Corning’s Q1 $1.8B optical sales get boosted from Gen AI

Scaling hyperscaler, carrier customers

With hyperscalers a key focus, Corning noted that it won two additional hyperscale customers, which entered into large, long-term agreements with the company.

While the company did not reveal the names of the new hyperscaler customers, it noted that the deals are similar in size and duration to the agreement with Meta.

“On our last call, I shared that we were in the process of concluding other agreements of the same size and duration as the Meta agreement,” Weeks said. “We have now concluded two more large long-term agreements with hyperscale customers. And they are each similar in size and duration to the Meta agreement.”

As it pursues more hyperscaler deals, Corning continues to find its cadence with large-scale carriers like Lumen that provide fiber services to data center providers.

A big part of its approach to carriers is to leverage the parent company’s established glass businesses—such as display technology and specialty materials. By applying these approaches to optical communications, it can make what it says are rapid, high-precision advancements in data center infrastructure. This strategy leverages mature manufacturing techniques, such as vapor deposition and precision forming, to create high-purity glass for optical fibers and next-generation connectivity solutions.

“We're taking the proven approach in our glass businesses and applying it to Optical Communications,” Weeks said. “Our partnership with Lumen Technologies in the carrier space is another good example of this approach. We previously shared our agreement with Lumen to provide our new Gen AI fiber and cable system that enables them to fit anywhere from 2 to 4x the amount of fiber into their existing conduit.”

Lumen continues to expand its fiber network to address the rise in AI demands, with initiatives in 2025 and 2026 designed to double their intercity fiber miles. As of February 2026, the company had 17 million intercity fiber miles with plans to reach 47 million by the end of 2028.

“In February, Lumen shared that we've expanded and extended our multiyear agreement to ensure they have access to the newest state-of-the-art fiber technology,” Weeks said. “Lumen and fiber-to-the-home contributed to carriers' growth in the quarter.”

FTTH rising

Beyond data center interconnects, Corning continues to see strong demand for its fiber and components to serve fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) in the Carrier segment of its Optical Communications unit, reflecting carriers' plans to expand their fiber networks.

AT&T and Verizon, for one, have made large FTTH expansion commitments through their own organic build-out plans as well as their respective acquisitions of Lumen’s FTTH business and Frontier, respectively.

AT&T is rapidly expanding its fiber network, surpassing 30 million locations as of mid-2025 and aiming to reach over 60 million total locations by the end of 2030. Likewise, Verizon, which expanded its network to over 30 million homes and businesses, is targeting 35-40 million total fiber passings through the acquisition of Frontier Communications and new, strategic partnerships.

Based on the moves by its largest service provider customers, Corning upgraded its sales plan for the business through 2030 during its recent investor event.

“As noted in public statements, carriers are planning to expand their fiber networks going forward,” Weeks said. “The typical run rate for homes passed by our large carrier customers has increased about 50% since the beginning of Springboard.”

This all comes as FTTH subscriptions and builds in the U.S. continue to rise.

According to a recent study by the Fiber Broadband Association and RVA, fiber broadband deployments reached 11.8 million U.S. homes passed in 2025 alone, totaling 98.3 million FTTH passings when including homes with multiple passings.

On a cumulative basis, the U.S. has nearly 100 million fiber locations and 40 million homes now connected. Interestingly, 84.6% of these homes are unique. 

And while Corning is committed to driving fiber broadband in rural areas, the overall growth of FTTH is what drove the uptick in its revenues during the first quarter.

“What's driving it, and you actually see it a lot in the news now, is just the ascendancy of fiber to the home,” Weeks said. “People used to ask me a lot about fixed wireless, hybrid fiber coax, and whether satellites make a difference. And all you're seeing is the ascendancy of our technology from the big carriers, which is what's primarily driving these numbers. They've been very public about it in their decisions.”

Gen AI, FTTH drive revenue

Corning’s Optical Communications first-quarter results reflected its ongoing movement in Gen AI and FTTH.

In Optical Communications, sales were $1.8 billion, up 36% year-over-year, driven by robust demand for Gen AI products. Net income was $387 million, up 93% year-over-year.

“In Enterprise, building on our multiyear agreement with Meta up to $6 billion, we entered into large, long-term agreements with two additional hyperscale customers, and we are working to conclude others,” said Edward Schlesinger, CFO of Corning.

He added that in the Carrier segment, “we are seeing growth driven by both data center interconnects and strong demand for fiber-to-the-home.”

Looking to the second quarter, Corning forecasts that it will grow sales by about 14% year-over-year to approximately $4.6 billion and to grow EPS by about 25% year-over-year to a range of $0.73 to $0.77.

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