Corning just reported earnings today:
Specialty glass maker Corning Inc reported that net earnings for the second quarter grew to $496 million or $0.36 per share from $169 million or $0.11 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Excluding items, core earnings for the quarter were $0.38 per share, compared to $0.34 per share in the year-ago quarter.
On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.37 per share for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales for the quarter declined 6 percent to $2.34 billion from $2.48 billion in the same quarter last year. Core net sales were $2.517 billion, compared to $2.512 billion last year. Wall Street expected revenues of $2.54 billion.
Read the whole thing at http://www.nasdaq.com/article/corning-q2-profit-surges-despi…
I own Corning and think of it as a relatively safe investment with solid fundamentals and growth prospects. I’m trying to evaluate my companies based on Saul’s methods here though, and here how its numbers look (to my amateur eyes):
Core Sales (billions) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2012 1.820 1.908 2.038 2.146
2013 1.814 2.021 2.108 2.005
2014 2.326 2.512 2.649 2.602
2015 2.430 2.517
Core Earnings (per share) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2012 0.30 0.31 0.34 0.34
2013 0.30 0.32 0.33 0.29
2014 0.29 0.34 0.40 0.45
2015 0.35 0.38
Core Sales Growth (billions)
2014 Q2 TTM Core Sales = 8.951
2015 Q2 TTM Core Sales = 10.198
Year Over Year Core Sales Growth = 13.93%
Core Earnings Growth (per share)
2014 Q2 TTM Earnings = 1.25
2015 Q2 TTM Earnings = 1.58
Year Over Year EPS Growth = 26.4%
P/E = (Check Current Price) 18.16/1.58 = 11.49
1YPEG = 11.49/26.4 = 0.435
I obviously really like what I see here, but next quarter they start coming up against some tougher comps, so we’ll see how they look then.
My bullish case for Corning consists of five parts:
1) Pipeline loaded with potential. There are a ton of products coming out that are just loaded with growth potential from Corning.
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4K ultra-HD sets that have much larger screens than HD TVs.
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Anti-microbial glass which prevents bacteria from attaching to the glass surface. Think elevator buttons, railings, restaurant tables and even hospital/doctor’s offices’ walls.
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Fast growing optical fiber business. Sales jumped 18% in 2015 1Q.
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Willow glass. Paper-thin glass that can wrap and bend without breaking. Applications include solar panels and OLED lights.
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Project Phire. Shatterproof like Gorilla Glass, scratch-resistant like sapphire.
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The greatest potential of all? That would be new and improved windshield glass for automobiles. If car manufacturers need to keep coming up with ways to meet stricter and stricter fuel standards in the future, don’t rule out a few possibly turning to Corning for a stronger and much lighter glass to use in windshields.
2) Corning’s P/E is currently below its ten year average of 14.
3) Corning is sitting on a about $1.50 per share in cash.
4) Nice dividend with room for growth. Current yield is 2.3%. CEO Wendell Weeks has promised it will continue to grow.
5) Since 2011, Corning has bought back 12% of its shares outstanding. More buybacks are planned.
Does anybody else here own Corning or have additional thoughts? I would greatly appreciate any feedback as I try to continue to evaluate and analyze my holdings better. Thanks.
- Matt