1. Corning (GLW):
A. The Glass Behind AI:
Corning (GLW) quietly crossed our radar recently. Chances are, you haven’t heard of it. We hadn’t either.
Yet the stock is up roughly 75% in the past six months and is now closing in on a $100B market cap.
GLW is a materials science player with differentiated glass used across TVs, devices and increasingly the physical backbone of AI itself: optical fiber.
We recently laid out why optical hardware is becoming a critical bottleneck in the AI stack. GLW sits directly in that path.
B. Glass Thinner Than Human Hair:
What looks like a “boring glass stock” is really a proxy for optical hardware. Specifically, telecommunications-grade optical fiber.
Nearly 2 billion people access the internet simultaneously through strands of glass thinner than a human hair.
This material is not just thin. It is extraordinarily pure, flexible, and durable. Those properties are non-negotiable at global scale.
Corning invented the three-part OVD process that converts raw chemical inputs into ultra-pure, high-performance optical fiber.
Source: Wired
C. AI Demand, Quantified:
In Q3 2025, Corning’s core revenue came in at $4.27B, up 14% YoY and ahead of company guidance.
However, the strength is concentrated. Optical Communications revenue climbed 33% on rising AI-related network demand.
Source: Corning