Is Corning Stock a Smart Buy Ahead of Q4 Earnings Release?

Corning Incorporated GLW is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2025 earnings on Jan. 28, 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales and earnings is pegged at $4.35 billion and 70 cents per share, respectively. Earnings estimates for GLW have remained stable at $2.52 per share for 2025, but increased from $3.01 per share to $3.04 for 2026 over the past 60 days.

GLW Estimate Trend

Earnings Surprise History

The advanced glass substrates producer has a solid trailing four-quarter earnings surprise history, having exceeded expectations on each occasion. It delivered a four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.1%, on average. In the last reported quarter, the company pulled off an earnings surprise of 1.5%. 

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Corning for the fourth quarter. 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. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. That is exactly the case here.

Corning currently has an ESP of +1.72% with a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Factors Shaping Upcoming Results

During the to-be-reported quarter, Corning collaborated with Ensurge to develop ultra-high-performance solid-state micro batteries. The collaboration aims to integrate Corning's Ribbon Ceramic materials and process technology with Ensurge's solid-state micro battery architecture to produce an ultra-high energy density product line extension. This will help to commercialize batteries that power high-volume consumer, medical, industrial and defense applications. This is likely to have translated into incremental revenues for the company. 

The company’s growing prowess in developing state-of-the-art cover materials is driving growth in the Specialty Materials segment. Major smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung, are deploying Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 in the next-gen Galaxy S25 Edge devices. Corning is set to benefit from solid market traction in the AI data center and the consumer electronics market. 

With its Solar Market Access Platform, the company is rapidly expanding into the growing U.S. solar supply chain. The company is the leading producer of semiconductor polysilicon, a material used in the solar industry for wafer manufacturing. Corning has built the largest solar ingot and wafer facility in Michigan. The colocation has created a vertically integrated manufacturing framework that will strengthen Corning’s position in the U.S. solar supply chain, likely benefiting the company in the upcoming results.

Price Performance

Over the past year, Corning has surged 71.4% compared with the industry’s growth of 89.2%. It has outperformed peers like ADTRAN Holdings, Inc. ADTN, but lagged Ciena Corporation CIEN over this period. While ADTN has declined 11.8%, Ciena jumped 154.3%.

Key Valuation Metric

From a valuation standpoint, Corning appears attractive relative to the industry but is trading above its mean. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company shares currently trade at 30.19 forward earnings, lower than 34.12 for the industry and higher than the stock’s mean of 17.1. 

Investment Considerations

Corning is set to benefit from solid market traction in the AI data center and the consumer electronics market. With its Solar Market Access Platform, the company is rapidly expanding into the growing U.S. solar supply chain. Its strong focus on innovation, financial discipline and cash flow growth is a positive factor. Upward estimate revision underscores growing investor confidence about the stock’s growth potential.

End Note

With solid fundamentals and healthy revenue-generating potential driven by robust demand trends, Corning appears poised to benefit in the long run. Further, a strong emphasis on quality, diligent execution of operational plans and continuous portfolio enhancements are driving more value for customers. With improving earnings estimates, the stock is witnessing a positive investor perception. It is also trading cheaply relative to its valuation metrics.

Riding on a robust earnings surprise history and favorable Zacks Rank, it appears primed to record solid quarterly results in the ensuing earnings. Hence, investors are likely to profit if they bet on this high-flying stock now.

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

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