Meet the Super Semiconductor Stock Crushing Nvidia in 2026

GLW has surged 82% in 2026, outrunning NVDA's 28% gain as fiber-optic demand from AI data centers drives the glassmaker's rally.

The catalyst is the shift from copper to fiber-optic cabling inside data centers. Corning's optical communications segment grew 34% in the first half of 2026, and AI-related sales nearly doubled in the second quarter. Named customer wins include a $6B deal with META and an agreement with AMZN.

Management is guiding to aggressive revenue targets: $20B by the end of 2026, $30B by 2028, and $40B by 2030. Those milestones give the bull case a measurable scorecard.

The cost of admission is steep. GLW trades at a P/E of 55.5, versus 30.2 for NVDA. Interpretation: the market is already pricing in a large share of the growth path, so a stumble against the $20B target would likely hit harder than it would for a lower-multiple name.

The 175-year-old company is now being valued like a high-growth AI infrastructure play rather than a legacy materials maker. The 54-point gap in year-to-date performance versus NVDA shows where momentum has rotated within the AI trade.