Corning 2007 Annual Report

To our shareholders:
Corning Incorporated’s strong performance continued in 2007. We delivered an outstanding year with notable successes
across our broad range of markets and technologies. We also achieved all-time records for net income, at $2.15 billion,
earnings per share, at $1.34, and operating cash flow, at $2.1 billion.
Corning’s commitment to
corporate research and development,
now entering its
100th year, continues to yield
remarkable new products
that demonstrate our distinctive
ability to apply materials
science and process engineering
knowledge to solve
tough customer problems.
We are pleased that the stock
market also acknowledged
our performance. Corning’s
stock was up 28 percent
over 2006, significantly outperforming
the Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index. In fact, our
stock has outperformed the
S&P 500 on a one, three and
five-year basis.
We are delighted with this
progress and will continue
our focus on growing through
innovation, while maintaining
financial stability and
improving balance within our
business portfolio. Our ultimate
goal remains the same:
another 150 years of innovation
and independence.
2007 Highlights
For the past five years we
have built our annual operating
plan around a set of corporate
priorities that have
been the foundation of our
progress:
■ Protect Financial Health
■ Improve Profitability
■ Invest in the Future, and
■ Live the Values
Financial Health
We are committed to ensuring
we have the financial
strength to weather bad
times and to sustain our
ability to invest in long,
capital-intensive innovation
and product development
cycles. We measure financial
health by our balance sheet,
cash flow and credit ratings,
and we performed well
against all these metrics. At
the end of 2007, Corning’s
cash balance of $3.5 billion
was well in excess of total
debt of $1.5 billion. Operating
cash flow in 2007 exceeded
$2.0 billion: an all-time record
for Corning. In addition, all
three of the major U.S. credit
agencies upgraded the company’s
debt ratings to the
equivalent of BBB+.
In July, we announced the
Board of Directors’ decision to
reinstate a quarterly cash dividend
of $0.05 per share of
common stock, as well as
approval of the company’s
repurchase of $500 million of
common stock through the
end of 2008. These decisions
reflect the company’s strong
financial position and confidence
in our ability to sustain
positive free cash flow.
Improve Profitability
Last year marked our fifth
consecutive year of performance
improvement, with
significant growth in net
income and earnings per
share, before special items.
Sales for the year were $5.9
billion, up 13% from 2006,
driven by strong global
demand for our LCD glass,
and by sales of our new diesel
filtration products.
Corning is the display industry’s
leading LCD glass supplier,
both in sales volume and
product innovation. Strong
consumer demand for LCD
televisions continued to drive
healthy growth in the LCD
glass market in 2007. By the
end of the year, approximately
38 percent of all TVs sold