Corning logged higher profit and sales in the second quarter, driven by demand for its artificial-intelligence optical products.

The specialty glass, ceramics, and optical fiber posted net income of $559 million, or 64 cents a share, compared with $469 million, or 54 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Core earnings per share, an adjusted figure that strips out exceptional items and one-off costs, came to 78 cents a share. According to FactSet, analysts were expecting 76 cents a share.

Sales rose 17% to $4.74 billion, topping analyst forecasts that pegged revenue at $4.63 billion.

The company's optical-communications business grew sales by 32% to $2.07 billion, including a 65% increase in enterprise networks, where its generative-AI product sales grew significantly faster, it said.

Solar-segment sales rose 90% and completed an extended maintenance shutdown and equipment upgrade at Corning's solar-wafer facility. Management expects the unit's profitability to improve in the third quarter, the company said.

Corning has been betting that the massive infrastructure demands of AI will drive its next wave of growth, relying on its specialized optical fiber to link hyperscale data centers, as the company shifts away from reliance on its historical major telecom clients amid stagnating spending in recent years. Corning has been modifying its strategy to serve enterprise hyperscalers and AI-data-center infrastructure.

Looking ahead toward the third quarter, Corning expects core sales to grow by about 16%, to between $4.9 billion and $5 billion. Analysts expected $5 billion for the quarter.

Core EPS is expected to grow by 28% to a range of 85 cents to 89 cents a share. Analysts expect 85 cents a share.