Key Highlights
- Corning's $6 billion agreement with Meta aims to accelerate U.S. data center expansion and support AI initiatives.
- The expansion will increase manufacturing capacity in North Carolina, creating 15-20% more jobs and supporting a skilled workforce of over 5,000 employees.
- Corning will build a new optical cable manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona, adding approximately 250 jobs to support fiber broadband deployment.
- Investors responded positively, with Corning's stock rising nearly to its all-time high following the announcement.
- The partnership underscores a broader trend of domestic manufacturing growth and supply chain strengthening in the U.S. tech industry.
Corning has secured a multiyear, up to $6 billion agreement with Meta to accelerate the company’s U.S. data center reach, further solidifying the fiber manufacturer’s presence in the growing data center segment.
Focused on supporting Meta’s apps, technologies, and AI ambitions, Corning will supply Meta with its latest optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions.
Given the size of the contract with Meta, Corning will expand manufacturing capabilities across its North Carolina operations — including a significant capacity increase at its optical cable manufacturing facility in Hickory, where Meta will serve as the anchor customer.
Corning runs two of the world’s largest cable and optical fiber factories in North Carolina.
New employment opportunities
Corning’s expansion of its NC plant is significant not only because of Meta's size as a key customer, but also because it will create new job opportunities in North Carolina.
This development is key as the December 2025 U.S. jobs report revealed a sluggish labor market, with only 50,000 jobs added and a 4.4% unemployment rate.
Wendell Weeks, Chairman and CEO of Corning, said the enhanced cable plant will offer a diverse range of roles.
“The investment will expand our manufacturing footprint in North Carolina, support an increase in Corning’s employment levels in the state by 15 to 20 percent, and help sustain a highly skilled workforce of more than 5,000 — including the scientists, engineers, and production teams at two of the world’s largest optical fiber and cable manufacturing facilities,” he said. “Together with Meta, we’re strengthening domestic supply chains and helping ensure that advanced data centers are built using U.S. innovation and advanced manufacturing.”
Meta is expanding its commitment to building industry-leading data centers in the U.S. and sourcing advanced technology domestically.
Joel Kaplan, Chief Global Affairs Officer at Meta, agreed and added that “this collaboration will help create good-paying, skilled U.S. jobs, strengthen local economies, and help secure the U.S. lead in the global AI race.”
Fiber demand opportunities and challenges
Meta isn’t the only customer that has driven Corning to expand its manufacturing plants to accommodate a large customer.
Corning announced in October that it would invest between $170 million and $267.9 million to expand its Hickory, North Carolina, plant. As part of the agreement with Hickory, Corning is receiving a 33-acre lot at no cost under an economic development agreement with the city and county.
In March 2023, Corning initially opened its Hickory, NC campus. The Trivium campus has two facilities for manufacturing optical cable, which Corning said will support current and future fiber broadband deployments.
Earlier, in 2022, Corning expanded its optical cable manufacturing capacity, based on a long-term relationship with AT&T as the carrier expanded its fiber service. Corning will build a new cable manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona, located in the Greater Phoenix region, adding approximately 250 jobs.
Despite the promise of these facilities, Corning can’t escape the reality that there’s an ongoing shortage of fiber cable in the United States, driven by data center expansions for AI and by federal broadband (BEAD) funding, which is causing significant project delays and extending lead times into 2026.
As of early 2026, lead times for ribbon fiber are over 60 weeks, while loose tube fiber for outdoor, rural, and FTTH projects is backordered into the third quarter of this year.
Investors like it
Investors greeted Corning’s deal with Meta positively.
Corning shares jumped 16% to $110.47 on Tuesday, putting the stock just off its all-time high of $113.10, set on Sept. 1, 2000.
As seen in previous quarters, Corning, which will announce its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings tomorrow, will likely address how it is addressing data center providers’ fiber needs.
During the third quarter, Corning reported that optical networking sales grew 33% year over year to $1.65 billion, driven by strong adoption of Gen AI products and high-density fiber solutions.
Corning continues to make progress with data centers. Consider that in 2023, it had a $1.3 billion enterprise business, with almost half of that in hyperscale data centers.
Fast forward to the third quarter of 2025, Corning’s enterprise business sales were $831 million, or $3.3 billion annualized, compared with 2023, representing a $2 billion increase.
For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.
About the Author
Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategy of Lightwave across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products.