Quality Investor

Corning Incorporated

Rank #376Op. LeverageWatchlistCompare with other stocks

GLW · NYSE · Technology

Corning Incorporated (GLW) — Rank #376 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.17) · ROE 12.7% · Piotroski F-Score N/A.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000024741 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Corning Incorporated operates in optical communications, display, specialty materials, automotive, and life sciences businesses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Germany, and internationally.

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The company provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, such as cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories for the telecommunications industry, businesses, governments, and individuals. It also offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices. In addition, it manufactures products that offer material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, and software, as well as glass wafers and substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products for markets, such as mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables, aerospace and defense optics, radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. Further, the company provides ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications, as well as technical glass and optic products and solutions for the interior and exterior of vehicles. Additionally, it offers laboratory products, including plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware, and glassware and equipment under the Corning, Falcon, PYREX, and Axygen brands. It also offers polysilicon products and pharmaceutical glass tubing and vials. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989.

Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York.

Industry
Electronic Components
Sector
Technology
State
NY
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

67,200

Industry

Electronic Components

Exchange

NYSE

9/10

Flags passed

GLW fails 1 critical flag

Passes 9 of 10 quality flags

  • FAIL
    Balance sheet deteriorating

    Net cash collapsed with receivables or inventory outpacing revenue

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Deferred revenue growing · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

No data FCF vs investment · Free cash flow — not counted as a pass.

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.17
Return on equity
12.7%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.51
Current ratio
1.81×
Net cash
$1.84B

Cash Flow

1/1 pass
Positive FCF
N/A
Cash-backed earnings
N/A
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
1.8%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
19.1%
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
Share dilution
0.2%

Operating margin expansion and free cash flow are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 0.17

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.17

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

4th of 6 SIC 33 peers

Return on equity

12.7%

Gross margin

36.0%

1st of 6 SIC 33 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

19.1%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

3.3%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

6.7%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

6.6%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

—

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No data

Free cash flow

—

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

N/A

FCF vs net income

—

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

N/A

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

1.8%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

Warning: Balance sheet deteriorating · net cash $1.84B

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.51

5th of 6 SIC 33 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.81×

6th of 6 SIC 33 peers

Quick ratio

0.90×

Net cash

$1.84B

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

N/A

Only 8/9 components determinable.

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

2.3 / 5

Fair
Share count trend
0.2%2/5 Fair
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr3/5 Good
Net debt trajectory
-2.3%2/5 Fair

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Capital Return
Hypergrowth
Value
Decline
Op. Leverage

Price History

GLW+336.8% · +34.2% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR