Optical Stocks Surge as Corning Inks Multibillion-Dollar Deal With Verizon

Optical Stocks Surge as Corning Inks Multibillion-Dollar Deal With Verizon

Tue, September 8, 2026 at 9:28 PM GMT+3 1 min read

Key Takeaways

• Corning shares surged Tuesday after the announcement of a multibillion-dollar optical fiber supply deal with Verizon.

• Verizon's agreement includes over 80 million miles of high-density optical fiber from 2027 to 2032.

Corning shares are jumping after the company agreed to a lucrative supply agreement with Verizon Communications for high-density optical fiber. The news is lifting shares of other companies in the space, too.

Shares of Corning (GLW) were up nearly 9% in recent trading, among the leading gainers in the S&P 500. Shares of optical cable maker Lumentum (LITE) also climbed, along with Coherent (COHR) and Ciena (CIEN).

Verizon (VZ) said in a press release Tuesday that "to meet surging demand for consumer broadband and converged services alongside emerging AI needs," the firms "reached a multi-billion dollar agreement for 80+ million miles of high-density optical fiber and connectivity solutions from 2027 to 2032."

Mike O'Day, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Corning Optical Communications, said the deal "demonstrates that Gen AI and broadband expansion are part of the same transformative opportunity."

Optical stocks have skyrocketed in recent months on growing AI demand, with Lumentum, Corning, Coherent, and Ciena up a respective 169%, 91%, 66%, and 49% in 2026.

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