Key Trends Fuel Corning

Corning entered 2013 with good momentum, confident that its diverse portfolio of products can address many real-world problems and offer exciting growth opportunities for the company.       

Corning is well positioned to build a bigger, more balanced company through global advancements in 2013, and all of its business segments have the potential for double-digit growth within the next few years. The company also believes it offers “optionality” – the potential for several of its innovation programs to produce significant growth beyond what is expected from its existing businesses.

This potential stems from two key factors. First, major trends (or “megatrends”) are playing to Corning’s strengths and creating new opportunities for its core capabilities in specialty glass and fiber optics. Corning has consistently challenged people’s ideas about what glass can do, and now customers from a broad range of industries are turning to the company to solve tough problems. Second, Corning can adapt existing knowledge and capabilities to address new challenges quickly and cost effectively.

These megatrends are driving Corning’s growth:

The move toward pervasive displays and intuitive interfaces

• Next-generation displays increase the need for highly engineered specialty glass that delivers on clarity, touch sensitivity, durability, and more.
• Smart devices are multiplying rapidly, and new applications are emerging – such as notebook computers with touch capability – creating more demand for tough, thin cover glass.
• Appliance makers and other industries are looking to incorporate “smart” surfaces and turning to Corning to develop solutions.

Consumer demand for seamless delivery of real-time information, anytime, anywhere

• More everyday surfaces – such as subway windows, car dashboards, and refrigerators – will become sophisticated electronic devices.
• An “always on” world is straining communications networks by constantly creating massive amounts of data to store, move, access, and display.
• There is an increased demand for fiber optic technology – the medium of choice to provide required bandwidth and speed.

Push for a cleaner and greener environment

• Corning invented emissions control technology in the 1970s and has set the standard for auto-makers ever since.
• The United States and Europe will continue to tighten clean-air regulations, while developing countries such as China and India will begin to adopt clean-air strategies. This means greater demand for Corning products well into the future.

The advent of personalized and lifestyle medicines

• Healthcare decisions and practices are being tailored to meet individual needs.
• Genetic information, along with environmental, behavioral, medical and motivational influences, are combining to become a greater factor in determining the course of treatment for each unique case.
• The move toward biologics – medicines created by biological vs. chemical processes – plays to Corning’s strength and market leadership in cell culture.
• Corning’s Life Sciences products enable greater efficiency and accuracy in drug discovery. This business is expanding into emerging markets, helping to address the changing healthcare landscape, and is positioned for rapid growth over the next five years.

Corning is uniquely qualified to address the challenges presented by these trends, secure that its strong history in innovation and its reputation for having the know-how to solve difficult problems provides a strong foundation upon which to build its future. Corning’s expertise in specialty glass and ceramics, its core competencies, and its strong balance sheet position the company to offset the inherent risks of cutting-edge innovation.

Corning’s solutions are positively impacting everyday life, and the numbers back it up:

• 1.2 Billion Devices with Corning® Gorilla® Glass
• 1.8 Billion Kilometers of Optical Fiber Installed Worldwide
• 1 Billion LCD TVs Sold Worldwide
• 1.5 Billion Vehicles with Corning’s Proven Clean-Air Products
• 2 Billion Life Sciences Units Sold by Corning in 2012 Alone

Corning’s momentum, along with the company’s continuous reinvestment in R&D, provides a strong basis for growth, and ensures that Corning will continue to solve some of the world’s toughest technology problems.