Corning, AT&T finalize $3 billion fiber deal

The AI investment cycle has mostly poured money into semiconductors, pushing chip valuations to historic premiums. But processing power alone cannot move the huge volumes of data that AI and cloud services generate, so the optical communications supply chain is emerging as the next phase of spending.

Corning sits in that chain as a key supplier for telecom network expansion and hyperscaler data centers. The AT&T deal, following a multi-billion-dollar fiber contract with Verizon and a $6 billion agreement with Meta Platforms for data center optics, shows major technology and telecom players competing for optical fiber. According to the article, these agreements create a multi-year backlog that turns uncertain demand into visible future revenue, and Corning has consolidated the physical supply chain.

The stakes may hinge on how investors weigh Corning's valuation near a price-to-earnings ratio of 72 against heavy insider selling and a planned $2 billion stock offering, which raise dilution concerns. AT&T, by contrast, is funding a costly network expansion yet offers a 4.46% dividend yield — a contrast likely to shape how infrastructure investors judge the two sides of the same deal.