Corning Incorporated GLW
Corning's fundamental inflection remains intact—FY2025 revenue grew 19.1% to $15.63B with operating margin expanding to 14.9% and EPS reaching $1.85—but Q2 2026 revenue growth decelerated to 16.6% from the 20%+ pace of the prior three quarters, signaling that the initial AI-driven surge is cooling. At $145.56 the stock trades at 65.9x earnings, 72% above the peer median of 38.3x, and remains below its 50-day MA of $168.91 with RSI at 42.5, while insiders have been net sellers of $229.7M over 24 months and smart money turned slightly negative at -0.0187 as of Q2 2026.
The pullback from prior levels near $166 has improved the risk/reward, but the combination of stretched valuation, decelerating top-line growth, rising debt to $10.22B, and persistent insider selling keeps this a hold rather than a buy.
What could go wrong
- Valuation compression. At 65.9x PE and 33.9x EV/EBITDA—72% and 43% above peer medians respectively—any growth disappointment could trigger a sharp de-rating, especially with the stock already below its 50-day MA.
- Revenue growth deceleration. Q2 2026 YoY revenue growth of 16.6% is down from 20.0% in Q1 2026 and 20.4% in Q4 2025; continued deceleration would undermine the premium multiple.
- Insider selling pressure. Net insider dispositions of $229.7M over 24 months with 272 sales vs 240 acquisitions, including the Vice Chairman selling 13,100 shares at $151.29 on 2026-08-28, signal limited insider confidence at current levels.
- Leverage buildup. Total debt rose from $8.09B in FY2024 to $10.22B in FY2025 alongside $1.28B capex, increasing balance sheet sensitivity if AI capex demand disappoints.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: FMP FY2025 annual + derived_metrics · quarterly_results · peer_relative · technicals as of 2026-09-01. Orin's read on GLW; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All GLW filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Capital Management | $13.0B | 0.3% of fund |
| State Street | $10.5B | 0.3% of fund |
| Jpmorgan Chase & | $9.2B | 0.5% of fund |
| Capital Research Global Investors | $6.3B | 0.9% of fund |
| Fmr | $6.1B | 0.3% of fund |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $4.8B | 0.2% of fund |
150 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 513 Form 4 filings, net −$231.2M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 14 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about GLW
Orin answers questions about GLW from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 69.7× | 44.4× | 53.3× |
| EV/EBITDA | 35.8× | 12.9× | — |
| P/S | 7.82× | 2.19× | — |
| P/B | 10.6× | 2.5× | — |
Its P/E sits 80th percentile of its own last 5 years (+1.23σ from its own mean).
29.0%
free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $1.4B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.
What Wall Street published
$175
$129 – $200 · +12% against today's price
- 21 buy or overweight
- 14 hold
- 2 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLWCorning Incorporated | $133B | 69.7× | 35.8× | 36.3% | 11.2% | 16% |
| ADSKAutodesk, Inc. | $45B | 27.2× | 19.2× | 91.2% | 21.1% | 53% |
| CLSCelestica Inc. | $43B | 38.4× | 28.7× | 12.0% | 7.2% | 51% |
| FTNTFortinet, Inc. | $131B | 62.5× | 44.5× | 80.4% | 28.2% | 188% |
| KEYSKeysight Technologies, Inc. | $61B | 49.2× | 35.7× | 64.7% | 19.1% | 20% |
| MSIMotorola Solutions, Inc. | $76B | 35.4× | 22.2× | 50.0% | 17.4% | 86% |
| SNPSSynopsys, Inc. | $81B | 73.8× | 25.1× | 72.4% | 11.4% | 4% |
| TELTE Connectivity Ltd. | $62B | 20.8× | 13.4× | 35.4% | 15.8% | 23% |
The median is of the 7 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 81.4% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Discounted cash flow
| Model | Fair value | Against | Computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard DCF | $22 | $168.19 · −87% | 2026-06-10 |
| Levered DCF | $18 | $168.19 · −89% | 2026-06-10 |
The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.