CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results and provided its outlook for first-quarter 2025.

Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer, said, “We had another outstanding quarter. We grew core sales 18% year over year to $3.9 billion and grew core EPS 46% to $0.57 while expanding core operating margin by 220 basis points to 18.5%. We also expanded core ROIC 390 basis points to 12.7%. Additionally, we closed out a strong year of free cash flow generation, delivering $1.25 billion for 2024, up 42%.”

Weeks continued, “Clearly, we’re off to a terrific start on our high-confidence ‘Springboard’ plan to add more than $3 billion in annualized sales, and to achieve operating margin of 20%, by the end of 2026. Based on our outperformance, we plan to upgrade this high-confidence plan at our investor event in March. We’re capturing significant sales growth, with powerful incremental profit and cash flow, as upward cyclical and secular trends drive demand for our products and capabilities.”

Ed Schlesinger, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, “We outperformed in the fourth quarter, driven by strong adoption of our new products for Gen AI, which drove sales growth of 93% year over year in the Enterprise portion of Optical Communications. We also successfully implemented double-digit price increases in Display Technologies to ensure we can maintain stable U.S. dollar net income in a weaker yen environment, and we expect to deliver segment net income of $900 million to $950 million in 2025 and to maintain net income margin of 25%.”

Schlesinger continued, “In the first quarter, we expect core sales to grow 10% year over year to approximately $3.6 billion, with core EPS growing approximately 30% to a range of $0.48 to $0.52.”

Fourth-Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights:

• GAAP sales were $3.50 billion. Core sales were $3.87 billion, up 18% year over year.
• GAAP EPS was $0.36. Core EPS was $0.57, up 46% year over year.
• GAAP gross margin was 34.2%. Core gross margin was 38.6%.
• GAAP operating cash flow was $623 million. Adjusted free cash flow was $409 million.

Full-Year 2024 Financial Highlights:

• GAAP sales were $13.12 billion. Core sales were $14.47 billion, up 7% year over year.
• GAAP EPS was $0.58. Core EPS was $1.96, up 15% year over year.
• GAAP gross margin was 32.6%. Core gross margin was 38.2%.
• GAAP operating cash flow was $1.94 billion. Adjusted free cash flow was $1.25 billion.

First-Quarter 2025 Outlook:

• In the first quarter, management expects core sales to grow approximately 10% year over year to $3.6 billion, with core EPS growing approximately 30% to a range of $0.48 to $0.52.

Upcoming Investor Event:

• On March 18 in New York City, Corning management will provide an upgrade to its high-confidence “Springboard” plan to add more than $3 billion in annualized sales, and to achieve an operating margin target of 20%, by the end of 2026.

Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Results and Comparisons (In millions, except per-share amounts):

Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Segment Results (In millions)

The fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results below are prepared on a basis consistent with Corning’s segment reporting as presented in the company’s consolidated financial statements.

In Optical Communications, fourth-quarter sales were $1.4 billion, up 51% year over year, and full-year sales were $4.66 billion, up 16%, both driven by continued strong adoption of Corning’s new Gen AI products.

In Display Technologies, fourth-quarter sales were $971 million, up 12% year over year. Net income was $262 million.

In Specialty Materials, fourth-quarter sales were $515 million, up 9% year over year. Fourth-quarter net income was $81 million, up 13% sequentially.

In Environmental Technologies, fourth-quarter sales were $397 million, down 7% year over year. Fourth-quarter net income was $81 million.

In Life Sciences, fourth-quarter sales were $250 million, up 3% year over year. Net income was $18 million, up 6% year over year.

Upcoming Investor Events

In addition to the March 18 event in New York City, Corning will attend the Susquehanna Fourteenth Annual Technology Conference on Feb. 28.

Fourth-Quarter Conference Call Information

The company will host its fourth-quarter conference call on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 8:30 a.m. EST. To participate, individuals may preregister here prior to the start of the call. Once the required fields are completed, a telephone number and PIN will be auto-generated and will pop up on screen. A confirmation email will also be sent with specific dial-in information.

Presentation of Information in this News Release

This news release includes non-GAAP financial measures. These reconciliations can be found on the company’s website by going to the Investor Relations page.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained in this release and related comments by management that are not historical facts or information are forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially.

Web Disclosure

Corning uses its website to publish important information. For the latest updates, visit the company’s news and events page.

About Corning Incorporated

Corning is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, with a track record of life-changing inventions.