Corning to Reiterate Second-Quarter Guidance

    Business Editors
    JPMorgan 33rd Annual Technology Conference

    CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2005--Corning Incorporated's (NYSE:GLW) President and Chief Executive Officer, Wendell P. Weeks, will review the company's three main growth opportunities and reiterate its guidance for second-quarter sales and earnings per share when he speaks to investors at the J.P. Morgan Technology Conference in San Francisco this morning.
    Weeks will tell conference attendees that the company remains confident it will achieve its second-quarter financial guidance of sales in the range of $1.08 billion to $1.13 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17 to $0.19, excluding special items. This EPS estimate is a non-GAAP financial measure, and is reconciled in an attachment to this release and on the company's investor relations Web site.
    Weeks is expected to remind investors that Corning continues to make progress on its goal of improving the financial health of the company by reducing its overall debt level. Corning recently announced the cash redemption of its outstanding 3.50 percent convertible debentures due in 2008 with a principal amount of approximately $191 million. These debentures are convertible into 103.3592 shares of Corning common stock for each $1,000 principal amount. Previously, the company also announced it is redeeming its 7 percent debentures due in 2007 with a principal amount of $100 million. Neither of these debt redemptions will have an impact on the company's second-quarter guidance. Weeks will point out that the company has a goal of reducing its overall debt level to less than $2 billion by the end of this year.
    Earlier this month, Corning's credit rating was upgraded to investment grade at BBB- with a stable outlook by both Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.
    Weeks will also briefly review with investors the company's three major growth opportunities, including liquid crystal display (LCD) glass for notebook computers, desktop monitors and LCD TV; optical fiber, cable and hardware and equipment for the growing fiber-to-the-premises market; and diesel emissions-control products for heavy-duty and light-duty engines. He will explain to investors that Corning continues to believe that LCD-TV penetration remains on track to reach 10 percent market penetration this year, and that the LCD glass market's overall unit volume is expected to grow in excess of 50 percent in 2005. He will reiterate that the company believes its second-quarter sequential unit volume for the Display segment will grow between 10 percent and 20 percent and that April's demand for glass was strong. Weeks will note that supply channel, pricing, currency fluctuations or similar market factors may result in a pause in the future pace of unit sales growth or profitability, but that current market signals remain positive.
    He will remind investors that Corning recently announced it had signed four additional long-term supply agreements with customer deposits for LCD glass, all designed to provide LCD panel manufacturers with large-size glass substrates.
    The company will also tell investors that it has expanded its second-quarter guidance range for sales in its Telecommunications segment from a sequential increase of approximately 5 percent, to a range of flat-to-5 percent increase, due to potential lower demand.
    Corning's presentation to investors at the J.P. Morgan Technology Conference will be available via webcast through the investor relations events calendar on Corning's web site at www.corning.com/investor_relations.

    Presentation of Information
    Non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, GAAP. Corning's non-GAAP EPS measure excludes restructuring, impairment and other charges and adjustments to prior estimates for such charges. Additionally, the company's non-GAAP measure excludes adjustments to asbestos settlement reserves required by movements in Corning's common stock price, gains and losses arising from debt retirements, charges resulting from the impairment of equity or cost method investments and gains or losses recognized in equity earnings from restructuring, impairment or other charges or credits taken by equity method companies. The company believes presenting a non-GAAP EPS measure helpful to analyze financial performance without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends in the company's underlying performance. This non-GAAP measure is reconciled on the company's Web site at www.corning.com/investor_relations and accompanies this news release.

    About Corning Incorporated
    Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is a diversified technology company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant innovative products for the telecommunications, flat panel display, environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries.

    Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
    This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a variety of business risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the possibility of changes or fluctuations in global economic and political conditions; tariffs, import duties and currency fluctuations; product demand and industry capacity; competitive products and pricing; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions; availability and costs of critical components and materials; new product development and commercialization; order activity and demand from major customers; capital spending by larger customers in the liquid crystal display industry and other businesses; changes in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; facility expansions and new plant start-up costs; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity, armed conflict, political instability or major health concerns; ability to obtain financing and capital on commercially reasonable terms; adequacy and availability of insurance; capital resource and cash flow activities; capital spending; equity company activities; interest costs; acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory; the rate of technology change; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; changes in key personnel; stock price fluctuations; and adverse litigation or regulatory developments. These and other risk factors are identified in Corning's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

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CORNING INCORPORATED AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE TO GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE Three Months Ended June 30, 2005 (Unaudited; amounts in millions, except per share amounts)

Corning's earnings per share (EPS) excluding special items for the second quarter of 2005 is a non-GAAP financial measure within the meaning of Regulation G of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The company believes presenting non-GAAP EPS is helpful to analyze financial performance without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends in the company's underlying performance. A detailed reconciliation is provided below outlining the differences between this non-GAAP measure and the directly related GAAP measure.

Range ------------------ Guidance: EPS excluding special items $ 0.17 $ 0.19

Special items: Restructuring, impairment and other (charges) and credits (a)

Asbestos settlement (b)

(Loss) gain on repurchases and retirements of debt, net (c) ------- -------

Earnings per share

This schedule will be updated as additional announcements occur.

(a) From time to time, Corning may need to make adjustments to estimates used in the determination of prior year restructuring and impairment charges, which could result in a gain or loss during the quarter.

(b) As part of Corning's asbestos settlement arrangement to be incorporated into the Pittsburgh Corning Corporation reorganization plan, Corning will contribute, when the reorganization plan becomes effective, 25 million shares of Corning common stock to a trust. The common stock will be contributed to the trust, after the plan has been approved by the asbestos claimants and bankruptcy court. The portion of the asbestos liability to be settled in common stock requires adjustment each quarter based upon movements in Corning's common stock price prior to contribution of the shares to the trust. In the second quarter of 2005, Corning will record a charge or credit for the change in its common stock price as of June 30, 2005 compared to $11.13, the common stock price at March 31, 2005.

(c) From time to time, Corning may repurchase or retire debt, which could result in a gain or loss during the quarter.

    Please note that the company may pursue other financing, restructuring and divestiture activities at any time in the future, and that the potential impact of these events is not included within Corning's second quarter 2005 guidance.
    This schedule contains forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements are based on current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those projected in the forward looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward looking statements is contained in the Securities and Exchange Commission filings of this Company.

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CONTACT: Corning Incorporated Media Relations: Monica L. Ott, 607-974-8769 ottml@corning.com or Investor Relations: Kenneth C. Sofio, 607-974-7705 sofiokc@corning.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA NEW YORK TRACK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE NETWORKING TRADESHOW EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALLS SOURCE: Corning Incorporated

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