Corning Inc, a specialty glass manufacturer and supplier of Gorilla Glass to companies such as Apple and Samsung Electronics, has reported beating profit estimates for the first quarter of 2023. The company’s price increases helped offset higher raw material costs and a slowdown in demand. The CEO and Chairman, Wendell Weeks, explained that although sales were lower due to recession-level demand in several key markets, profitability improved thanks to the pricing strategy. Corning’s core gross margin increased sequentially to 35.2% in the first quarter, and the company posted an adjusted profit of 41 cents per share, higher than Refinitiv’s data’s expectation of 39 cents.
Although Corning’s core sales fell 10% to $3.37 billion in the first quarter, they were better than expected. Corning expects an increase in sales and profitability in the second quarter, driven by the pricing action and a recovery in the display technologies business. However, the company’s optical communications division and specialty materials business, which makes Gorilla Glass, experienced declining sales of 6% and 18%, respectively.
