Corning now sees Q1 core EPS at high end of 48c-52c range, consensus 50c

Raises Q1 revenue view to over $3.6B from $3.6B, consensus $3.64B. Corning (GLW) announced an upgrade to its Springboard plan, along with details on the milestones achieved across the company, at an investor event in New York City. Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer, said, “Today, we upgraded our high-confidence Springboard plan to now add more than $4 billion in annualized sales, and to achieve operating margin of 20%, by the end of 2026. We expect our upgraded sales to come with higher EPS and stronger cash flow and ROIC than we originally anticipated at the start of Springboard. Overall, we’re making great progress on Springboard across the company. Our strategies are working, and our customers are loving our innovations. As a result, in addition to upgrading our Springboard plan, we are raising our first-quarter guidance. We are also excited to launch a new Solar Market-Access Platform, which we expect to be a $2.5 billion business by 2028, with a positive impact on sales, profit, and cash flow later this year.” Ed Schlesinger, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, “When we introduced Springboard one year ago, we laid out a compelling financial plan to deliver robust sales, profit, and cash flow. Since the start of Springboard, we have grown core sales 18% and core EPS 46%, while expanding core operating margin to 18.5%. We also expanded core ROIC 390 basis points. Additionally, we grew adjusted free cash flow by 42% for full-year 2024. Today, we’re providing a significant upgrade to what was already a quite attractive investment thesis. We’ve upgraded our high-confidence Springboard plan by $1 billion. We now expect to add more than $4 billion in annualized sales, and to achieve a 20% operating margin, by the end of 2026.”