Rankings Tech hardware & optics Corning
Corning
65
15070100
A view of the same findings, not a new score. How it works
A good business with a real question mark: the price, a crack, or both.
Biggest deductions
- Multiples vs own history and peers−25
- Cash flow−4
- Customer concentration−4
Strengths
- Estimates and validation+2
- Dividend and buybacks from FCF+1
How the score is built
From 100 to 65, step by step: points off for the business, the price and the cracks, back for documented strengths, then three data adjustments.
Start
Score
Hover or select a step to see what drove it. Steps with findings open them below.
Key numbers
As of 2 Nov 2026. Analyst targets tend to be optimistic; read upside as a hint, not a forecast.
- Price
- 123.20 USD
- Median analyst target
- 180.00 USD
- Upside to median
- +46.1%
- Analysts
- 18
- Target range
- 132.00 – 220.00 USD
- 52-week change
- +38%
- P/E (trailing)
- 49.9
- Forward P/E
- 29.5
- PEG
- 0.94
Findings
Every deduction and every plus, with its source. Open a step to read them.
Business
Is the company getting stronger, not just bigger? · 3 findings−6 of −30
- −2ROICROIC has risen from 5.1% (2023) and 5.4% (2024) to 10.5% (2025) and 11.3% TTM, and the operating margin from 9.5% to 15.6%. The improvement is real, but the return is only slightly above the cost of capital and not far above the 2021 level (9.7%).
- −2Quality of growthGrowth is concentrated in Optical Communications (+32% in Q2). Life Sciences fell 15% at a loss, and Solar is loss-making; revenue was flat at $12.6–14.2bn from 2021 to 2024.
- −2Capital allocationThe share count is rising (+0.8% in a year) despite buybacks, because stock-based pay has grown to $419m TTM. NVIDIA has received warrants for up to 15m shares at $180 and 3m prepaid shares (about 2% dilution in total), and the FCF margin was only 5–9% in 2022–25.
Price
Today's multiples against the company's own history and its peers. · 1 finding−25 of −35
- −25Multiples vs own history and peersForward P/E 40.9 vs 15.7–29.6 in 2021–25 (average 20.0); EV/EBITDA 33.7 vs 10.0–22.6; P/S 7.7 vs 1.9–4.8; P/B 10.9 vs 2.2–6.1; P/FCF 54.5. The trailing P/E of 69.9 is distorted by GAAP items. About double its own history for a materials company with a 36% gross margin.
Cracks
Cash flow, customers, debt, insiders, guidance and what sits behind the headline numbers. · 5 findings−17 of −35
- −4Cash flowOperating cash flow rose 80% to $3.9bn TTM but is lifted by one-off customer prepayments (including a deposit of about $1bn). FCF was only $0.6–1.8bn a year in 2021–25, and capex is rising towards about $2bn in 2026.
- −4Customer concentrationOptical Communications is 44% of sales ($2.07bn of 4.74bn in Q2) and rests on large deals with a few customers: NVIDIA (three new plants), Meta (up to $6bn) and Amazon. The largest customer's share is not disclosed.
- −2DebtNet debt $6.9bn (debt $9.4bn vs cash $2.5bn); debt/EBITDA 2.2 and net debt/EBITDA 1.7, down from 2.6 in 2023.
- −3Insider tradingCEO Wendell Weeks exercised 100,000 options and sold the shares for $18.6m at $186 on 9/6. The vice chairman sold $2m on 28/8, and the HR director $1.5m on 4/9; net about −$22m over 90 days and no purchases.
- −4Macro and capacity riskThe share price and the Springboard targets ($20bn of annual revenue by the end of 2026, $30bn in 2028) rest on AI fibre demand. Capex of about $2bn in 2026 expands US capacity tenfold, which creates overcapacity if data-centre construction slows.
Plus
Only documented strengths. · 2 findings+3 of +15
- +1Dividend and buybacks from FCFDividends ($991m) and buybacks ($337m) TTM total $1.33bn, below FCF of $2.40bn.
- +2Estimates and validationThe Springboard plan has been upgraded (targets of $30bn in 2028 and $40bn in 2030), and Q3 guidance of $4.9–5.0bn in sales and core EPS of $0.85–0.89 is an acceleration from Q2 (core EPS $0.78, +30%).
Caveats
What the score does not capture, or where the data is weak.
Forward P/E 41 and EV/EBITDA 34 are about double the company's own 2021–25 level. Growth rests on AI fibre to a few hyperscalers and NVIDIA, and capex of about $2bn in 2026 expands US capacity tenfold. TTM cash flow is lifted by customer prepayments. The share is about 19% below the June peak.
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