Why Corning Stock Jumped 110%?
Over the course of a year ending February 2026, Corning (GLW)’s stock soared 115%, propelled by robust earnings beats, a landmark AI data partnership, and strategic upgrades—despite a sharp P/E multiple drop. Let’s uncover the powerful moves behind this dramatic climb.
Below is an analytical breakdown of stock movement into key contributing metrics.
| 2042025 | 2042026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Price ($) | 51.1 | 109.7 | 114.8% |
| Change Contribution By: | |||
| Total Revenues ($ Mil) | 12,611.0 | 14,915.0 | 18.3% |
| Net Income Margin (%) | 1.2% | 9.2% | 640.4% |
| P/E Multiple | 279.6 | 68.7 | -75.4% |
| Shares Outstanding (Mil) | 854.0 | 856.0 | -0.2% |
| Cumulative Contribution | 114.8% |
So what is happening here? The stock surged 115%, driven by an 18% revenue rise and a 640% jump in net margin, despite a 75% drop in its P/E multiple. Let’s explore the moves behind these shifts.
Here Is Why Corning Stock Moved
- Q4 2025 Earnings Beat: Corning reported Q4 2025 EPS of $0.72 on $4.41B revenue, beating estimates; provided strong Q1 2026 outlook.
- Meta AI Data Deal: A multi-year, up to $6B agreement with Meta Platforms for AI data center fiber optics was announced Jan 27, 2026.
- Springboard Plan Upgrd: Corning upgraded its Springboard plan to add $6.5B annualized sales by 2026 and $11B by 2028.
- Q3 2025 Strong Results: Q3 2025 core sales of $4.27B and EPS of $0.67 beat estimates, with Optical Communications sales up 33%.
- Q2 2025 & Gen AI: Q2 2025 core sales rose 12% and EPS grew 28%, driven by 81% surge in Enterprise optical sales from Gen AI.
Our Current Assesment Of GLW Stock
Opinion: We currently find GLW stock unattractive. Why so? Have a look at the full story. Read Buy or Sell GLW Stock to see what drives our current opinion.
Risk: A solid way to gauge risk with GLW is to check its drops during major market downturns. It plunged nearly 94% in the Dot-Com crash and about 72% in the Global Financial Crisis. Even more recent shocks weren’t gentle — the 2018 correction saw a 24% dip, Covid pulled it down around 41%, and the inflation shock knocked about 38% off its peak. Good fundamentals matter, but history shows GLW can still take a hard hit when the market turns south.
GLW stock may have seen strong gains recently, but investing in a single stock without detailed, thorough analysis can be risky. The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 — the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.