Optical fiber boom pushes Samsung’s Corning stake to 8.5 trillion won
Samsung Electronics’ half-century partnership with Corning is entering a new phase — this time powered by artificial intelligence.
A sharp rally in Corning’s shares, driven by soaring demand for optical fiber used in AI data centers, has lifted the value of Samsung’s stake in the US materials company by more than 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion). But beyond the paper gains, the surge underscores how a 1970s industrial alliance has evolved into a strategic position in the backbone of the AI economy.
From TV glass to AI fiber
Corning is widely known for Gorilla Glass used in smartphones. Today, however, its growth engine is optical fiber and cable — the physical infrastructure that connects AI data centers and enables high-bandwidth computing.
As hyperscalers expand AI capacity, demand for fiber has accelerated sharply. Corning’s stock surged 84 percent in 2024, rising from $47.52 at the end of 2023 to $87.56 at year-end. Shares have extended gains this year, climbing more than 50 percent to trade near record highs.
The rally has translated directly into investment gains for Samsung. According to Samsung Display’s 2025 audit report, the company held 68 million Corning shares at the end of last year, down from 74 million a year earlier following staged sales. Despite the smaller stake, the holding’s value jumped to 8.54 trillion won from 5.17 trillion won — an increase of roughly 3.37 trillion won.
Corning’s underlying performance reflects the shift. The company reported 2025 net income of $1.59 billion, more than triple the previous year’s level, while revenue rose 19 percent to $15.6 billion. A $6 billion long-term optical fiber supply agreement with Meta Platforms through 2030 has reinforced its positioning at the center of AI infrastructure build-out.
A partnership forged in crisis
The financial windfall adds a new chapter to a partnership that dates back to 1973.
At the time, Samsung relied entirely on Japanese imports for bulb glass used in cathode-ray tube televisions — a component accounting for roughly half of production costs. That dependence undermined export competitiveness and exposed the company to supply risk.
Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull turned to Corning to establish Samsung Corning Precision Glass, localizing production and laying the foundation for Samsung’s display business. By the 1980s, the joint venture had become a global leader in CRT glass manufacturing.
The relationship deepened over the decades. In 2013, Samsung Display sold its stake in the joint venture to Corning in exchange for convertible securities that were later converted into common shares, making Samsung one of Corning’s largest shareholders.
What began as a supply localization effort has effectively become a long-term strategic investment in materials science.
From supply crisis to AI infrastructure
Periodic share sales in recent years had prompted speculation that ties were loosening. Yet senior executives on both sides have repeatedly emphasized the partnership’s strategic significance.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended Corning’s 50th anniversary investment ceremony in Asan in 2023, crediting Corning’s early cooperation as pivotal to Samsung’s global rise.
"Almost miraculously, 50 years ago, Corning extended its hand to Samsung, then a little-known company in a poor country on the other side of the globe," Lee said at the event. "Corning's friendship and cooperation became a crucial stepping stone in Samsung's rise as a global company."
Weeks later, Corning Chairman Wendell Weeks appeared alongside Lee at a gala event in Washington — a signal of unusually close corporate alignment spanning five decades.
Today, the strategic context has shifted dramatically. Instead of CRT glass for televisions, the focus is fiber optics powering AI clusters. Instead of industrial catch-up, the partnership now sits at the intersection of US-Korea technology supply chains.
Corning, founded in 1851 and long associated with glass and ceramics, first gained prominence supplying glass for Thomas Edison’s light bulb. It later pioneered optical fiber, enabling modern data transmission. That legacy now places it at the center of AI’s physical infrastructure layer.
By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)
