Shares of fiber optic cable manufacturer Corning (GLW) surged 10.84% on Monday to close at $207.21, approaching its 52-week high of $209. The gains came after Bank of America analysts added the stock to its “US 1 List” (the bank’s top picks list), extending the momentum from last week’s transaction with Nvidia.
Corning and Nvidia disclosed on May 6 a multi-year commercial and technological collaboration aimed at expanding U.S.-based manufacturing of advanced optical connectivity products for AI infrastructure. Corning plans to increase its domestic optical connectivity production capacity tenfold, with U.S. fiber optic output projected to grow by more than 50%. The two companies stated they would build three new advanced manufacturing facilities (two in Texas and one in North Carolina) and create over 3,000 jobs. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described AI as “the biggest infrastructure build of our time,” while Corning’s Wendell Weeks noted that this is not just a technology story but also a “manufacturing story.”
According to securities filings, Nvidia paid $500 million to obtain warrants from Corning, granting it the option to purchase up to 15 million Corning shares at $180 per share, in addition to pre-funded warrants for another 3 million shares at a nominal exercise price. Nvidia has also committed several billion dollars to support Corning’s factory construction.
Wall Street analysts have generally taken a positive stance following news of Nvidia’s stake. Bank of America added Corning to its top picks list early Monday. Previously, Oppenheimer raised its price target to $210, UBS to $223, and Citi to $225. Currently, the average Wall Street price target for Corning is around $202, with a median of $210 and a high of $230.
Analyst Martin Yang reiterated an “Outperform” rating, pointing out that through deep integration with ecosystem leaders such as Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT), Corning has positioned itself as a key infrastructure provider in the construction of generative AI data centers. By 2030, its current enterprise business could scale up two to three times. Citi analyst Asiya Merchant maintained a “Buy” rating, emphasizing that each AI accelerator generates approximately $500 to $1,000 in value for optical connectivity, and noted that Corning’s collaboration with Microsoft on hollow-core fiber optics confirms strong demand.
Corning’s core strength lies in its vertically integrated “glass-to-systems” capability, enabling end-to-end optical connectivity solutions. However, non-optical divisions remain uneven, with slow electronics upgrades and weak smartphone demand dragging on some business segments. For the second quarter, Corning expects core sales of approximately $4.6 billion, slightly below analyst estimates. Additionally, risks remain, including potential delays in AI orders, extended factory construction timelines, or budget adjustments by cloud buyers.
