Optimistic Outlook Driven by Optical Fiber Sales and AI Growth
Corning has exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for its first-quarter results, forecasting strong revenue and profit driven by increased demand for optical fibre products used in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The company’s shares saw a 5.6% rise in premarket trading following the announcement.
The surge in demand for optical fibre, essential for high-speed data transfer, has been fuelled by the growing adoption of AI technologies across both consumer and enterprise sectors. Corning’s optical communications segment, which is the company’s largest by revenue, reported impressive figures for the quarter ending December 31, reaching $1.37 billion in sales, surpassing analyst projections of $1.29 billion.
In addition, the company stands to benefit from the U.S. government’s $500 billion Stargate project, a key infrastructure initiative spearheaded by President Donald Trump. Some of Corning’s products are expected to play a crucial role in connecting various systems and network equipment for the project.
For the first quarter, Corning has forecasted revenue of $3.60 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $3.53 billion. The company also anticipates an adjusted profit between 48 and 52 cents per share, with the midpoint exceeding analysts’ average estimate of 48 cents. For the quarter that ended on December 31, Corning reported earnings of $3.87 billion, surpassing the anticipated $3.76 billion, with an adjusted per-share profit of 57 cents, slightly above the expected 56 cents.
However, the company’s display technologies segment fell slightly short of expectations, posting $971 million in revenue compared to the anticipated $976.7 million.
