CORNING INC /NY - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019

OR

For the transition period from ___ to ___

Commission file number: 1-3247

CORNING INCORPORATED

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

607-974-9000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes   x                                   No   ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

Yes   ¨                                   No   x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes   x                                   No   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files.)

Yes   x                                   No   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes   ¨                                   No   x

As of June 30, 2019, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $25 billion based on the $33.23 price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.

There were 763,628,266 shares of Corning’s common stock issued and outstanding as of February 10, 2020.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement dated March 20, 2020, and filed for the Registrant’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as specifically set forth in Part III.

PART I

Corning Incorporated and its consolidated subsidiaries are hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “Company,” the “Registrant,” “Corning,” or “we.”

This report contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to our future plans, objectives, expectations and estimates and may contain words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” or similar expressions. Our actual results could differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in our forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could contribute to these differences include those discussed under “Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and elsewhere in this report.

Item 1. Business

General

Corning traces its origins to a glass business established in 1851. The present corporation was incorporated in the State of New York in December 1936. The Company’s name was changed from Corning Glass Works to Corning Incorporated on April 28, 1989.

Corning Incorporated is a leading innovator in materials science. For more than 165 years, Corning has combined its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics with deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance people's lives. We succeed through sustained investment in research and development, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries.

Corning’s capabilities are versatile and synergistic, allowing the company to evolve to meet changing market needs, while also helping our customers capture new opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning’s markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display technology, automotive emissions control and glass products and life sciences vessels. Corning's industry-leading products include damage-resistant cover glass for mobile devices; precision glass for advanced displays; optical fiber, wireless technologies, and connectivity solutions for state-of-the-art communications networks; trusted products to accelerate drug discovery and delivery; and clean-air technologies for cars and trucks.

Corning operates in five reportable segments: Display Technologies, Optical Communications, Environmental Technologies, Specialty Materials and Life Sciences, and manufactures products at 116 plants in 15 countries.

Display Technologies Segment

Corning’s Display Technologies segment manufactures glass substrates for high-performance displays, including organic light-emitting diode (“OLEDs”) and liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”) that are used primarily in televisions, notebook computers and flat panel desktop monitors. This segment develops, manufactures and supplies high quality glass substrates using technology expertise and a proprietary fusion manufacturing process, which Corning invented and is the cornerstone of the Company’s technology leadership in the display glass industry. Our highly automated process yields glass substrates with a pristine surface and excellent thermal dimensional stability and uniformity – essential attributes in the production of large, high-performance display panels. Corning’s fusion process is scalable and we believe it is the most cost-effective process in producing large size substrates.

We are recognized for providing product innovations that enable our customers to produce larger, lighter, thinner and higher-resolution displays. Some of the product innovations we have launched over the past ten years utilizing our world-class processes and capabilities include the following:

Corning® EAGLE XG® Slim Glass, a line of thin glass substrates which enables lighter-weight portable devices and thinner televisions and monitors;

Corning IRIS™ Glass, a light-guide plate solution which enables televisions and monitors to be less the 5-mm thick;

The family of Corning LOTUS™ Glass, high-performance display glass developed to enable cutting-edge technologies, OLEDs and next generation LCDs. These substrate glasses provide industry-leading levels of low total pitch variation, resulting in brighter, more energy-efficient displays with higher resolutions for consumers and better yields for panel makers;

The world’s first Gen 10 and Gen 10.5 glass substrates in support of improved efficiency in manufacturing large-sized televisions; and

Astra Glass™, an optimized glass solution to meet the emerging needs for future high-resolution displays. These substrate glasses enable higher-resolution oxide displays for consumers.

Corning has display glass manufacturing operations in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China, and services all its glass customers in all regions directly, utilizing its manufacturing facilities throughout Asia.

Patent protection and proprietary trade secrets are important to the Display Technologies segment’s operations. Refer to the material under the heading “Patents and Trademarks” for information relating to patents and trademarks.

The Display Technologies segment represented 28% of Corning’s segment net sales in 2019.

Optical Communications Segment

Corning invented the world’s first low-loss optical fiber in 1970. Since that milestone, we have continued to pioneer optical fiber, cable and connectivity solutions. As global bandwidth demand driven by video usage grows exponentially, telecommunications networks continue to migrate from copper to optical-based systems that can deliver the required cost-effective bandwidth-carrying capacity. Our experience puts us in a unique position to design and deliver optical solutions that reach every edge of the communications network.

This segment is classified into two main product groupings – carrier network and enterprise network. The carrier network group consists primarily of products and solutions for optical-based communications infrastructure for services such as video, data and voice communications. The enterprise network group consists primarily of optical-based communication networks sold to businesses, governments and individuals for their own use.

Our carrier network product portfolio encompasses an array of optical fiber products, including Vascade submarine optical fibers for use in submarine networks; LEAF optical fiber for long-haul, regional and metropolitan networks; SMF-28 ULL fiber for more scalable long-haul and regional networks; SMF-28e+ single-mode optical fiber that provides additional transmission wavelengths in metropolitan and access networks; ClearCurve ultra-bendable single-mode fiber for use in multiple-dwelling units and fiber-to-the-home applications; and Corning® SMF-28® Ultra Fiber, designed for high performance across the range of long-haul, metro, access, fiber-to-the-home network applications, combining the benefits of industry-leading attenuation and improved macrobend performance in one fiber. A portion of our optical fiber is sold directly to end users and third-party cablers globally. Corning’s remaining fiber production is cabled internally and sold to end users as either bulk cable or as part of an integrated optical solution. Corning’s cable products support various outdoor, indoor/outdoor and indoor applications and include a broad range of loose tube, ribbon and drop cable designs with flame-retardant versions available for indoor and indoor/outdoor use including 5G networks.

In addition to optical fiber and cable, our carrier network product portfolio also includes hardware and equipment products, including cable assemblies, fiber-optic hardware, fiber-optic connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories. These products may be sold as individual components or as part of integrated optical connectivity solutions designed for various carrier network applications. Examples of these solutions include our FlexNAP^TM terminal distribution system, which provides pre-connectorized distribution and drop cable assemblies for cost-effectively deploying fiber-to-the-home (“FTTH”) and 5G networks; and the Centrix^TM platform, which provides a high-density fiber management system with industry-leading density and innovative jumper routing that can be deployed in a wide variety of carrier switching centers.

To keep pace with surging demand for mobile bandwidth, Corning has a full complement of operator-grade distributed antenna systems (“DAS”), including the recently developed Optical Network Evolution wireless platform. The ONE™ Wireless Platform (“ONE”) is the first all-optical converged cellular and Wi-Fi® solution built on an all-optical backbone with modular service support. It provides virtually unlimited bandwidth, and meets all wireless service needs of large-scale enterprises at a lower cost than the typical DAS solution.

In addition to our optical-based portfolio, Corning’s carrier network portfolio also contains select copper-based products including subscriber demarcation, connection and protection devices, xDSL (different variations of digital subscriber lines) passive solutions and outside plant enclosures. In addition, Corning offers coaxial RF interconnects for the cable television industry as well as microwave applications for GPS, radars, satellites, manned and unmanned military vehicles, wireless applications and telecommunications systems.

Our enterprise network portfolio also includes optical fiber products, including ClearCurve ultra-bendable multimode fiber for private and hyperscale data centers and other enterprise network applications; InfiniCor fibers for local area networks; and more recently ClearCurve VSDN ultra-bendable optical fiber designed to support emerging high-speed interconnects between computers and other consumer electronics devices. The remainder of Corning’s fiber production is cabled internally and sold to end users as either bulk cable or as part of an integrated optical solution. Corning’s cable products include a broad range of tight-buffered, loose tube and ribbon cable designs with flame-retardant versions available for indoor and indoor/outdoor applications that meet local building code requirements.

Corning’s hardware and equipment for enterprise network applications include cable assemblies, fiber-optic hardware, fiber-optic connectors, optical components and couplers, closures and other accessories. These products may be sold as individual components or as part of integrated optical connectivity solutions designed for various network applications, including hyperscale data centers. Examples of enterprise network solutions include the Pretium EDGE platform, which provides high-density pre-connectorized solutions for data center applications, and continues to evolve with recent updates for upgrading to 40/100G applications and port tap modules for network monitoring; the previously mentioned ONE Wireless platform, which spans both carrier and enterprise network applications; and our recently introduced optical connectivity solutions to support customer initiatives.

During 2018, Corning acquired substantially all of the 3M Company’s (3M) Communication Markets Division (“CMD”) for $841 million. This transaction served to augment its Optical Communications segment’s global market access and expand its broad portfolio of high-bandwidth optical connectors, assemblies, hardware, and accessories for carrier networks, enterprise LAN and data center solutions.

Our optical fiber manufacturing facilities are in North Carolina, China and India. Cabling operations are in North Carolina, Poland and smaller regional locations. Our manufacturing operations for hardware and equipment products are in Texas, Arizona, Mexico, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Israel, Australia and China.

Patent protection is important to the segment’s operations. The segment has an extensive portfolio of patents relating to its products, technologies and manufacturing processes. The segment licenses certain of its patents to third parties and generates revenue from these licenses, although the royalty income is not currently material to this segment’s operating results. Corning is licensed to use certain patents owned by others, which are considered important to the segment’s operations. Refer to the material under the heading “Patents and Trademarks” for information relating to the Company’s patents and trademarks.

The Optical Communications segment represented 35% of Corning’s segment net sales in 2019.

Specialty Materials Segment

The Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that provide more than 150 material formulations for glass, glass ceramics and fluoride crystals to meet demand for unique customer needs. Consequently, this segment operates in a wide variety of commercial and industrial markets including display optics and components, semiconductor optics components, aerospace and defense, astronomy, ophthalmic products, telecommunications components and cover glass optimized for display devices.

Our cover glass, known as Corning® Gorilla® Glass, is a thin sheet glass designed specifically to function as a cover glass for display devices such as mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches and notebook PCs. Elegant and lightweight, Corning® Gorilla® Glass is durable enough to resist many real-world events that commonly cause glass failure, while maintaining optical clarity, touch sensitivity, and damage resistance, enabling exciting new applications in technology and design. In 2018, Corning unveiled its latest Corning® Gorilla® Glass innovation, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 6, which is designed to be stronger than previous formulas and provide further protection against breakage. Corning® Gorilla® Glass 6 survives higher drop heights and more repeated drops than Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5.

Corning® Gorilla® Glass is manufactured in Kentucky, South Korea and Taiwan.

Semiconductor optics manufactured by Corning include high-performance optical material products, optical-based metrology instruments and optical assemblies for applications in the global semiconductor industry. Corning’s semiconductor optics products are manufactured in New York.

Other specialty glass products include glass lens and window components and assemblies made in New York, New Hampshire and France, and sourced from China.

Patent protection is important to the segment’s operations. The segment has a growing portfolio of patents relating to its products, technologies and manufacturing processes. Brand recognition and loyalty, through well-known trademarks, are important to the segment. Refer to the material under the heading “Patents and Trademarks” for information relating to the Company’s patents and trademarks.

The Specialty Materials segment represented 14% of Corning’s segment net sales in 2019.

Environmental Technologies Segment

Corning’s Environmental Technologies segment manufactures ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile applications around the world.  In the early 1970s, Corning developed an economical, high-performance cellular ceramic substrate that is now the standard for catalytic converters in vehicles worldwide.  As global emissions control regulations tighten, Corning has continued to develop more effective and durable ceramic substrate and filter products for gasoline and diesel applications, most recently launching gasoline particulate filters. Corning manufactures substrate and filter products in New York, Virginia, China, Germany and South Africa. Corning sells its ceramic substrate and filter products worldwide to catalyzers and manufacturers of emission control systems who then sell to automotive and diesel vehicle or engine manufacturers.  Although most sales are made to the emission control systems manufacturers, the use of Corning substrates and filters is generally required by the specifications of the automotive and diesel vehicle or engine manufacturers.

Patent protection is important to the segment’s operations. The segment has an extensive portfolio of patents relating to its products, technologies and manufacturing processes. Corning is licensed to use certain patents owned by others, which are also considered important to the segment’s operations. Refer to the material under the heading “Patents and Trademarks” for information relating to the Company’s patents and trademarks.

The Environmental Technologies segment represented 12% of Corning’s segment net sales in 2019.

Life Sciences Segment

As a leading developer, manufacturer and global supplier of laboratory products for over 100 years, Corning’s Life Sciences segment works with researchers and drug manufacturers seeking to drive innovation, increase efficiencies, reduce costs and compress timelines. Using unique expertise in the fields of materials science, polymer surface science, cell culture and cell biology, the segment provides innovative solutions that improve productivity and enable breakthrough research for traditional small molecule, or chemical, drugs and for emerging cell and gene therapies.

Life Sciences products include consumables, such as plastic vessels, specialty surfaces, cell culture media and serum, as well as general labware and equipment.  These products are used for drug discovery research and development, compound screening and toxicology testing, advanced cell culture research, genomics and mass production of cells for clinical trials and bioproduction. 

Corning sells life sciences products under these primary brands: Corning, Falcon, Pyrex and Axygen. The products are marketed globally, primarily through distributors, to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract manufacturing organizations, academic institutions, hospitals, government entities, and other facilities. Corning manufactures these products in California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Utah, Virginia, China, France, Mexico and Poland.

Patent protection is important to the segment’s operations. The segment has a growing portfolio of patents relating to its products, technologies and manufacturing processes. Brand recognition and loyalty, through well-known trademarks, are important to the segment. Refer to the material under the heading “Patents and Trademarks” for more information.

The Life Sciences segment represented 9% of Corning’s segment net sales in 2019.

All Other

All other segments that do not meet the quantitative threshold for separate reporting have been grouped as “All Other.” This group is primarily comprised of the results of the pharmaceutical technologies business, auto glass, new product lines and development projects, as well as certain corporate investments.

The All Other segment represented 2% of Corning’s segment net sales in 2019.

Additional explanation regarding Corning and its five reportable segments, as well as financial information about geographic areas, is presented in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Note 18 (Reportable Segments) to the consolidated financial statements.

Corporate Investments

Hemlock Semiconductor Group (“HSG”)

In 2016, Corning realigned its ownership interest in Dow Corning, exchanging its 50% interest in the joint venture between Corning and Dow Chemical for a newly formed company that holds a 49.9% interest in Hemlock Semiconductor LLC and a 40.25% interest in Hemlock Semiconductor Operations LLC which are recorded as equity method investments of Corning and are affiliated companies of HSG. HSG manufactures polysilicon products for the semiconductor and solar industries. HSG’s solar business primarily serves the solar power panel industry.

In prior years, HSG’s solar and semiconductor customers entered into long-term “take or pay” contracts which included up-front cash payments to secure capacity. During the last few years, and more significantly in 2019, the solar power panel industry experienced significant over-capacity in the market, resulting in declining sales volumes and market prices. As a result, HSG’s solar business experienced lower market penetration, overall price declines, and settled contracts with customers that had committed volume and fixed pricing above the current market price. While

these settlements positively impacted HSG’s cash flow in 2019, they reduced expectations for future sales in HSG’s solar business.

Due to the adverse change in HSG’s solar business, HSG was required to assess the recoverability of its long-lived assets in the fourth quarter. Based on this assessment, HSG determined that the carrying values of HSG’s solar asset group significantly exceeded its fair values. HSG engaged a third-party appraiser to assist in determining the fair value of the assets within in the solar asset group based on the highest and best use of the asset group.  As a result of the fair value determination, HSG recognized a pre-tax asset impairment charge of $916 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.  Corning’s share of the pre-tax impairment was $369 million.

Due to the adverse changes above, the carrying values of HSG’s solar business inventories were also affected resulting in an inventory write-down of $257 million for the year. Corning’s pre-tax share of the provision was $105 million.

HSG adopted the new revenue standard on January 1, 2019 and the timing of HSG’s revenue recognition for certain remaining performance obligations measured at January 1, 2019 was deferred for recognition. This deferral reduced the carrying amount of Corning’s investment in HSG by $239 million. During the fourth quarter, a significant number of the performance obligations were satisfied and $434 million was recognized into HSG’s net income. Corning’s share of the equity earnings was $208 million.

In addition, HSG settled certain revenue contracts in the fourth quarter, resulting in settlement gains of $383 million in net income. Corning’s share of the settlement gains was $185 million.

Additional information about corporate investments is presented in Note 6 (Investments) to the consolidated financial statements.

Competition

Corning competes with many large and varied manufacturers, both domestic and foreign. Some of these competitors are larger than Corning, and some have broader product lines. Corning strives to maintain and improve its market position through technology and product innovation. For the foreseeable future, Corning believes its competitive advantage lies in its commitment to research and development, reliability of supply, product quality and technical specification of its products. There is no assurance that Corning will be able to maintain or improve its market position or competitive advantage.

Display Technologies Segment

Corning is the largest worldwide producer of glass substrates for high-performance display glass. The environment for high-performance display glass substrate products is very competitive and Corning believes it has maintained its competitive advantages by investing in new products, continually improving its proprietary fusion manufacturing process and providing a consistent and reliable supply of high quality products. Our process allows us to deliver glass that is larger, thinner and lighter, with exceptional surface quality and without heavy metals. Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. and Nippon Electric Glass Co. Ltd. are Corning’s principal competitors in display glass substrates.

Optical Communications Segment

Corning believes it maintains a leadership position in the segment’s principal product groups, which include carrier and enterprise networks. The competitive landscape includes industry consolidation, price pressure and competition for the innovation of new products. These competitive conditions are likely to persist. Corning believes its large-scale manufacturing experience, fiber process, technology leadership and intellectual property provide cost advantages relative to several of its competitors. The primary competing producers of the Optical Communications segment are CommScope and Prysmian Group.

Specialty Materials Segment

Corning has deep capabilities in materials science, optical design, shaping, coating, finishing, metrology and system assembly. We continue to address the emerging needs of the consumer electronics industry with the development of chemically strengthened glass. Corning® Gorilla® Glass is a thin-sheet glass that is better able to survive events that most commonly cause glass failure. Its advanced composition allows a deeper layer of chemical strengthening than is possible with most other chemically strengthened glasses, making it both durable and damage resistant. Our products and capabilities in this segment position the Company to meet the needs of a broad array of markets including display, semiconductor, aerospace, defense, astronomy, vision care, industrial, commercial, and telecommunications. For this segment, Schott, Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., Nippon Electric Glass Co. Ltd. and Heraeus are the main competitors.

Environmental Technologies Segment

Corning believes it maintains a strong position in the worldwide market for automotive ceramic substrate and filter products, as well as in the heavy-duty and light-duty diesel vehicle markets.  The Company believes its competitive advantage in automotive ceramic substrate products for catalytic converters and filter products for particulate emissions in exhaust systems is based on an advantaged product portfolio, collaborative engineering design services, customer service and support, strategic global presence and continued product innovation.  Corning’s Environmental Technologies products face principal competition from NGK Insulators, Ltd. and Ibiden Co. Ltd.

Life Sciences Segment

Corning seeks to maintain a competitive advantage by emphasizing product quality, global distribution, supply chain efficiency, a broad product line and superior product attributes. Our principal competitors include Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Greiner Group AG, Eppendorf AG, Starstedt AG and Danaher Corporation. Corning also faces increasing competition from large distributors that have pursued backward integration or introduced private label products.

Raw Materials

Corning’s manufacturing processes and products require access to uninterrupted power sources, significant quantities of industrial water, certain precious metals and various batch materials. Availability of resources (ores, minerals, polymers, helium and processed chemicals) required in manufacturing operations, appear to be adequate. From time to time, Corning’s suppliers may experience capacity limitations in their own operations, or may eliminate certain product lines. Corning believes it has adequate programs to ensure a reliable supply of raw and batch materials as well as precious metals. For many of its materials, Corning has alternate suppliers that would allow operations to continue without interruption in the event of specific materials shortages.

Certain key materials and proprietary equipment used in the manufacturing of products are currently sole-sourced or available only from a limited number of suppliers.  To minimize this risk, Corning closely monitors raw materials and equipment with limited availability or sole-sourced suppliers.  However, any future difficulty in obtaining sufficient and timely delivery of components and/or raw materials could result in lost sales due to delays or reductions in product shipments, or reductions in Corning’s gross margins.

Patents and Trademarks

Inventions by members of Corning’s research and engineering staff continue to be important to the Company’s growth. Patents have been granted on many of these inventions in the United States and other countries. Some of these patents have been licensed to other manufacturers. Many of our earlier patents have now expired, but Corning continues to seek and obtain patents protecting its innovations. In 2019, Corning was granted about 550 patents in the U.S. and over 1,575 patents in countries outside the U.S.

Each business segment possesses a patent portfolio that provides certain competitive advantages in protecting Corning’s innovations. Corning has historically enforced, and will continue to enforce, its intellectual property rights. At the end of 2019, Corning and its wholly-owned subsidiaries owned over 12,500 unexpired patents in various countries of which over 4,600 were U.S. patents. Between 2020 and 2022, approximately 9% of these patents will expire, while at the same time Corning intends to seek patents protecting its newer innovations. Worldwide, Corning has about 10,600 patent applications in process, with about 2,300 in process in the U.S. Corning believes that its patent portfolio will continue to provide a competitive advantage in protecting the Company’s innovation, although Corning’s competitors in each of its businesses are actively seeking patent protection as well.

While each of our reportable segments has numerous patents in various countries, no one patent is considered material to any of these segments. Important U.S.-issued patents in our reportable segments include the following:

Display Technologies: patents relating to glass compositions and methods for the use and manufacture of glass substrates for display applications.

Optical Communications: patents relating to (i) multimode and single mode optical fiber products including low-loss optical fiber, large effective area optical fiber, and other high data rate optical fiber, and processes and equipment for manufacturing optical fiber, including methods for making optical fiber preforms and methods for drawing, cooling and winding optical fiber; (ii) optical fiber ribbons and methods for making such ribbon, indoor and outdoor fiber-optic cable products and methods for making and installing optical fiber cable; (iii) optical fiber connectors and factory-terminated assemblies, hardware, termination and storage and associated methods of manufacture; and (iv) optical fiber and hybrid fiber-coax wireless communication systems.

Environmental Technologies: patents relating to cellular ceramic honeycomb products, together with ceramic batch and binder system compositions, honeycomb extrusion and firing processes, and honeycomb extrusion dies and equipment for the high-volume, low-cost manufacture of such products.

Specialty Materials: patents relating to protective cover glass materials and coatings, ophthalmic glasses and polarizing dyes, and semiconductor/microlithography optics and blanks, metrology instrumentation and laser/precision optics, glass polarizers, specialty fiber, and refractories.

Life Sciences: patents relating to methods and apparatus for the manufacture and use of scientific laboratory equipment including multiwell plates and cell culture products, equipment and processes for cell and gene therapy research and bioproduction.

Products reported in All Other include development projects, new product lines, and other businesses or investments that do not meet the threshold for separate reporting.

Approximate number of patents granted to our reportable segments are as follows:

Many of the Company’s patents are used in operations or are licensed for use by others, and Corning is licensed to use patents owned by others. Corning has entered into cross-licensing arrangements with some major competitors, but the scope of such licenses has been limited to specific product areas or technologies.

Corning’s principal trademarks include the following: Axygen, Corning, Celcor, CellSTACK, ClearCurve, DuraTrap, Eagle XG, Edge8, Gorilla®, HPFS, HYPERStack, Leaf, Pyrex, Steuben, Falcon, SMF-28e, UniCam, Valor, Willow and RocketRibbon.

Protection of the Environment

Corning has an extensive program to ensure that its facilities comply with state, federal and foreign pollution-control regulations. This program has resulted in capital and operating expenditures each year. To maintain compliance with such regulations, capital expenditures for pollution control in operations were approximately $13.8 million in 2019 and are estimated to be $16.6 million in 2020.

Corning’s 2019 consolidated operating results were charged with approximately $74 million for depreciation, maintenance, waste disposal and other operating expenses associated with pollution control.

Employees

At December 31, 2019, Corning had approximately 49,500 full-time employees. From time to time, Corning also retains consultants, independent contractors, temporary and part-time workers.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

James P. Clappin   Executive Vice President, Corning Glass Technologies

Mr. Clappin joined Corning in 1980 as a process engineer.  He transitioned to GTE Corporation in 1983 and returned to Corning in 1988.  He held a variety of manufacturing management roles in the consumer products division, transferring to the display glass business in 1994.  He was appointed as general manager of Corning Display Technologies (CDT) in 2002, and was president of CDT from September 2005 to July 2010.  He was appointed president, Corning Glass Technologies, in 2010.  He was appointed to his present position in 2017.  Age 62.

Martin J. Curran   Executive Vice President and Innovation Officer

Mr. Curran joined Corning in 1984 and has held a variety of roles in finance, manufacturing, and marketing.  He has served as senior vice president, general manager for Corning Cable Systems Hardware and Equipment Operations in the Americas, responsible for operations in Hickory, North Carolina; Keller, Texas; Reynosa, Mexico; Shanghai, China; and the Dominican Republic.  He has also served as senior vice president and general manager for Corning Optical Fiber.  Mr. Curran was appointed as Corning’s first innovation officer in August 2012.  Age 61.

Jeffrey W. Evenson   Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer

Dr. Evenson joined Corning in 2011 as senior vice president and operations chief of staff.  In 2015, he was named Chief Strategy Officer.  He oversees corporate strategy, corporate communications, and advanced analytics.  Prior to joining Corning, Dr. Evenson was a senior vice president with Sanford C. Bernstein, where he served as a senior analyst.  Before that, Dr. Evenson was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he led technology and market assessment for early-stage technologies.  He was appointed executive vice president in 2018.  Age 54.

Robert P. France   Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Mr. France joined Corning in 2000 as a commercial Human Resources manager for Optical Fiber. He moved to Display Technologies in 2004 as the division Human Resources manager. He was Human Resources director for Corning Glass Technologies and Asia from 2004 to 2016. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. France was Human Resources senior vice president for Corning Optical Communications, responsible for leading all aspects of the Human Resources function across several businesses and had HR Generalist responsibility for the Corning China organization. In 2018 he was appointed as vice president, Human Resources and was appointed senior vice president, Human Resources in 2019. Age 54.

Clark S. Kinlin   Executive Vice President, Corning Optical Communications

Mr. Kinlin joined Corning in 1981 in the Specialty Materials division.  From 1985 to 1995 he worked in the Optical Fiber division.  In 1995, he joined Corning Consumer Products.  In 2000, Mr. Kinlin was named president, Corning International Corporation and, in 2003, he was appointed as general manager for Greater China.  From April 2007 to March 2008, he was chief operating officer, Corning Cable Systems, (now Corning Optical Communications) with responsibility for global sales, marketing, and operations.  He was named president and chief executive officer of Corning Cable Systems in April 2008.  He was appointed executive vice president in 2012.  Age 60.

Lawrence D. McRae   Vice Chairman and Corporate Development Officer

Mr. McRae joined Corning in 1985 and has held a broad range of leadership positions in various finance, sales, marketing, and general management across Corning’s businesses.  He was appointed vice president Corporate Development in 2000, senior vice president Corporate Development in 2003, senior vice president Strategy and Corporate Development in 2005, and executive vice president Strategy and Corporate Development in 2010.  Mr. McRae has served on Corning’s management committee since 2002 and was named vice chairman in 2015.  Age 61.

David L. Morse   Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Morse joined Corning in 1976 as a composition scientist in glass research.  In 1985, he was named senior research associate, manager of consumer products development in 1987 and director of materials research in 1990.  He served in a variety of technology leadership positions in organic materials and telecommunications before joining corporate research in 2001.  Prior to his current role, he served as senior vice president and director, Corporate Research.  Dr. Morse was appointed to his current position in 2012.  He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Age 67.

Anne Mullins   Senior Vice President & Chief Digital & Information Officer

Ms. Mullins joined Corning as senior vice president and chief digital & information officer in August 2019. In this role, she is responsible for leading the strategic direction of Corning’s global information technology function and evolving the company’s digital footprint. Prior to joining Corning, Ms. Mullins served as chief information officer for Lockheed Martin and previously served as Lockheed Martin’s chief information security officer. Age 57.

Eric S. Musser   Executive Vice President, Corning Technologies and International

Mr. Musser joined Corning in 1986 and served in a variety of manufacturing and general management roles in Corning’s optical communications businesses.  In 2005, he was named vice president and general manager of Optical Fiber.  Mr. Musser served as general manager, Corning Greater China 2007-2012 and president of Corning International 2012-2014.  He was appointed executive vice president in 2014.  Age 60.

Edward A. Schlesinger   Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller

Mr. Schlesinger joined Corning in 2013 as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Corning Optical Communications.  He was elected vice president and corporate controller in September 2015 and principal accounting officer in December 2015. He was named senior vice president in February 2019.  Prior to joining Corning, Mr. Schlesinger served as Vice President, Finance and Sector Chief Financial Officer for the Climate Solutions Sector for Ingersoll Rand.  Mr. Schlesinger has a financial career that spans more than 20 years garnering extensive expertise in technical accounting, financial management and reporting.  Age 52.

Lewis A. Steverson   Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Mr. Steverson joined Corning in 2013 as senior vice president and general counsel.  Prior to joining Corning, Mr. Steverson served as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Motorola Solutions, Inc.  During his 18 years with Motorola, he held a variety of law leadership roles across the company’s numerous business units.  Prior to Motorola, Mr. Steverson was in private practice at the law firm of Arnold & Porter.  He was appointed executive vice president in 2018.  Age 56.

R. Tony Tripeny   Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Tripeny joined Corning Cable Systems in 1985 as the corporate accounting manager and became the Keller, Texas facility’s plant controller in 1989.  In 1993, he was appointed equipment division controller and, in 1996, corporate controller.  Mr. Tripeny was appointed chief financial officer of Corning Cable Systems in July 2000 and, in 2003, he took on the additional role of group controller, Telecommunications.  He was appointed division vice president, operations controller in August 2004, vice president, corporate controller in October 2005, and senior vice president and principal accounting officer in April 2009.  Mr. Tripeny was then appointed as Corning’s senior vice president and chief financial officer in September 2015.  He was appointed executive vice president in 2018.  Age 60.

Wendell P. Weeks   Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President

Mr. Weeks joined Corning in 1983 in the finance group.  He has held a variety of financial, business development, commercial, and general management roles.  In 1993 he was named general manager of external development in Corning’s telecommunications business.  He was named vice president and general manager of the Optical Fiber business in 1996 and president, Corning Optical Communications in 2001.  Mr. Weeks has been a member of Corning’s Board of Directors since December 2000.  He became Corning’s president and chief operating officer in 2002.  He was named chief executive officer in April 2005 and chairman of the board in April 2007.  He added the title of president in 2010.  Mr. Weeks is a director of Merck & Co. Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc.  Age 60.

Document Availability

A copy of Corning’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is available upon written request to Corporate Secretary, Corning Incorporated, One Riverfront Plaza, Corning, NY 14831. The Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 and other filings are available as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed or furnished to the SEC, and can be accessed electronically free of charge at www.SEC.gov, or through the Investor Relations page on Corning’s website at www.corning.com. The information contained on the Company’s website is not included in, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Other

Additional information in response to Item 1 is found in Note 18 (Reportable Segments) to the consolidated financial statements and in Item 6 (Selected Financial Data).

Item 1A. Risk Factors

We operate in rapidly changing economic, political, and technological environments that present numerous risks. Our operations and financial results are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described below, that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, our ability to successfully execute our Strategy & Growth framework and the trading price of our common stock or debt. The following discussion identifies the most significant factors that may adversely affect our business, operations, financial position or future financial performance. This information should be read in conjunction with our MD&A and the consolidated financial statements and related notes incorporated by reference into this report. The following discussion of risks is not all inclusive but is designed to highlight what we believe are important factors to consider, as these factors could cause our future results to differ from those in our forward-looking statements and from historical trends.

As a global company, we face many risks which could adversely impact our operations and financial results

We are a global company and derive a substantial portion of our revenues from, and have significant operations, outside of the United States. Our international operations include manufacturing, assembly, sales, research and development, customer support, and shared administrative service centers. Additionally, we rely on a global supply chain for key components and capabilities that are central to our ability to invent, make and sell products.

Compliance with laws and regulations increases our costs. We are subject to both U.S. laws and the local laws where we operate which, among other things, include data privacy requirements, employment and labor laws, tax laws, anti-competition regulations, prohibitions on payments to governmental officials, import and trade restrictions and export requirements. Non-compliance or violations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or employees, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Such violations could result in prohibitions on our ability to offer our products and services in one or more countries and could also materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business and operating results. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate and manage these risks.

We are also subject to a variety of other risks in managing a global organization, including those related to:

The economic and political conditions in each country or region and among countries;

Complex regulatory requirements affecting international trade and investment, including anti-dumping laws, export controls, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and local laws prohibiting improper payments. Our operations may be adversely affected by changes in the substance or enforcement of these regulatory requirements, and by actual or alleged violations of them;

Fluctuations in currency exchange rates, convertibility of currencies and restrictions involving the movement of funds between jurisdictions and countries;

Governmental protectionist policies and sovereign and political risks that may adversely affect Corning’s profitability and assets;

Tariffs, trade duties and other trade barriers including anti-dumping duties;

Geographical concentration of our factories and operations, and regional shifts in our customer base;

Periodic health epidemic concerns;

Political unrest, confiscation or expropriation of assets by foreign governments, terrorism and the potential for other hostilities;

Difficulty in protecting intellectual property, sensitive commercial and operations data, and information technology systems;

Differing legal systems, including protection and treatment of intellectual property and patents;

Complex, changing or competing tax regimes;

Difficulty in collecting obligations owed to us;

Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and windstorms; and

Potential loss of utilities or other disruption affecting manufacturing.

Corning’s Display Technologies segment generates a significant amount of the Company’s profits and cash flow. Any significant decrease in display glass pricing or market share could have a material and negative impact on our financial results

Corning’s ability to generate profits and operating cash flow depends largely on the profitability of our display glass business, which is subject to continuous pricing pressure due to industry competition, potential over-capacity, and development of new technologies. If we are not able to achieve proportionate reductions in costs and increases in volume to offset ongoing pricing pressure it could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.

Because we have a concentrated customer base in each of our businesses, our sales could be negatively impacted by the actions or insolvency of one or more key customers, as well as our ability to retain these customers

A relatively small number of end customers accounted for a high percentage of net sales in each of our reportable segments. Mergers and consolidations between customers could result in further concentration of Corning’s customer base. Further concentration, or the loss or insolvency of a key customer, could result in a substantial loss of sales and reduction in anticipated in cash flows.

The following table details the number of combined customers of our segments that accounted for a large percentage of segment net sales:

Business disruptions could affect our operating results

A major earthquake, weather event, fire or other catastrophic event that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our critical facilities, or our suppliers’ or customers’ facilities, could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, our financial results could be materially and adversely affected. For example, certain manufacturing sites require high quality, continuous, and uninterrupted power and access to industrial water. Unplanned outages could have a material negative impact on our operations and ability to supply our customers.

We have been closely monitoring the outbreak of the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. We have operations in Wuhan and other areas of China. We have taken steps to protect our employees and operations.  The coronavirus may impact the global economy, our ability, as well as the ability of our customers and suppliers, to manufacture products and may reduce demand in our markets which could result in an impact to our financial results. We are taking steps to mitigate potential financial impacts, including supplying customers from other regions when appropriate.  Currently, it is not possible for us to determine the financial impact of the coronavirus, if any.

Additionally, a significant amount of the specialized manufacturing capacity for our reportable segments is concentrated in single-site locations. Due to the specialized nature of the assets, in the event such a location experiences disruption, it may not be possible to find replacement capacity quickly or substitute production from other facilities. Accordingly, disruption at a single-site manufacturing operation could significantly impact Corning’s ability to supply its customers and could produce a near-term severe impact on our individual businesses and the Company as a whole.

Geopolitical events, as well as other events outside of Corning’s control, could cause a disruption to our manufacturing operations and adversely impact our customers, resulting in a negative impact to Corning’s net sales, net income, asset values and liquidity

A natural disaster, epidemic, labor strike, war and social or political unrest in regions where we operate could adversely affect Corning’s ability to supply our customers and impact the value of our assets.  Such events may also impact our customers’ facilities and reduce our sales to such customers. For example, a sizeable portion of Corning’s glass manufacturing capacity is in South Korea and we generate a significant portion of our sales through two South Korean customers. Deterioration of the geopolitical climate in such a region could cause a disruption to our manufacturing operations and adversely impact our customers, resulting in a negative impact to Corning’s net sales, net income, asset values and liquidity.

Given the geographical concentration of certain of our plants, the highly engineered nature of our facilities and the globally dispersed talent required to run these facilities, any event that adversely affects or restricts movement into or out of a specific geographic area where we, our suppliers, or our customers have a presence, could adversely impact our results.

We may experience difficulties in enforcing our intellectual property rights, which could result in loss of market share, and we may be subject to claims of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others

We rely on patent and trade secret laws, copyright, trademark, confidentiality procedures, controls and contractual commitments to protect our intellectual property rights. Despite our efforts, these protections may be limited and we may encounter difficulties in protecting our intellectual property rights or obtaining rights to additional intellectual property necessary to permit us to continue or expand our businesses. We cannot provide assurance that the patents that we hold or may obtain will provide meaningful protection against our competitors. Changes in or enforcement of laws concerning intellectual property may affect our ability to prevent or address the misappropriation of, or the unauthorized use of, our intellectual property, potentially resulting in loss of market share. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights. Litigation is inherently uncertain and outcomes are unpredictable. If we cannot protect our intellectual property rights against unauthorized copying or use, or other misappropriation, we may not remain competitive.

The intellectual property rights of others could inhibit our ability to introduce new products. Other companies hold patents on technologies used in our industries and are aggressively seeking to expand, enforce and license their patent portfolios. We periodically receive notices from, or have lawsuits filed against us by third parties claiming infringement, misappropriation or other misuse of their intellectual property rights and/or breach of our agreements with them. These third parties often include entities that do not have the capabilities to design, manufacture, or distribute products or that acquire intellectual property like patents for the sole purpose of monetizing their acquired intellectual property through asserting claims of infringement and misuse. Such claims of infringement or misappropriation may result in loss of revenue, substantial costs, or lead to monetary damages or injunctive relief against us.

Information technology dependency and cyber security vulnerabilities could lead to reduced revenue, liability claims, or competitive harm

The Company is dependent on information technology systems and infrastructure, including cloud-based services, (“IT systems”) to conduct its business. Our IT systems may be vulnerable to disruptions from human error, outdated applications, computer viruses, natural disasters, unauthorized access, cyber-attack and other similar disruptions. We have measures and defenses in place against such events, but we may not be able to prevent, immediately detect, or remediate all instances of such events. Any significant disruption, breakdown, intrusion, interruption or corruption of these systems or data breaches could cause the loss of data or intellectual property, equipment damage, downtime, and/or safety related issues and could have a material adverse effect on our business. A material security breach or disruption of our IT systems could result in theft, unauthorized use, or publication of our intellectual property and/or confidential business information, harm our competitive position, disrupt our manufacturing, reduce the value of our investment in research and development and other strategic initiatives, impair our ability to access vendors, suppliers and cloud-based services, or otherwise adversely affect our business.

Additionally, we believe that utilities and other operators of critical infrastructure that serve our facilities face heightened security risks, including cyber-attack. In the event of such an attack, disruption in service from our utility providers could disrupt our manufacturing operations which rely on a continuous source of power (electrical, gas, etc.).

We may not earn a positive return from our research, development and engineering investments

Developing our products through our innovation model of research and development is expensive and often involves a long investment cycle. We make significant expenditures and investments in research, development and engineering that may not earn an economic return. If our investments do not provide a pipeline of products or technologies that our customers demand or lower our manufacturing costs, it could negatively impact our revenues and operating margins both near- and long-term.

We have significant exposure to foreign currency movements

A large portion of our sales, profit and cash flows are transacted in non-U.S. dollar currencies and we expect that we will continue to experience fluctuations in the U.S. dollar value of these activities if it is not possible or cost effective to hedge our currency exposures or should we elect not to hedge certain currency exposures.  Alternatively, we may experience gains or losses if the underlying exposure which we have hedged increases or decreases significantly and we are unable to reverse, unwind, or terminate the hedges concurrent with changes in the underlying notional exposure. 

Our ultimate realized loss or gain with respect to currency fluctuations will generally depend on the size and type of cross-currency exposures that we have, the exchange rates associated with these exposures and changes in those rates, whether we have entered into foreign currency contracts to offset these exposures and other factors. 

Our hedge portfolio may reduce our ability to respond to price moves by our Display Technologies segment competitors.  Foreign currency movements may impact our competitive cost position relative to our largest, Japan-based competitors in the Display Technologies segment.  The profitability of customers may also be impacted as they typically purchase from us in Japanese yen and sell in various currencies.

These factors, which are variable and generally outside of our control, could materially impact our results of operations, anticipated future results, financial position and cash flows.

We may have significant exposure to counterparties of our related derivatives portfolio

We maintain a significant portfolio of over the counter derivatives to hedge our projected currency exposure to the Japanese yen, new Taiwan dollar, South Korean won, Chinese yuan and euro. We are exposed to potential losses in the event of non-performance by our counterparties to these derivative contracts. Any failure of a counterparty to pay on such a contract when due could materially impact our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.

If we are unable to obtain certain specialized equipment, raw and batch materials or natural resources required in our products or processes, our business will suffer

Our ability to meet customer demand depends, in part, on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of equipment, parts, components and raw materials from our suppliers. We may experience shortages that could adversely affect our operations. Certain manufacturing equipment, components and raw materials are available only from single or limited sources, and we may not be able to find alternate sources in a timely manner. A reduction, interruption or delay of supply, or a significant increase in the price for supplies, such as manufacturing equipment, precious metals, raw materials, utilities including energy and industrial water, could have a material adverse effect on our businesses.

We use specialized raw materials from single-source suppliers (e.g., specific mines or quarries) and natural resources (e.g., helium) in certain products and processes. If a supplier is unable to provide the required raw materials or the natural resource is in scarce supply or not readily available, we may be unable to change our product composition or manufacturing process to prevent disruption to our business.

We may have additional tax liabilities

We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and many foreign jurisdictions, and are commonly audited by various tax authorities.  There are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax treatment is uncertain.  Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes.  Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final determination of tax audits and any related litigation could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals.  The results of an audit or litigation could have a material effect on our financial statements in the period or periods for which that determination is made.

The 2017 Tax Act significantly impacted how U.S. global corporations are taxed. Significant guidance has been issued with the intention of clarifying the new tax provisions. To date, some of the regulations had been finalized and clarified but a considerable amount of this guidance is still in the form of proposed regulations. Due to volume and complexity of both of final and proposed regulations, we continue to evaluate any development and impact of the 2017 Tax Act that could have a material adverse impact on our tax expense and cash flow. In addition to the 2017 Tax Act, other foreign countries and international organizations such as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) may have law changes and issue new international tax standards that may also impact our taxes.

Our innovation model depends on our ability to attract and retain specialized experts in our core technologies

Our innovation model requires us to employ highly specialized experts in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics to conduct our research and development and engineer our products and design our manufacturing facilities. The loss of the services of any member of our key research and development or engineering team without adequate replacement, or the inability to attract new qualified personnel, could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial performance.

We are subject to strict environmental regulations and regulatory changes that could result in fines or restrictions that interrupt our operations

Some of our manufacturing processes generate chemical waste, waste water, other industrial waste or greenhouse gases, and we are subject to numerous laws and regulations relating to the use, storage, discharge and disposal of such substances. We have installed anti-pollution equipment for the treatment of chemical waste and waste water at our facilities. We have taken steps to control the amount of greenhouse gases created by our manufacturing operations. However, we cannot provide assurance that environmental claims will not be brought against us or that government regulators will not take steps to adopt more stringent environmental standards.

Any failure on our part to comply with any present or future environmental regulations could result in the assessment of damages or imposition of fines against us, or the suspension/cessation of production or operations. In addition, environmental regulations could require us to acquire costly equipment, incur other significant compliance expenses or limit or restrict production or operations and thus materially and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in regulations and the regulatory environment in the U.S. and other countries, such as those resulting from the regulation and impact of global warming and CO₂ abatement, may affect our businesses and their results in adverse ways by, among other things, substantially increasing manufacturing costs, limiting availability of scarce resources, especially energy, or requiring limitations on production and sale of our products or those of our customers.

Current or future litigation or regulatory investigations may harm our financial condition or results of operations

As a global technology and manufacturing company, we are engaged in various litigation and regulatory matters. Litigation and regulatory proceedings may be uncertain, and adverse rulings could occur, resulting in significant liabilities, penalties or damages. Any such substantial legal liability or regulatory action could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and reputation.

Our global operations are subject to extensive trade and anti-corruption laws and regulations

Due to the international scope of our operations, we are subject to a complex system of import- and export-related laws and regulations, including U.S. regulations issued by Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Office of Anti-boycott Compliance, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, as well as the counterparts of these agencies in other countries. Any alleged or actual violation by an employee or the Company may subject us to government scrutiny, investigation and civil and criminal penalties, and may limit our ability to import or export our products or to provide services outside the United States. We cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our operations might be subject or the way existing laws might be administered or interpreted.

In addition, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar foreign anti-corruption laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments or providing anything of value to improperly influence foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, or obtaining an unfair advantage. Recent years have seen a substantial increase in the global enforcement of anti-corruption laws. Our continued operation and expansion outside the United States, including in developing countries, could increase the risk of alleged violations. Violations of these laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, could disrupt our business, and result in an adverse effect on our reputation, business and results of operations or financial condition.

Moreover, several of our key customers are domiciled in areas of the world with laws, rules and business practices that may notably differ from those in the United States, and we face the reputational and legal risk that our related partners may violate applicable laws, rules and business practices.

International trade policies may negatively impact our ability to sell and manufacture our products outside of the U.S.

Government policies on international trade and investment such as import quotas, tariffs, and capital controls, whether adopted by individual governments or addressed by regional trade blocs, can affect the demand for our products and services, impact the competitive position of our products or prevent us (including our equity affiliates/joint ventures) from being able to sell and/or manufacture products in certain countries. The implementation of more restrictive trade policies, such as higher tariffs or new barriers to entry, in countries in which we sell large quantities of products and services could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. For example, a government’s adoption of “buy national” policies or retaliation by another government against such policies could have a negative impact on our results of operations. These policies also affect our equity companies.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Corning operates 116 manufacturing plants and processing facilities in 15 countries, of which approximately 34% are in the U.S. We own 65% of our executive and corporate buildings of which 80% are located in and around Corning, New York. The Company also owns over 68% of our sales and administrative office square footage, 83% of our research and development square footage, 68% of our manufacturing square footage, and over 10% of our warehousing square footage.

For the years ended 2019 and 2018, we invested a total of $4.2 billion, primarily in facilities outside of the United States.

Manufacturing, sales and administrative, and research and development facilities have an aggregate floor space of approximately 46.1 million square feet. Distribution of this total area is as follows:

Total assets and capital expenditures by operating segment are included in Note 18 (Reportable Segments) to the consolidated financial statements. Information concerning lease commitments is included in Note 4 (Leases) and Note 13 (Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees) to the consolidated financial statements.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Corning is a defendant in various lawsuits and is subject to various claims that arise in the normal course of business, the most significant of which are summarized in Note 13 (Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees) to the consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, the likelihood that the ultimate disposition of these matters will have a material adverse effect on Corning’s consolidated financial position, liquidity, or results of operations, is remote.  

Environmental Litigation. Corning has been named by the Environmental Protection Agency (the Agency) under the Superfund Act, or by state governments under similar state laws, as a potentially responsible party for 15 active hazardous waste sites. Under the Superfund Act, all parties who may have contributed any waste to a hazardous waste site, identified by the Agency, are jointly and severally liable for the cost of cleanup unless the Agency agrees otherwise. It is Corning’s policy to accrue for its estimated liability related to Superfund sites and other environmental liabilities related to property owned by Corning based on expert analysis and continual monitoring by both internal and external consultants. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, Corning had accrued approximately $41 million (undiscounted) and $30 million (undiscounted), respectively, for the estimated liability for environmental cleanup and related litigation. Based upon the information developed to date, management believes that the accrued reserve is a reasonable estimate of the Company’s liability and that the risk of an additional loss in an amount materially higher than that accrued is remote.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure

None.
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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(a)Corning Incorporated common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, it is traded on the Boston, Midwest and Philadelphia stock exchanges. Common stock options are traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The ticker symbol for Corning Incorporated is “GLW”.

As of December 31, 2019, there were approximately 12,400 registered holders of common stock and approximately 496,000 beneficial shareholders.

Performance Graph

The following graph illustrates the cumulative total shareholder return over the last five years of Corning's common stock, the S&P 500 and the S&P Communications Equipment Companies. The graph includes the capital-weighted-performance results of those companies in the communications equipment company classification that are also included in the S&P 500.

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(b)Not applicable.

(c)The following table provides information about our purchases of our common stock during the fiscal fourth quarter of 2019:

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(1)This column reflects the following transactions during the fourth quarter of 2019: (i) the deemed surrender to us of 11,430 shares of common stock to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of employee restricted stock units; (ii) the deemed surrender to us of 45,929 shares of common stock to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of restricted stock issued to employees; (iii) the deemed surrender to us of 101 shares of common stock to pay the exercise price and to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with the exercise of employee stock options; and (iv) the purchase of 7,640,100 shares of common stock under the 2018 and 2019 Repurchase Programs.

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data (Unaudited)

(In millions, except per share amounts and number of employees)

(1)Year ended December 31, 2017 includes the impact of the 2017 Tax Act, including a provisional toll charge ($1.1 billion) and provisional remeasurement of deferred tax balances due to the reduction in Corning’s tax rate ($347 million).

(2)Year ended December 31, 2016 includes a $2.7 billion non-taxable gain on the strategic realignment of our ownership interest in Dow Corning.

(3)Refer to Note 11 (Debt) to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.

Reference should be made to the notes to the consolidated financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

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Quarterly Operating Results

(unaudited)

(In millions, except per share amounts)

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

For discussion of 2018 results year-over-year comparison with 2017 results refer to "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

Organization of Information

Management’s Discussion and Analysis provides a historical and prospective narrative on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. This discussion includes the following sections:

Overview

Results of Operations

Core Performance Measures

Reportable Segments

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Environment

Critical Accounting Estimates

New Accounting Standards

Forward-Looking Statements

OVERVIEW

Strategy and Capital Allocation Framework and recently introduced Strategy & Growth Framework

On June 14, 2019, Corning introduced its 2020-2023 Strategy & Growth Framework.  From 2020 to 2023, the company plans to invest $10 billion to $12 billion for growth and to return $8 billion to $10 billion to shareholders.

In October 2015, Corning announced a strategy and capital allocation framework (the “Framework”) that reflects the Company’s financial and operational strengths, as well as its ongoing commitment to increasing shareholder value.  The Framework outlined our leadership priorities and articulated the opportunities we saw across our businesses.  We designed the Framework to create significant value for shareholders by focusing our portfolio and leveraging our financial strength.  Under the Framework, we targeted generating $26 billion to $30 billion of cash through 2019, returning more than $12.5 billion to shareholders and investing $10 billion to extend our leadership positions and deliver growth.  As of June 30, 2019, Corning met its goal of returning more than $12.5 billion to shareholders. As of December 31, 2019, Corning had invested almost $11 billion for growth and extended leadership.

Corning’s Frameworks outline the company’s leadership priorities.  With the completed Strategy and Capital Allocation Framework and new Strategy & Growth Framework, Corning plans to focus its portfolio and utilize its financial strength.  Our probability of success increases as we invest in our world-class capabilities.  Corning is concentrating approximately 80% of its research, development and engineering investment along with capital spending on a cohesive set of three core technologies, four manufacturing and engineering platforms, and five market-access platforms.  This strategy allows us to quickly apply our talents and repurpose our assets across the company, as needed, to capture high-return opportunities.

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2019 Results

Net sales in the year ended December 31, 2019 were $11.5 billion, an increase of $213 million, or 2%, when compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, driven by increased sales in the Specialty Materials, Environmental Technologies and Life Sciences segments offset by decreased sales in the Display Technologies and Optical Communications segments.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, we generated net income of $960 million, or $1.07 per share, compared to a net income of $1,066 million, or $1.13 per share, for 2018. When compared to 2018, the $106 million decrease in net income was primarily due to the following items (amounts presented after tax):

Lower equity earnings in affiliated companies of $284 million when compared to the prior period, primarily driven by asset impairments and an inventory provision, partially offset by the deferred revenue recognition associated with adoption of the new revenue standard, as well as one-time settlement gains from revenue contracts;

Higher costs of $238 million, primarily driven by accelerated depreciation and asset write-offs for our Display Technologies and Optical Communications segments; and

Lower segment net income of $83 million primarily driven by lower sales in our Display Technologies and Optical Communications segments.

Partially offsetting these events were the following items:

Translated earnings contract gains in the current period were $287 million higher than prior year losses;

Costs related to litigation, regulatory and other legal matters were $109 million lower, primarily driven by the absence of a $103 million charge related to legal matters recorded in 2018, including a ruling in an intellectual property lawsuit and developments in civil litigation;

A positive impact of $44 million resulting from a lower mark-to-market loss for our defined benefit pension plans; and

The positive impact of $42 million in tax adjustments primarily relating to the absence of a $172 million IRS audit settlement, or approximately $40 million of taxes payable after the utilization of tax attributes, recorded in the first quarter of 2018, netted against changes in tax reserves, changes in foreign valuation allowances and changes in the estimate of 2018 tax expense due to new tax reform guidance.

Diluted earnings per share decreased by $0.06 per share, or 5%, when compared to 2018, driven by the decrease in net income described above, partially offset by the repurchase of 31.0 million shares of common stock over the last twelve months.

The translation impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, including the impact of hedges realized in the current year, negatively impacted Corning’s net income by approximately $44 million in the year ended December 31, 2019, when compared to the same period in 2018.

2020 Corporate Outlook

We believe 2020 will be another year of growth in several segments and continued investment in innovations, consistent with our Strategy & Growth Framework. Corning expects its display glass volume to grow by a mid-single digit percentage, similar to the mid-single digit percentage growth expected in the display glass market. The company expects glass price declines to remain moderate, down a mid-single digit percentage for the full year. The company expects Optical Communications full-year sales to decline by 5% to 10%. We expect mid-single digit percentage sales growth in our Environmental Technologies and Life Sciences segments. We expect high-single digit percentage sales growth in the Specialty Materials segment.

We have been closely monitoring the outbreak of the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. We have operations in Wuhan and other areas of China. We have taken steps to protect our employees and operations.  The coronavirus may impact the global economy, our ability, as well as the ability of our customers and suppliers, to manufacture products and may reduce demand in our markets which could result in an impact to our financial results. We are taking steps to mitigate potential financial impacts, including supplying customers from other regions when appropriate.  Currently, it is not possible for us to determine the financial impact of the coronavirus, if any. Our 2020 corporate outlook, outlined above, does not include any potential impact for the coronavirus.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Selected highlights from our operations follow (in millions):

*    Percent change not meaningful.

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Segment Net Sales

The following table presents segment net sales by reportable segment (in millions):

For the year ended December 31, 2019, segment net sales increased by $258 million, or 2%, when compared to the same period in 2018. The primary sales drivers by segment were as follows:

Net sales in the Display Technologies segment decreased by $22 million, with glass volume up a mid-single digit percentage and low-single digit percentage display glass price declines; the combination of finished goods volume, unfinished glass sold to our equity affiliates and a low-single-digit percentage price decline resulted in a one percent sales decline;

Optical Communications net sales decreased $128 million, primarily due to lower sales in carrier products, down $199 million, partially offset by an increase of $71 million in enterprise network sales;

Specialty Materials segment net sales increased by $115 million, primarily driven by strong demand for Gorilla® Glass;

Net sales for Environmental Technologies increased $210 million, primarily driven by sales growth of gasoline particulate filters; and

Life Sciences net sales increased by $69 million, as sales volume continued to outpace market growth.

Movements in foreign exchange rates negatively impacted Corning’s consolidated net sales by $45 million in the year ended December 31, 2019, when compared to the same period in 2018.

In 2019, sales in international markets accounted for 68% of total net sales.

Cost of Sales

The types of expenses included in the cost of sales line item are: raw materials consumption, including direct and indirect materials; salaries, wages and benefits; depreciation and amortization; production utilities; production-related purchasing; warehousing (including receiving and inspection); repairs and maintenance; inter-location inventory transfer costs; production and warehousing facility property insurance; rent for production facilities; and other production overhead.

Gross Margin

In the year ended December 31, 2019, gross margin dollars decreased by $426 million, or 10%, and gross margin as a percentage of net sales declined by 5% when compared to the same period last year.  Negative impacts to gross margin were primarily driven by accelerated depreciation, asset write-offs and lower sales in our Display Technologies and Optical Communications segments during 2019. As volume declined in the second half of 2019, factory utilization was less efficient and negatively impacted gross margin.

Movements in foreign exchange rates had a $33 million positive impact on Corning’s consolidated gross margin in the year ended December 31, 2019, when compared to the same period in 2018.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

When compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $214 million, or 12%, in the year ended December 31, 2019. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by 2% as a percentage of sales. The decrease was primarily driven by the following items:

The absence of a $132 million charge related to legal matters in 2018, including a ruling in an intellectual property lawsuit and developments in civil litigation matters; and

Reduced variable compensation expenses of $85 million.

Research, Development and Engineering Expenses

For the year ended December 31, 2019, research, development and engineering expenses increased by $38 million, or 4%, when compared to the same period in prior year, driven by higher costs associated with new product launches and our emerging businesses. As a percentage of sales, these expenses were consistent when compared to the same period in the previous year.

Equity in Earnings of Affiliated Companies

The following provides a summary of equity earnings (losses) of affiliated companies (in millions):

In 2016, Corning realigned its ownership interest in Dow Corning, exchanging its 50% interest in the joint venture between Corning and Dow Chemical for a newly formed company that holds a 49.9% interest in Hemlock Semiconductor LLC and a 40.25% interest in Hemlock Semiconductor Operations LLC which are recorded as equity method investments of Corning and are affiliated companies of HSG. HSG manufactures polysilicon products for the semiconductor and solar industries. HSG’s solar business primarily serves the solar power panel industry.

In prior years, HSG’s solar and semiconductor customers entered into long-term “take or pay” contracts which included up-front cash payments to secure capacity. During the last few years, and more significantly in 2019, the solar power panel industry experienced significant over-capacity in the market, resulting in declining sales volumes and market prices. As a result, HSG’s solar business experienced lower market penetration, overall price declines, and settled contracts with customers that had committed volume and fixed pricing above the current market price. While these settlements positively impacted HSG’s cash flow in 2019, they reduced expectations for future sales in HSG’s solar business.

Due to the adverse change in HSG’s solar business, HSG was required to assess the recoverability of its long-lived assets in the fourth quarter. Based on this assessment, HSG determined that the carrying values of HSG’s solar asset group significantly exceeded its fair values. HSG engaged a third-party appraiser to assist in determining the fair value of the assets within in the solar asset group based on the highest and best use of the asset group.  As a result of the fair value determination, HSG recognized a pre-tax asset impairment charge of $916 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.  Corning’s share of the pre-tax impairment was $369 million.

Due to the adverse changes above, the carrying values of HSG’s solar business inventories were also affected resulting in an inventory write-down of $257 million for the year. Corning’s pre-tax share of the provision was $105 million.

HSG adopted the new revenue standard on January 1, 2019 and the timing of HSG’s revenue recognition for certain remaining performance obligations measured at January 1, 2019 was deferred for recognition. This deferral reduced the carrying amount of Corning’s investment in HSG by $239 million. During the fourth quarter, a significant number of the performance obligations were satisfied and $434 million was recognized into HSG’s net income. Corning’s share of the equity earnings was $208 million.

In addition, HSG settled certain revenue contracts in the fourth quarter, resulting in settlement gains of $383 million in net income. Corning’s share of the settlement gains was $185 million.

Additional information about corporate investments is presented in Note 6 (Investments) to the consolidated financial statements.

Translated earnings contracts

Included in the line item translated earnings contract gain (loss), net, is the impact of foreign currency hedges which hedge our translation exposure arising from movements in the Japanese yen, South Korean won, new Taiwan dollar, euro, Chinese yuan and British pound and its impact on our net income (loss).

The following table provides detailed information on the impact of our translated earnings contracts gains and losses for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017: