glw stock moved into focus on April 28, 2026, after Corning Incorporated said its first-quarter 2026 results showed broad-based momentum from Gen AI demand and a faster solar ramp. core sales rose 18% to $4. 35 billion and core EPS climbed 30% to $0. 70, while it also issued second-quarter 2026 guidance.
Corning’s first-quarter numbers set the tone
Corning said Optical Communications sales increased 36% year over year and Solar sales rose 80% year over year, giving the quarter a strong growth profile across key businesses. two additional hyperscale customers entered into large, long-term agreements, similar in size and duration to the recently announced multiyear, up-to-$6 billion agreement with Meta.
those agreements underscore customer commitment to develop, innovate, and manufacture technologies that support next-generation AI data centers in the United States. Corning also said it plans to upgrade and extend its Springboard plan through 2030 and introduce a new Market-Access Platform at its May 6 investor event in New York City. glw stock is now tied closely to how investors read that combination of growth, customer commitments, and forward guidance.
Management points to continued momentum
Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Corning Incorporated, said the first-quarter results continued the trajectory of the Springboard plan. Weeks said that versus Springboard’s Q4-2023 starting point, core sales grew 33% and core EPS rose 79%, while core operating margin and core ROIC expanded by 390 basis points and 470 basis points, respectively.
Ed Schlesinger, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the company delivered its eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth. Schlesinger said core sales were led by Optical Communications and the new Solar business, and added that the solar ramp continued with polysilicon performance above the company’s 20% corporate operating margin target in the first quarter.
Second-quarter guidance keeps the spotlight on glw stock
For the second quarter, management expects core sales to grow about 14% year over year to approximately $4. 6 billion and core EPS to rise about 25% year over year to a range of $0. 73 to $0. 77. guidance includes an extended maintenance shutdown at its solar wafer facility, along with the transition to a permanent power system while it repairs, upgrades, and modifies production equipment to increase throughput in future quarters.
Corning said that shutdown will add $30 million of expense in the second quarter versus the first quarter, and that the cost is already included in guidance. The first-quarter GAAP results showed sales of $4. 14 billion, gross margin of 36. 9%, operating margin of 15. 4%, EPS of $0. 43, and operating cash flow of $362 million.
What investors will watch next
The next key date is the May 6 investor event in New York City, where Corning plans to present its upgraded and extended Springboard plan and outline the new Photonics Market-Access Platform for Gen AI OEM customers. Until then, glw stock remains centered on whether the company can keep turning demand for AI infrastructure and solar products into sustained results.
