GLW NYSE Electronic Components Financials FY2016βFY2025
Corning is a materials company, tracing back to a glass business started in 1851. It makes glass, ceramics and optical fiber for other companies' products. Its markets include optical communications, displays, mobile electronics, cars and trucks, life sciences, semiconductors and solar. It makes products in 14 countries.
Hi! I read Corningβs latest annual report (fiscal 2025). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
Are sales growing?
+19.1%
Yes. Sales grew 19.1% last year.
Does it make a profit?
10.2%
Yes. It keeps 10.2% of every sale as profit.
Does profit turn into cash?
9.0%
Partly. 9.0% of sales ends up as free cash.
Is debt under control?
1.9x
Keep an eye on it. Repaying its debt would take 1.9 years of operating profit.
How healthy are the accounts?
6 / 9
Mixed. It passes 6 of 9 health tests.
How is the share priced?
58.3x
One share costs 58.3 times its yearly profit per share. Typical for its sector: 33.0x.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
KIRA Β· Corning had $15.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 19.1% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +6.7% a year on average. Its operating margin was 14.6%, up 5.9Β pts: of every 100 in sales, about 15 is left after running the business.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA Β· Corning made $1.6B of net profit in fiscal 2025. From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew β6.1% a year.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA Β· Free cash flow was $1.4B in fiscal 2025, 9.0% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
KIRA Β· Corning returned $1.2B to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 82% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.2%.
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA Β· In the last 12 months, insiders sold $112M of shares on the open market and bought none.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. βPlanβ marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$112M
15 insiders
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 2026 | Michelle L GulloSenior Vice President & CHRO | Sold | 9,874 | $152.29 | $1.5M | Form 4 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Lewis A SteversonVice Chairman, EVP and CLAO | Sold | 13,100 | $151.29 | $2.0M | Form 4 |
| Jun 9, 2026 | Wendell P WeeksChairman, CEO and President, Director | Sold | 100,000 | $186.46 | $18.6M | Form 4 |
| May 22, 2026 | Jaymin AminSVP and Chief Tech. Officer | Sold | 27,395 | $192.14 | $5.3M | Form 4 |
| May 15, 2026 | Avery H Nelson IIIExecutive Vice President & COO | Sold | 20,000 | $195.93 | $3.9M | Form 4 |
| May 13, 2026 | Ronald L VerkleerenSVP Emerging Innovations Group | Sold | 10,000 | $207.77 | $2.1M | Form 4 |
| May 11, 2026 | John Z ZhangExec. Vice President & CCDO | Sold | 10,000 | $198.34 | $2.0M | Form 4 |
| May 11, 2026 | Michaune D TillmanSVP and General Counsel | Sold | 3,260 | $207.02 | $0.7M | Form 4 |
| May 11, 2026 | Soumya SeetharamSenior Vice President & CDIO | Sold | 20,000 | $206.23 | $4.1M | Form 4 |
| May 8, 2026 | Michelle L GulloSenior Vice President & CHRO | Sold | 5,315 | $189.03 | $1.0M | Form 4 |
| May 8, 2026 | Stefan BeckerSVP, Finance & Corp Controller | Sold | 21,000 | $188.08 | $3.9M | Form 4 |
| May 8, 2026 | Lewis A SteversonVice Chairman, EVP and CLAO | Sold | 27,750 | $196.06 | $5.4M | Form 4 |
| May 7, 2026 | Edward A SchlesingerExec. Vice President and CFO | Sold | 22,562 | $186.08 | $4.2M | Form 4 |
| May 6, 2026 | John Z ZhangExec. Vice President & CCDO | Sold | 15,000 | $184.67 | $2.8M | Form 4 |
| Feb 26, 2026 | Wendell P WeeksChairman, CEO and President, Director | Sold | 137,514 | $155.37 | $21.4M | Form 4 |
| Feb 13, 2026 | Michelle L GulloSenior Vice President & CHRO | Sold | 587 | $131.11 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 12, 2026 | Michelle L GulloSenior Vice President & CHRO | Sold | 44 | $135.83 | $0.0M | Form 4 |
| Feb 12, 2026 | John Z ZhangExec. Vice President & CCDO | Sold | 1,531 | $133.75 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Feb 11, 2026 | Avery H Nelson IIIExecutive Vice President & COO | Sold | 1,583 | $128.74 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Feb 10, 2026 | Lewis A SteversonVice Chairman, EVP and CLAO | Sold | 15,366 | $130.22 | $2.0M | Form 4 |
| Feb 9, 2026 | Jordana Daryl KammerudSVP | Sold | 30,000 | $127.67 | $3.8M | Form 4 |
| Feb 9, 2026 | Eric S MusserRetired President | Sold | 15,000 | $130.25 | $2.0M | Form 4 |
| Feb 9, 2026 | Avery H Nelson IIIExecutive Vice President & COO | Sold | 6,262 | $129.79 | $0.8M | Form 4 |
| Feb 4, 2026 | Li FangSVP, Corning Intl & NBD, Solar | Sold | 9,797 | $113.51 | $1.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Michael Paul O'DaySVP and GM, Optical Comm. | Sold | 5,051 | $110.52 | $0.6M | Form 4 |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Eric S MusserRetired President | Sold | 25,000 | $110.00 | $2.8M | Form 4 |
| Jan 29, 2026 | Michelle L GulloSenior Vice President & CHRO | Sold | 44 | $102.40 | $0.0M | Form 4 |
| Jan 29, 2026 | Edward A SchlesingerExec. Vice President and CFO | Sold | 21,104 | $104.55 | $2.2M | Form 4 |
| Dec 10, 2025 | Ronald L VerkleerenSVP Emerging Innovations Group | Sold | 21,000 | $94.69 | $2.0M | Form 4 |
| Dec 10, 2025 | Soumya SeetharamSenior Vice President & CDIO | Sold | 16,547 | $90.78 | $1.5M | Form 4 |
| Oct 31, 2025 | Edward A SchlesingerExec. Vice President and CFO | Sold | 20,893 | $91.25 | $1.9M | Form 4 |
| Oct 31, 2025 | Lewis A SteversonVice Chairman, EVP and CLAO | Sold | 23,142 | $89.05 | $2.1M | Form 4 |
| Oct 29, 2025 | Stefan BeckerSVP, Finance & Corp Controller | Sold | 12,100 | $91.28 | $1.1M | Form 4 |
| Oct 29, 2025 | Eric S MusserRetired President | Sold | 100,000 | $90.17 | $9.0M | Form 4 |
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
KIRA Β· Corning owes $6.9B more than it holds in cash, about 1.9 years of operating profit.
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Corning can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $2.1B | $1.7B | $1.8B | $1.8B | $1.5B |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $7.0B | $6.9B | $7.5B | $7.2B | $8.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.4x | 1.8x | 2.5x | 2.2x | 1.9x |
| Debt / equity | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x |
| Interest coverage | 7.0x | 4.9x | 2.7x | 3.5x | 6.8x |
| Current ratio | 1.6x | 1.4x | 1.7x | 1.6x | 1.6x |
| Quick ratio | 1.1x | 0.9x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.0x |
| Total assets | $30.2B | $29.5B | $28.5B | $27.7B | $31.0B |
| Total liabilities | $17.6B | $17.2B | $16.6B | $16.7B | $18.7B |
| Shareholders' equity | $12.3B | $12.0B | $11.6B | $10.7B | $11.8B |
| Net debt (β = net cash) | $4.9B | $5.2B | $5.7B | $5.4B | $6.9B |
KIRA Β· Its return on capital was 10.8%: every 100 invested in the business earned about 11 in a year.
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA Β· Corning passes 6 of 9 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8β9 is strong, 0β2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations is positive | β | β | β |
| Return on assets rose | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | β | β | β |
| Debt fell relative to assets | β | β | β |
| Current ratio rose | β | β | β |
| Share count didn't rise | β | β | β |
| Gross margin rose | β | β | β |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | β | β | β |
| F-score | 4 / 9 | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
| Accruals ratio | β4.9% | β5.1% | β3.7% |
| Altman Z'' | 3.50 | 3.57 | 3.63 |
What does the share cost, and how does it compare?
KIRA Β· At $127.74 a share, the company is worth $111.8B: 58.3 times its earnings of the last four quarters.
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets β the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
In plain words: Move the sliders to try your own guesses about growth. The result is what one share would be worth if those guesses came true. Different guesses give very different answers.
Value per share
β
Adds net cash of β$6.9B and divides by 871.0M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Value per share
β
Reference multiples: today 56.5x Β· peers 18.6x Β· sector 33.0x.
KIRA Β· Corning grew sales faster than 2 of its 4 similar companies. Its P/E is higher than 2 of 2.
Each companyβs latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods donβt line up exactly.
In plain words: The same numbers for similar companies, so you can tell whether a figure is high or low for this kind of business.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corning GLW | $111.8B | 19.1% | 14.6% | 9.0% | 10.8% | 58.3x | 6 | |
| Amphenol APH | $97.0B | 51.7% | 25.4% | 19.0% | 29.1% | 18.9x | 7 | Compare β |
| Coherent COHR | $43.3B | 22.5% | β | β14.4% | 9.1% | β | 7 | Compare β |
| Belden BDC | $4.0B | 10.3% | 11.6% | 8.1% | 13.3% | 16.7x | 8 | Compare β |
| Littelfuse LFUS | $9.2B | 8.9% | 1.6% | 15.3% | 0.7% | β | 6 | Compare β |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratioβs name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $9.4B | $10.1B | $11.3B | $11.5B | $11.3B | $14.1B | $14.2B | $12.6B | $13.1B | $15.6B |
| Gross profit | $3.8B | $4.0B | $4.5B | $4.0B | $3.5B | $5.1B | $4.5B | $3.9B | $4.3B | $5.6B |
| Research and development | $637M | $689M | $807M | $800M | $1.0B | $800M | $900M | $900M | $800M | $800M |
| Operating income | $1.4B | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.3B | $509M | $2.1B | $1.4B | $890M | $1.1B | $2.3B |
| Interest expense | $159M | $155M | $191M | $221M | $276M | $300M | $292M | $329M | $329M | $336M |
| Pretax income | $3.7B | $1.7B | $1.5B | $1.2B | $634M | $2.4B | $1.8B | $816M | $813M | $2.1B |
| Income tax | β$3.0M | $2.2B | $437M | $256M | $111M | $491M | $411M | $168M | $221M | $310M |
| Net income | $3.7B | β$497M | $1.1B | $960M | $512M | $1.9B | $1.3B | $581M | $506M | $1.6B |
| Diluted EPS | $3.23 | β$0.66 | $1.13 | $1.07 | $0.54 | $1.28 | $1.54 | $0.68 | $0.58 | $1.83 |
| Diluted shares | 1.14B | 0.90B | 0.94B | 0.90B | 0.77B | 0.84B | 0.86B | 0.86B | 0.87B | 0.87B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $2.5B | $2.0B | $2.9B | $2.0B | $2.2B | $3.4B | $2.6B | $2.0B | $1.9B | $2.7B |
| Capital expenditure | β | β | $2.2B | $2.0B | $1.4B | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.4B | $965M | $1.3B |
| Free cash flow | β | β | $677M | $53.0M | $803M | $1.8B | $1.0B | $615M | $974M | $1.4B |
| Depreciation and amortization | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.3B | $1.5B | $1.5B | $1.5B | $1.5B | $1.4B | $1.4B | $1.3B |
| Stock-based compensation | $42.0M | $46.0M | $51.0M | $56.0M | $207M | $190M | $175M | $218M | $273M | $286M |
| Acquisitions | $333M | $171M | $842M | $0.0M | $4.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $4.2B | $2.5B | $2.2B | $940M | $105M | $274M | $221M | $0.0M | $165M | $163M |
| Dividends paid | $645M | $651M | $685M | $742M | $787M | $871M | $932M | $989M | $986M | $999M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $4.9B | $3.1B | $2.9B | $1.7B | $892M | $1.1B | $1.2B | $989M | $1.2B | $1.2B |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $5.3B | $4.3B | $2.4B | $2.4B | $2.7B | $2.1B | $1.7B | $1.8B | $1.8B | $1.5B |
| Total debt | $3.9B | $5.1B | $6.0B | $7.7B | $8.0B | $7.0B | $6.9B | $7.5B | $7.2B | $8.4B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $280M | $173M | $183M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $174M | $1.2B |
| Current assets | $9.0B | $8.8B | $7.0B | $7.5B | $8.0B | $7.7B | $7.5B | $7.2B | $8.0B | $8.9B |
| Current liabilities | $2.8B | $3.2B | $3.3B | $3.5B | $3.8B | $4.8B | $5.2B | $4.3B | $4.9B | $5.6B |
| Inventory | $1.5B | $1.7B | $2.0B | $2.3B | $2.4B | $2.5B | $2.9B | $2.7B | $2.7B | $3.1B |
| Property and equipment, net | $12.5B | $14.0B | $14.9B | $15.3B | $15.7B | $15.8B | $15.4B | $14.6B | $13.4B | $14.8B |
| Total assets | $27.9B | $27.5B | $27.5B | $28.9B | $30.8B | $30.2B | $29.5B | $28.5B | $27.7B | $31.0B |
| Total liabilities | $9.9B | $11.7B | $13.6B | $15.9B | $17.3B | $17.6B | $17.2B | $16.6B | $16.7B | $18.7B |
| Shareholders' equity | $17.9B | $15.7B | $13.8B | $12.9B | $13.3B | $12.3B | $12.0B | $11.6B | $10.7B | $11.8B |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 40.1% | 39.7% | 39.5% | 35.1% | 31.2% | 36.0% | 31.8% | 31.2% | 32.6% | 36.0% |
| Operating margin | 15.2% | 15.9% | 14.0% | 11.4% | 4.5% | 15.0% | 10.1% | 7.1% | 8.7% | 14.6% |
| EBITDA margin | 27.9% | 27.3% | 25.4% | 24.4% | 18.0% | 25.5% | 20.4% | 18.0% | 18.9% | 23.2% |
| Net margin | 39.4% | β4.9% | 9.4% | 8.4% | 4.5% | 13.5% | 9.3% | 4.6% | 3.9% | 10.2% |
| FCF margin | β | β | 6.0% | 0.5% | 7.1% | 12.6% | 7.1% | 4.9% | 7.4% | 9.0% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 8.2% | 4.9% | 6.6% | 5.8% | 2.3% | 9.3% | 6.4% | 4.0% | 4.8% | 10.8% |
| Return on capital employed | 5.6% | 6.5% | 6.5% | 5.3% | 1.9% | 8.1% | 5.8% | 3.7% | 4.8% | 9.5% |
| Return on equity | 20.2% | β3.0% | 7.2% | 7.2% | 3.9% | 14.9% | 10.8% | 4.9% | 4.6% | 14.2% |
| Return on assets | 13.1% | β1.8% | 3.9% | 3.4% | 1.7% | 6.3% | 4.4% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 5.4% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 3.1% | 7.7% | 11.6% | 1.9% | β1.7% | 24.6% | 0.8% | β11.3% | 4.2% | 19.1% |
| Net income growth | 176.0% | β113.5% | β | β9.9% | β46.7% | 272.3% | β31.0% | β55.9% | β12.9% | 215.4% |
| EPS growth | 223.0% | β120.4% | β | β5.3% | β49.5% | 137.0% | 20.3% | β55.8% | β14.7% | 215.5% |
| FCF growth | β | β | β | β92.2% | 1,415.1% | 121.1% | β43.0% | β39.2% | 58.4% | 45.1% |
| Share count change | β14.8% | β21.8% | 5.1% | β4.5% | β14.1% | 9.3% | 1.5% | 0.2% | 1.2% | 0.2% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | β0.5x | 0.3x | 1.3x | 1.9x | 2.6x | 1.4x | 1.8x | 2.5x | 2.2x | 1.9x |
| Debt / equity | 0.2x | 0.3x | 0.4x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x |
| Interest coverage | 9.0x | 10.4x | 8.3x | 5.9x | 1.8x | 7.0x | 4.9x | 2.7x | 3.5x | 6.8x |
| Current ratio | 3.3x | 2.8x | 2.1x | 2.1x | 2.1x | 1.6x | 1.4x | 1.7x | 1.6x | 1.6x |
| Quick ratio | 2.8x | 2.2x | 1.5x | 1.5x | 1.5x | 1.1x | 0.9x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.0x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | β | β | 19.9% | 17.2% | 12.2% | 11.6% | 11.3% | 11.0% | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1.8% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| Payouts / FCF | β | β | 430.1% | 3,173.6% | 111.1% | 64.5% | 114.1% | 160.8% | 118.2% | 82.2% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | 6.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Accruals ratio | 4.1% | β9.0% | β6.7% | β3.8% | β5.6% | β4.9% | β4.4% | β4.9% | β5.1% | β3.7% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000024741). Data updated October 9, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only β not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
