraded Springboard in May, we laid out a path to double our annualized sales run rate from $20 billion to $40 billion by the end of 2030."

Fourth-quarter outlook

For the fourth quarter, the company expects core sales to grow about 19% year over year to a range of $5.2 billion to $5.3 billion.

It expects core earnings per share to grow about 36% year over year to a range of $0.96 to $1.00.

Schlesinger said, "Looking ahead, we expect our outstanding performance to continue."

The company said it cannot provide a GAAP reconciliation of its outlook because it does not forecast currency movements against the U.S. dollar or items that have not yet occurred.