GLW Set to Report Q3 Results: Will Top Line Growth Boost Earnings?

Corning Incorporated GLW is set to report its third-quarter 2025 results on Oct. 28, before the opening bell. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.73%, on average. In the last reported quarter, the company reported an earnings surprise of 5.26%.

The advanced glass substrates producer is likely to have witnessed revenue growth year over year, owing to healthy demand in the Optical Communications and Specialty Materials segments. Healthy demand in the solar market is a tailwind.

Factors at Play for GLW’s Q2 Earnings

During the quarter, Apple announced that it has committed $2.5 billion investment to develop all of iPhone and Apple Watch’s cover glass in Corning’s Kentucky manufacturing facilities. The initiative aligned with Apple’s $600 billion multiyear investment commitment in the United States. In this program, Corning has emerged as a major player. GLW is developing the most advanced glass production line in its Kentucky facility to match Apple’s requirements. This will likely drive net sales growth in Corning’s Specialty Materials segment.

In the quarter under review, Corning has joined forces with GlobalFoundries to create a detachable fiber connector solution for GF’s silicon photonics platform. During this venture, GlobalFoundries will leverage Corning’s GlassBridge solution, a glass-waveguide-based edge-coupler to match the high bandwidth requirements of AI data centers.

Major telecom player, Lumen, accelerated its network expansion effort to match surging AI demand. It is sourcing next-generation fiber optic cable from Corning, driving growth in the Optical Communications segment. 

In the to be reported quarter, Corning formed a strategic collaboration with T1 Energy to strengthen the U.S. solar supply chain by delivering domestically sourced solar components. Such development is expected to have a favorable impact on the third-quarter earnings.

Our revenue estimate for the Optical Communication segment is pegged at $1.61 billion, indicating healthy growth from $1.24 billion in the year-ago quarter. Our revenue estimate for the Display Technologies segment is pegged at $766.2 million, indicating 8.4% year-over-year growth. Revenue estimate for the Specialty Materials segment is pegged at $595.6 million, up 9.7% year over year.

For the September quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $4.21 billion, indicating growth from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $3.73 billion. The consensus estimate for adjusted earnings per share is pegged at 66 cents, implying an increase from the year-ago quarter’s 54 cents.

Earnings Whispers for GLW

Our proven model does not predicts a likely earnings beat for Corning this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here.

GLW’s Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is +0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Corning Incorporated Price and EPS Surprise

Corning Incorporated price-eps-surprise | Corning Incorporated Quote

GLW’s Zacks Rank: Corning sports a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are some other companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:

Motorola Solutions, Inc. MSI is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Oct. 30. The Earnings ESP for the company is +0.61% and it carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Earnings ESP for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. QCOM is +1.43% and it carries a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is scheduled to report its quarterly numbers on Nov. 5.

Celestica, Inc. CLS is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Oct 27. The Earnings ESP for the company is +2.49% and it carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

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

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