Corning Inc (GLW) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Corning's P/E of 48.8 is below its own 5-year median of 50.0.

P/E above the industry

Corning's P/E of 48.8 is above the Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding of Nonferrous median of 22.3.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Corning's EV/EBITDA of 37.7 is above its 5-year median of 37.7.

P/B above the industry

Corning's price-to-book of 7.59 is above the Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding of Nonferrous median of 3.17.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $120.46 is above our fair value estimate of $70.19.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 71.6% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 3.3% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew 5.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth accelerating

Net income grew 57.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 25.5% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 18.8% over the last twelve months; the Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding of Nonferrous median is 18.3%.

Guidance issued

The latest outlook (fourth quarter core sales, Oct 27, 2026) was issued for the first time, so it neither adds nor takes away points.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 36.5% over the last twelve months, against 35.7% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 17.1% over the last twelve months and averaged 9.9% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 13.0%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Corning's return on equity of 17.1% is above the Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding of Nonferrous median of 15.6%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 25.5% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 12.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 8.3%.

Net margin above the industry

Corning's net margin of 12.1% is above the Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding of Nonferrous median of 5.2%.

High debt

Debt is 60.0% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt falling against equity

Debt to equity fell from 60.1% five years ago to 60.0%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 51.1% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 8.0 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.72 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 4.82; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Corning paid dividends worth 0.9% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 0.9% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Corning yields 0.9%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Earnings cover

Needs dividends paid and net income.

Cash-flow cover

Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.