TLDR
- Corning and Nvidia announced a multi-year partnership to expand U.S. optical connectivity and fiber manufacturing for AI data centers.
- Corning will increase optical manufacturing capacity tenfold and fiber production by more than 50%, with three new facilities in North Carolina and Texas.
- Nvidia received warrants to buy up to 18 million Corning shares worth a total of $500 million.
- Corning stock jumped 12% on the news, while Nvidia gained around 5.8%.
- Corning raised its long-term sales target to $35 billion by the end of 2030, up from a previous $27 billion target for 2028.
Corning (GLW) kicked off Wednesday with a bang. The glass and fiber maker’s stock surged over 12% to around $185 after the company announced a major partnership with Nvidia and raised its long-term revenue targets in the same breath.
The two companies said they are forming a multi-year deal to expand U.S. production of fiber and optical connectivity solutions for AI infrastructure. It is a bet on the massive and growing demand for data movement inside and between AI data centers.
Under the deal, Corning will increase its optical manufacturing capacity tenfold and grow its fiber production by more than 50%. Three new advanced manufacturing facilities will be built in North Carolina and Texas, creating an estimated 3,000 jobs.
Nvidia received a warrant to purchase up to 15 million Corning shares at $180 each, plus a pre-funded warrant to buy up to 3 million shares at $0.0001 per share. The total investment is valued at $500 million.
Nvidia stock was up around 5.8% on the day.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate American manufacturing.” He added that the two companies are “inventing the future of computing with advanced optical technologies.”
Revenue Targets Get a Major Upgrade
The Nvidia deal came alongside a major update to Corning’s growth plan. The company said it now expects to hit $20 billion in annualized sales by the end of 2026. That represents a 15% compound annual growth rate from the fourth quarter of 2023.
From there, Corning is projecting 19% annual sales growth from the fourth quarter of 2026 through to 2030, when it expects to reach $35 billion in annualized revenue.
The 2028 target was also raised to $27 billion, up from an earlier $11 billion increase the company had outlined in January. Corning says it is now targeting a $17 billion increase from its 2023 starting point.
CFO Ed Schlesinger said the company plans to “continue growing free cash flow while investing to capture growth,” adding that investment risk will be shared through long-term customer agreements.
These targets were presented at an investor event held at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Q1 Results Also Beat Expectations
Corning also came into the day with strong first quarter 2026 earnings. The company posted earnings per share of $0.70, slightly above the forecast of $0.69. Revenue came in at $4.35 billion, topping expectations of $4.29 billion. The outperformance was led by the Optical Communications segment.
Corning also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, payable on June 29, 2026, to shareholders of record as of May 29.
Five analysts have recently revised their earnings estimates upward, according to InvestingPro data, pointing to growing confidence ahead of this week’s announcements.
Corning’s stock had already surged 268% over the past year entering Wednesday, with revenue reaching $16.32 billion over the last twelve months.
Other optical networking names had a mixed day. Ciena jumped 6.1% and Coherent gained 3.5%, while Lumentum fell 6.1% following mixed Q3 earnings results.
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