Corning's Q2 Earnings Beat on Solid Growth in Optical Communication

Corning Incorporated GLW reported impressive second-quarter 2025 results, wherein adjusted earnings and revenues surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. The advanced glass substrates producer witnessed revenue expansion year over year, driven by healthy sales across multiple end markets. The growing adoption of its advanced products for Gen-AI (generative artificial intelligence) applications is a tailwind. Its U.S.-made solar products are also gaining solid market traction.

Net Income of GLW

On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net income of $469 million or 54 cents per share compared with $104 million or 12 cents in the year-ago quarter. Solid top-line growth led to higher net income.

Core earnings for the reported quarter were $523 million or 60 cents per share, up from $407 million or 47 cents in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents.

GLW’s Revenues

Net sales, on a GAAP basis, were $3.86 billion, up from $3.25 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Solid traction in mobile consumer electronics, premium smartphone verticals and Optical Communications boosted net sales. Core sales were up 12% to $4.04 billion. The top line beat the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion.

GLW’s Segment Results

Optical Communications generated $1.56 billion in revenues, up 41% year over year. Backed by strong demand for Gen AI products, Optical Communication’s Enterprise Sales grew 81% year over year. The top line beat our estimate of $1.47 billion. Net income from this segment improved to $247 million from $143 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

Display Technologies registered $898 million in revenues, down 11% year over year. Net sales missed our revenue estimate of $919.6 million. The segment’s net income was $243 million, down 6% year over year.

Net sales from Specialty Materials were $545 million, up 9% year over year, as demand for premium glass for mobile devices remained strong. The top line exceeded our estimate of $527 million. Net income for the segment was $81 million, up from $63 million a year ago.

The Automotive business contributed $460 million in net sales, down from $479 million in the year-ago quarter. The segment is created by separating the Automotive Glass Solutions business from Hemlock and the Emerging Growth Business and converging it with the Environmental Technologies segment. Net income was $79 million, up 11% year over year.

Revenues from the Life Sciences segment were $250 million compared with the year-earlier quarter’s figure of $249 million. Segment net income was $18 million, up 6% year over year.

Hemlock and Emerging Growth Businesses reported 31% growth in net sales year over year to $326 million. The segment reported a net loss of $10 million against a net income of $3 million in the year-ago quarter.

Other Details of GLW Q2 Results

Quarterly gross profit increased to $1.39 billion from $949 million, with respective margins of 36% and 29.2%. Operating income was $573 million, up from $186 million in the prior-year quarter. Core gross margin was 38.4%, up from 37.9% in the year-ago quarter, owing to various productivity and pricing improvement actions across business operations.

GLW’s Cash Flow & Liquidity

During the June quarter, Corning generated $708 million of net cash from operations compared with a cash flow of $521 million in the year-earlier quarter. As of June 30, 2025, the company had $1.49 billion in cash and cash equivalents with $6.71 billion of long-term debt.

GLW’s Outlook

For the third quarter of 2025, core sales are estimated at $4.2 billion. Core EPS is expected to be in the range of 63-67 cents.

GLW’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Corning currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Releases

Arista Networks Inc. ANET is scheduled to release second-quarter 2025 earnings on Aug. 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 65 cents per share, suggesting a growth of 25% from the year-ago reported figure.

Arista has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 14.81%. ANET delivered an average earnings surprise of 11.82% in the last four reported quarters.

Qualcomm Incorporated. QCOM is slated to release second-quarter 2025 earnings on July 30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.68 per share, indicating growth of 15.02% from the year-ago reported figure.

Qualcomm has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 8.19%. Qualcomm delivered an average earnings surprise of 6.43% in the last four reported quarters.

Pinterest, Inc. PINS is set to release second-quarter 2025 earnings on Aug. 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 34 cents per share, implying a growth of 17.24% from the year-ago reported figure.

Pinterest has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 33%. PINS delivered an average earnings surprise of 0.53% in the last four reported quarters.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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