Corning Incorporated GLW reported solid second-quarter 2021 results, wherein both the bottom line and the top line beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.Bottom LineOn a GAAP basis, net loss in the June quarter was $354 million or loss of 42 cents per share compared with a net loss of $96 million or loss of 13 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.Core net income came in at $459 million or 53 cents per share compared with $218 million or 25 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The improvement was driven by higher sales and expanded margins. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents.Corning Incorporated Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Corning Incorporated price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Corning Incorporated QuoteRevenuesQuarterly GAAP net sales increased 36.7% year over year to $3,501 million, driven by strong sales growth at all five business segments. Core sales grew to $3,504 million from $2,588 million. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate of $3,403 million.Segment ResultsNet sales in Optical Communications increased 21.2% year over year to $1,075 million. Sales grew in both enterprise and carrier networks, driven by 5G, fiber-to-the-home and cloud computing projects. The segment’s net income was $148 million compared with $81 million in the prior-year quarter.Net sales in Display Technologies were $939 million compared with $753 million in the prior-year quarter, led by an increase in glass substrate prices. The segment’s net income was $248 million compared with $152 million in the year-ago quarter.Specialty Materials’ net sales were up 15.8% year over year to $483 million. The rise was driven by strong demand for premium cover materials, strength in the IT market and greater optical content in semiconductor manufacturing. The segment’s net income was $81 million compared with $90 million a year ago.Environmental Technologies’ net sales jumped 80.1% year over year to $407 million, resulting from improving markets and more Corning content. Under this, automotive sales were up 68% as vehicle production improved from pandemic lows and gasoline particulate filter adoption continued in Europe and China. Diesel sales grew 101% year over year, driven by adoption of advanced exhaust after-treatment systems in preparation for China VI implementation as well as strength in the North America heavy-duty truck market. The segment’s net income was $81 million.Net sales in Life Sciences were up 28.4% year over year to $312 million. The performance was driven by recovery in academic and pharmaceutical research labs and strong demand for bioproduction products and diagnostic-related consumables. The segment’s net income improved to $52 million from $31 million reported a year ago.Other DetailsCost of sales increased 21.1% year over year to $2,186 million. Gross profit improved to $1,315 million from $756 million. Core gross profit was $1,326 million compared with $863 million in the prior-year quarter, with respective margins of 37.8% and 33.3%. Operating income was $575 million, which improved from a loss of $103 million.Cash Flow & LiquidityDuring the first half of 2021, Corning generated $1,494 million of net cash from operating activities compared with $798 million in the prior-year period. Free cash flow improved to $843 million from a negative $34 million.As of Jun 30, 2021, the company had $2,320 million in cash and cash equivalents with $7,025 million of long-term debt.Q3 OutlookCorning anticipates strong demand and positive momentum across its businesses to continue. For the third quarter, it expects core sales in the range of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion. Core earnings per share are estimated between 54 cents and 59 cents.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderCorning currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader sector are 360 DigiTech, Inc. QFIN, Blucora, Inc. BCOR and Seagate Technology Holdings plc STX, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.360 DigiTech delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 42.2%, on average.Blucora pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.8%, on average.Seagate delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.4%, on average. +1,500% Growth: One of 2021’s Most Exciting Investment Opportunities In addition to the stocks you read about above, would you like to see Zacks’ top picks to capitalize on the Internet of Things (IoT)? It is one of the fastest-growing technologies in history, with an estimated 77 billion devices to be connected by 2025. That works out to 127 new devices per second. Zacks has released a special report to help you capitalize on the Internet of Things’s exponential growth. It reveals 4 under-the-radar stocks that could be some of the most profitable holdings in your portfolio in 2021 and beyond.Click here to download this report FREE >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX): Free Stock Analysis Report Corning Incorporated (GLW): Free Stock Analysis Report Blucora, Inc. (BCOR): Free Stock Analysis Report 360 DigiTech, Inc. Sponsored ADR (QFIN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research