Corning Builds a Moat of Fiber Optic Cable

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) is enjoying a very good year. While its stock price is up nearly 30% year to date, nearly doubling the S&P 500's return, its impressive run looks to continue for some time yet, judging by its recently reported third-quarter results. While its core sales and core EPS growth were modest on the surface, at 6% and 2%, respectively, closer inspection reveals a lot for Corning shareholders to be excited about. The market seemed to like the quarter, too, as the company's stock price jumped more than 6% the day it reported.

We don't have to look far to see why investors were so impressed. Corning's optical communications division -- which manufactures optical fiber and provides connectivity solutions for some of the world's largest telecom networks and cable providers -- showed strong year-over-year core earnings growth of 13% and this division is Corning's second-largest income-earning division. ("Core" numbers are management's favored adjusted financial metrics that it believes best express how the company is performing. For instance, it excludes the impact that foreign exchange rates had on the quarter's numbers.)

Better yet, management stated that the earnings for this division would have been even higher if it hadn't been reinvesting so much back into the business to increase manufacturing capacity.

Source: Fool.com