Verizon and Corning Just Signed an 80 Million Mile Fiber Deal to Wire the AI Boom

Verizon and Corning have inked a multiyear, multibillion-dollar agreement for over 80 million miles of high-density optical fiber, aimed at expanding broadband connectivity and supporting AI data centers. The fiber will be utilized in homes, businesses, and interconnect infrastructure between data centers. Corning, which already has supply deals with Meta and Amazon, is rated 'Buy' with a $191 target, while Verizon is a 'Hold' best owned for its dividend.

The deal capitalizes on the growing demand for AI data center installations, which could see 160 fibers per GPU in a fully optical scale-up scenario. Verizon aims to have more than 32 million fiber passings by year-end and 40 to 50 million passings over the medium term, thanks to the deal.