On May 21st, the panel giant BOE A (000725.SZ) saw its stock price skyrocket, closing at 4.69 yuan per share with a market value of 173.7 billion yuan. The highest single-day trading volume exceeded 10 billion yuan.
BOE A announced on May 20th that it had signed a cooperation agreement with Corning Incorporated (Corning). The two companies will collaborate on key areas such as glass-based packaging substrates, foldable glass, calcium titanate glass substrates, and optical interconnect applications.
According to BOE A, the company invested 993 million yuan in 2024 to build a glass-based packaging substrate test line. Samples have been sent to some domestic customers, and some have passed concept certification and entered the technical testing phase. In the foldable screen business, BOE A started producing foldable products in 2019 and has introduced them to multiple global brands, achieving stable mass production and supply.
In the calcium titanate business, BOE A has built three platforms since 2024, including a glove box (25mm*25mm), an experimental line (300mm*300mm), and a pilot line (1200*2400mm). The company is developing rigid, flexible, and stacked components in parallel, with a total investment of nearly 1 billion yuan in the three research and development platforms. In the optical interconnect business, BOE A’s subsidiary invested in building a MicroLED chip production line in 2023, but it has not yet generated sales revenue.
Analysts believe that with the rapid development of global AI computing power, the future direction of AI server chip packaging is glass-based packaging, which can significantly improve the transmission speed between chips inside AI servers and ultimately increase AI server computing density. This cooperation between BOE A and Corning aligns with BOE A’s strategic direction of developing non-display businesses and will enable it to enter the AI semiconductor supply chain.
Regarding the risks associated with this transaction, BOE A reminded investors that the memorandum of understanding signed this time mainly reflects the current cooperation intentions and preliminary arrangements between the two parties. The specific cooperation content, progress, resource investment, transaction structure, and commercial terms in each key area will be negotiated separately based on the actual project maturity and will be subject to the formal written agreements signed by both parties later. There is significant uncertainty about whether and when these agreements will be signed.
BOE A also stated that the glass-based packaging substrate business, calcium titanate business, and optical interconnect business are subject to significant uncertainties due to various factors such as customer technology route selection, the company’s mass production schedule, technical breakthroughs, and market prospects. As of now, these businesses have not had a substantial impact on the company’s operating performance, and there is significant uncertainty about whether and when the company will achieve the expected benefits in these areas.
Public information shows that Corning was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York. It is a manufacturer of special glass and ceramic materials. The company’s business covers display technology, communication, environmental technology, life sciences, and mobile consumer electronics. As of 2025, Corning has invested over $9 billion in China and has more than 3,000 employees. In 2022 and 2023, the company ranked 263rd and 292nd, respectively, on the Fortune 500 list, with revenues of $14.082 billion and $14.189 billion.
Corning is a core partner of NVIDIA in the field of optical interconnects. In early May, NVIDIA and Corning announced a long-term strategic cooperation. NVIDIA will invest up to $2.7 billion in Corning through stock warrants; Corning will build three new factories in the United States, increasing its optical interconnect capacity for AI infrastructure by 10 times and its fiber optic production by more than 50%.
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. was founded in April 1993 and is an IoT innovation company. It has formed a business structure centered on displays, IoT innovation, sensors and solutions, MLED, and smart medical fusion development.
BOE A’s current performance is growing well. According to its 2025 annual report, the company achieved revenue of 204.59 billion yuan, returning to the 200 billion yuan scale after 2021. Its net profit attributable to shareholders was 5.857 billion yuan, up 10.03% year-over-year. In the first quarter of this year, the company achieved revenue of 51 billion yuan, up 0.80% year-over-year, and net profit of 1.707 billion yuan, up 5.78% year-over-year.
