EH&S Technician

Corning announces $585 million Wilmington expansion, adding 414 jobs. October 21, 2026 WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) - Corning Incorporated announced Wednesday, Oct. 21, that it will invest $585 million to expand its Wilmington optical fiber manufacturing facility, creating 414 jobs over the next five years. The expansion will increase the company's local workforce, which currently stands at approximately 1,000 employees. According to Wilmington Business Development, the new positions will offer average annual salaries exceeding $85,000, compared with New Hanover County's average annual wage of approximately $70,000. Once hiring is complete, the additional jobs are expected to generate more than $35 million in annual payroll for the region. The announcement follows votes earlier this week by the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners and Wilmington City Council to approve a combined $5 million in performance-based incentives for the project. County commissioners approved $3 million Monday, while City Council unanimously approved $2 million Tuesday. The incentives are tied to job creation and investment requirements. The expansion, previously known as "Project Pearl 2," was considered alongside other potential locations before Corning selected Wilmington. The company says the investment will support growing demand for optical fiber used in artificial intelligence infrastructure and telecommunications networks. "We're proud to expand our presence in Wilmington, where Corning made history with the world's first optical fiber manufacturing plant and where our people continue to make the fiber that is critical to next-generation networks," said John McGirr, senior vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Fiber and Cable. "For decades, our talented workforce here has helped keep Corning at the forefront of optical communications. We're excited about what comes next, and we're grateful to the City of Wilmington, New Hanover County and our key community partners, like Wilmington Business Development, for their continued support and partnership." New Hanover County Commissioners Chair LeAnn Pierce said the incentives are structured to ensure the company meets its commitments. "This expansion means 414 new jobs at an average wage of more than $85,000. Those are good paychecks for families in our community. The grant is tied to those jobs and that investment, and that is exactly how it should work," Pierce said. Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo also expressed support for the expansion. "This project represents hundreds of new, good-paying jobs, a significant investment in our local economy and opportunities for families across our region. We're proud to work alongside New Hanover County to support this kind of economic growth, while making sure our investment is tied to real results," Saffo said. Corning has operated in Wilmington since 1966, when its facility initially manufactured electric resistors used in televisions and household appliances. The company later became a pioneer in optical fiber technology, with its Wilmington operation becoming the world's first optical fiber manufacturing plant. Corning also partners with Cape Fear Community College through its Technician Pipeline Program, a two-year apprenticeship program that graduated its first class in May 2023. Wilmington Business Development CEO Scott Satterfield said the expansion reflects the company's longstanding presence in the region. "It's impossible to overstate how important this company is to Greater Wilmington," Satterfield said. Corning, headquartered in New York, employs more than 70,000 people worldwide. The company has not announced a specific timeline for construction or when individual positions will become available.

Wilmington considers $2 million incentive to secure Corning expansion. 3 hours ago WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) - A major economic development decision is now in the hands of Wilmington City Council, which will decide whether to contribute $2 million toward an incentive package designed to bring a major Corning expansion to New Hanover County. County commissioners have already unanimously approved $3 million in incentives for the proposed expansion. The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday evening on whether to add $2 million to the package. Corning, a multinational manufacturer of fiber-optics used in data centers and internet networks, is considering expanding its Wilmington operations. Local leaders hope the incentives will help secure the project and encourage the company to continue investing in the area. "We're pushing hard, and we really want them to end up selecting Wilmington, New Hanover County, as the place for them to make their expansion," said New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise. Scalise said the county wants to encourage Corning to expand its existing Wilmington facility rather than pursue other locations. "Corning is a major, multinational company. They have operations throughout the world, and we love that they're here, they've been here for a long time, and the fact that they're considering this area and that they want to expand their operations here is a really good sign," said Scalise. The proposed incentive package, known as Project Pearl 2, would provide financial incentives tied to the company's investment in its facility and the jobs it creates. Wilmington Chief of Staff Dennis Lacaria explained how the program works. "It's basically a credit against tax revenues that are generated through a business relocation or expansion. In this case, it's an expansion. of an existing business, making an investment in their facility, hiring and jobs, and this was a package that had to be competitive as well, and we worked with our partners in the county, and everybody had an opportunity to share in this project," said Lacaria. Beyond the potential Corning expansion, city and county officials say incentives can help demonstrate that the region is prepared to compete for major business investments and attract additional employers. "Whenever we showcase to the broader business community that we're open for business, that we're serious operators, this is something that brings more jobs to our community, that's part of the value proposition here," said Scalise. City Council's vote Tuesday will determine whether Wilmington joins the county in contributing to the incentive package as local leaders work to secure Corning's proposed expansion.

Corning is moving beyond fiber cables. Can AI networking pay off? Published October 19, 2026 at 9:39 am EDT Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is one of the top 10 Co-Packaged Optics Stocks to buy in 2026. It is benefiting from the AI data center boom, and its push into photonics could provide another growth driver. On October 12, the company joined Lumentum and Astera Labs to demonstrate optical connectivity for AI rack-scale systems at the 2026 Open Compute Project Global Summit. The demonstration focused on PCIe connectivity over optics, highlighting the industry's push to move optical technology closer to computing hardware. Earlier, Corning partnered with Nvidia to expand US manufacturing capacity, including a planned tenfold increase in optical connectivity capacity. In my view, these developments show that the company is positioning itself to benefit from both current AI infrastructure demand and the next phase of optical networking. GLW is capitalizing on AI infrastructure demand, but where can investors find other AI stocks that offer an even better growth rate? Fortunately, GLW ranks at 10th in our Top 10 Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) Stocks to Buy in 2026, which means there are 9 other CPO stocks with an even better growth rate! Why I think Corning deserves a place on the list. Corning's biggest opportunity is to sell more optical components inside AI systems, not just more fiber-optic cables. During its July earnings call, CEO Wendell Weeks said the company had not traditionally supplied components inside these systems. CPO could change that. Corning already has a growing AI network business, with Optical Communications sales rising 32% year-over-year to $2.07 billion in Q2 2026. Management also said it sees a potential $10 billion revenue opportunity by 2030 from a new photonics platform for components inside equipment. It stressed that the timing and the degree of adoption are uncertain, and it hasn't given a photonics revenue outlook for the next year. In my view, Corning's growing optical networking business gives it an existing growth engine, while CPO could provide an additional source of growth as AI systems become more demanding. CPO could open a new growth path for the company, but growth potential is only part of the investment picture. Explore 10 stocks with low debt and strong free cash flow. Corning's growth potential must justify its premium. Corning trades well above its historical average, and its growth outlook will need to justify that premium. The forward non-GAAP P/E of 44.81x is about 84% above its 5-year average of 24.31x, while the forward price-to-sales ratio of 6.57x is more than double its historical average of 3.14x. Earnings growth could help support these multiples. Analysts expect EPS to grow 30.41% in December 2026 and 33.02% in December 2027. However, slower AI spending or delayed CPO adoption could pressure the stock. In my view, Corning's existing AI networking growth and long-term CPO opportunity make the stock worth buying for investors willing to accept its premium valuation and execution risks. Hedge funds have been piling in. Funds holding GLW rose from 91 in Q1 to 99 in Q2. The value of their stakes rose much more sharply, going from $4 billion to $5.1 billion.