Corning raised its second-quarter core sales forecast on Monday, driven by robust adoption of its new optical connectivity products for generative AI, sending the specialty glass maker's shares up more than 6% in premarket trading.

A surge in demand for large-scale data centers to support growing adoption of generative AI has spurred investments in optical connectivity products provided by companies such as Corning.

Corning's fiber optic solutions help companies transmit massive amounts of data needed for training AI systems. Hyperscale data centers require high-capacity optic cables to interconnect the facilities that may house storage devices and other infrastructure for their operations.

New York-based Corning now expects core sales to be about $3.6 billion for the second quarter, compared with its previous forecast of about $3.4 billion. Analysts expect core sales of $3.41 billion, according to LSEG data.

The company, which makes Gorilla Glass used in smartphones by companies such as Samsung Electronics and Apple, will report its second-quarter results on July 30.

Corning had delivered durable glass with infused color for the back of Apple's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus devices.

  - Reuters