New York, Feb 9, 2026, 15:14 (EST) — Regular session
- Corning shares climbed roughly 7%, trading near $130.9 in the afternoon after reaching a high of $132.17 earlier.
- Bulls are pointing to the company’s role in optical fiber for data-center expansion. The Meta deal remains a central talking point.
- Investors have their eye on U.S. jobs data set for Feb. 11, with inflation numbers following on Feb. 13—both seen as potential signals on rates.
Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) climbed roughly 7% in afternoon action Monday, changing hands near $130.9. The stock notched another record, having touched $132.17 earlier in the session.
Corning notched its first record close since the dot-com boom on Friday, sending the stock into uncharted territory. Shares have surged in early 2026, as investors bet on Corning’s role in the ongoing surge of AI-driven data-center investment. 1
The uptick is significant: Corning’s optical-fiber and connectivity lines are right in the thick of data-center expansions, a segment where demand arrives in unpredictable surges—though once projects are greenlit, that business can last for years. These optical offerings account for close to 40% of Corning’s top line. Executives have been highlighting stronger orders tied to robust computing needs and heavier data flows. 2
Corning landed a major boost in late January, locking in a multiyear agreement with Meta Platforms that could bring in as much as $6 billion by 2030. Corning CEO Wendell Weeks described the deal as a move to “strengthen domestic supply chains” for advanced U.S. data centers. 3
Broker research hasn’t let this one fade. UBS’s Joshua Spector bumped his price target on Corning up to $125 from $109 in a Jan. 30 note, referencing management’s signals that additional optical deals may follow the Meta agreement, a published report summary shows. 4
Corning has been pushing investors to raise their sights, citing its own data as evidence. The Jan. 28 earnings report showed fourth-quarter core sales at $4.41 billion and core earnings per share coming in at $0.72. For the first quarter, the company is guiding to core sales between $4.2 billion and $4.3 billion, and expects core EPS in the $0.66 to $0.70 range. These “core” results are non-GAAP, stripping out select items. “We now have a highly profitable launch point for future growth,” Weeks told investors. 5
Heavy action hit the stock Monday—over 12 million shares traded by mid-afternoon. After starting at $124, it whipped across a broad range, then settled close to session highs.
But there’s a flip side here. Corning now sits squarely in the thick of the “AI infrastructure” pack, and if cloud spending slows or consumer electronics orders for glass and displays start to slip, the stock could snap lower just as quickly after this surge.
A Form 144 filed Monday revealed a shareholder intends to unload 15,000 Corning shares via UBS Financial Services Inc.—a standard regulatory move that often signals an upcoming stock sale under SEC guidelines. 6
Macro numbers are next up on the radar, with potential to swing sentiment fast—particularly for those momentum stocks that move on rates. The Labor Department’s calendar has the January jobs data landing Feb. 11, followed by CPI for January two days later, on Feb. 13. 7
