Corning Stock Is Soaring. Why AI Data Demand Is Behind the Rally. -- Barrons.com

By Mariapaula Gonzalez

Corning stock rallied Tuesday after the company announced a multibillion-dollar deal to supply AT&T with fiber and cable, a move driven by surging demand for data and artificial intelligence.

Corning will manufacture and provide the physical fiberoptic cables to AT&T., the companies said in a joint news release. AT&T will pay Corning over $3 billion across multiple years in an effort to expand its high-speed fiber internet coverage to 60 million Americans by the end of 2030.

Corning stock rose 4.8% to $158.88. Shares are up 80% this year, according to Dow Jones Market Data. AT&T stock rose 0.4%.

Corning will make the cables in domestic factories and unionized technicians at AT&T will install them, maintaining the supply chain within the U.S.

Corning is positioned to ride the wave of skyrocketing internet usage. The average household covered by AT&T's high-speed fiber internet uses over one terabyte of data a month, which is five times more than a decade ago. AT&T said it projects that to double by 2030.

Fiber is the only technology capable of meeting the growing demand for data, the companies said. As AI becomes increasingly accessible, this requires massive amounts of bandwidth and reliable connections that older cable lines struggle to support.

Write to Mariapaula Gonzalez at mariapaula.gonzalez@barrons.com

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September 29, 2026 10:22 ET (14:22 GMT)