July 27, 2021Second-quarter core sales of $3.5 billion grew 35% from Q2 2020 and 17% from Q2 2019; Core EPS grew 112% year over year to $0.53 on higher sales and expanded margins; Free cash flow of $471 million grew $186 million, or 65%, year over year
CORNING, N.Y., July 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, and provided an outlook for the third quarter of 2021.
- GAAP and core sales were $3.5 billion; core sales grew 35% year over year and 17% versus second-quarter 2019.
- GAAP net income was $449 million and core net income was $459 million.
- GAAP EPS was ($0.42) and core EPS was $0.53, up 112% year over year and 18% versus second-quarter 2019.
- The difference between GAAP and core EPS was primarily due to a one-time accounting treatment resulting from the Samsung Display Co., Ltd. preferred share transaction, which reduced fully diluted share count by 35 million.
- Gross margin expanded 200 basis points sequentially to 37.8%, and operating margin expanded 120 basis points sequentially to 18.3%.
- Free cash flow of $471 million grew $186 million year over year; first-half free cash flow generation was $843 million.
- Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company expects core sales to be in the range of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion and core EPS in the range of $0.54 to $0.59.
“Corning had an outstanding second quarter. We are growing faster than our underlying markets and achieved a revenue milestone of $3.5 billion, establishing a strong sales run rate. We are performing well as we continue to build a stronger, more agile company that’s consistently delivering meaningful and important contributions,” said Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer. “Corning’s deep commitment to life-changing innovation and our people’s unwavering dedication continue to drive us forward.”
Tony Tripeny, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, “Corning is on track to deliver an outstanding year. In the second quarter we added almost $1 billion in sales year over year and a half billion in sales over pre-pandemic levels; we improved margins year over year and sequentially, contributing to strong EPS; and we generated significant operating and free cash flow. We are confident this momentum will continue.”
Tripeny continued, “Our value creation model is working. We pursue opportunities that utilize capabilities from our focused and cohesive portfolio to drive growth. By repurposing and reapplying capabilities, we’re increasing our probability of success, lowering our cost of innovation, and becoming more capital efficient.”
