NEW YORK - Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) reported third-quarter earnings that slightly beat analyst expectations and provided an upbeat outlook for the fourth quarter, sending its shares up 5% in early trading.
The specialty glass and ceramics maker posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.54 for Q3, edging past the analyst consensus of $0.53. Revenue came in at $3.73 billion, just above estimates of $3.72 billion and up 8% YoY.
For the fourth quarter, Corning expects core sales of approximately $3.75 billion, surpassing the $3.651 billion analyst consensus. The company also forecasts Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.53 to $0.57, above the $0.52 Wall Street estimate.
"We delivered another strong quarter of year-over-year growth," said Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and CEO. "Third-quarter core sales grew 8% to $3.73 billion, and core EPS grew 20% – more than double the rate of sales – to $0.54, with core operating margin expanding 160 basis points to 18.3%."
The company highlighted strong performance in its Optical Communications segment, which saw 36% YoY sales growth. The Enterprise portion of this segment grew sales by 55% YoY, driven by strong adoption of new optical connectivity products for generative AI.
Corning also implemented price increases in its Display Technologies segment and expects to deliver segment net income of $900 million to $950 million in 2025 while maintaining a 25% net income margin.
Ed Schlesinger, CFO, noted, "In the fourth quarter, we expect year-over-year sales growth to accelerate and EPS to grow faster than sales, with core sales growing about 15%, to approximately $3.75 billion, and core EPS growing approximately 40%."
The company generated $553 million in adjusted free cash flow during the quarter, demonstrating progress on its "Springboard" plan to improve profitability and cash flow.
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