Corning Incorporated (GLW) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Well, thank you, everybody, for joining. I appreciate your time. I wanted to give you an update on the exciting things that are going on at Ensurge today. So as always, there's a safe harbor statement. I presume you understand what that is. I'm going to kick into the presentation. So as we all know, AI is an era that is upon us right now, and devices are changing. They are becoming smaller, they're becoming smarter and they're becoming everywhere. As an example, in all of 2024, a total of 2 million smart glasses were sold, about half were by Meta. Six weeks later, it was reported that Meta has sold another 1 million with an annual capacity of 5x that amount. That's the new AI market. Today's existing market of smart wearables is about 50% of that. So the application of microbatteries is not just in new devices but in existing devices. The hearing aid market is 50%, and they're miniaturizing and getting smaller. How are they getting smaller and how are they getting smarter? The chips are becoming more powerful and customers need them smaller. The battery plays a pivotal role. In my first 2 months as CEO, I've been doing a listening tour of our customers and of the market. And what I've come to understand is there's a major problem that the market faces as companies try to develop new products that customers want. And that is the battery. The battery is old, it's big and it doesn't power for very long. The average Meta glasses user, even though the amount -- the stated amount says that it can charge up to 6 hours, on average, people are getting about 3 hours out of their glasses. That's not enough. Think about the person with the hearing aid. Think about the heart implant. These are products that need better batteries. Our customers need us. And I've been in the industry for so long to know that there's a difference between need and want. But we stand alone. Ensurge stands alone in this market where, on the left, it's niche markets that are very specialized and very specific and bespoke. On the right, this is last century's technology. So the companies that we're speaking to right now that want to work with us are using a very old technology that's not safe and it's completely insufficient for what today's requirements are. Even our initial reference platform, our prototypes deliver more than 50% volumetric energy density over today's variants. That's just our reference platform. And as you might remember, the reference platform is a 75-micron product. It's already better than today's standard. And our launch product, which is a 10-micron, is on track to being 2 to 4x the power density of today's standard batteries. If you look at us, if you stack us up next to the standard battery, not just the energy density, but the charge time is at least double that of today's standard batteries. And the speed as well at which you charge so you don't have to leave your smart ring or your watch or your device in the charging cycle for overnight. You can do it during the shower or during some other times. Critically, it is safety. It is safe. It is a fundamentally safe product and unlike today's lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes that have thermal runaway issues. Lastly, it's agile. It has a form factor that can move and design with these products that we are looking to develop with our end customers. And that is something that no battery today can support. So the prior leadership team and Board may have had the team working on everything and anything all at once, and I can't speak to what they shared with you or what they promised you. I can tell you that I have over 25 years of real experience launching new products, and when I say something is real, it's real. And when I say that we've announced something, we've announced something. You will not see rumors or speculations from me. And honestly, I think that's an important thing for the company, that we get to credibility. We get to plans. We get to predictable, real results that we can stand on. So today's products, the 75 micron, we're shipping. We're shipping product. We've shipped products to paid customers. This is the reference platform. This product is better than anything on the market. It is safe and it has also a high operating temperature range. So many of these sterilized applications in medical can't use lithium-ion and so they're strapped for a better battery. We've identified a launch partner and this product is real. So again, if prior leadership may have led you to believe that there wasn't anything there, I think they're completely misfounded. The 10 micron, though, however, is our launch product. That one is a game changer. That one has a fantastic volumetric energy density, also enhances other customer product features such as the form factor which is agile, the power and, of course, the battery life. It unlocks new opportunities and we anticipate having demos by the end of the year. Lastly, Corning. We have a relationship with Corning. We can now say the name Corning. This is an iconic company, and I'm excited to share more about that with you. It is game-changing. It unlocks new AI opportunities. The customers we've spoken to are very eager to get their hands on this product. This enables them to do what they need to do in a market that's changing extremely quickly for them. It allows traditional industries to rethink how they do smart sensors. Today's supply chains need more intelligence. They need batteries that last longer. Medical device, there are so many applications. Defense, I had a CEO of a defense contractor come to me and say, "Please, let's work together because the battery is my biggest problem." So to have a market that's primed like this and ready, this is exciting. And for us, we have landed this very important relationship and I'm very excited for what's to come for the company. And again, when I say landed, we've cleaned up that old mess. We have landed this opportunity and I'm very excited for it. And when I say we're shipping product, we're shipping product. And I'm excited for what's to come across all three platforms of our company. And to be clear, Corning adds to us. It doesn't replace. It adds a new feature of technology that unlocks new opportunities and brings us into new spots. So a bit about Corning. This is a company that is an iconic company. It blends this tradition and industrial nature and experience with beloved products like Gorilla Glass into the Apple iPhones. It pairs that with this creativity and collaboration with companies as small as Ensurge and as new and as exciting as Ensurge. The collaboration is real. It's been going on for quite a while with the company, at least a couple of years from what I understand. And it is a very rich, very exciting partnership that the company has. They bring a ribbon ceramic material and a process technology that can integrate into ours. They bring a cultural fit as well. They bring industrialized skill sets to our skill set of early-stage technology. There are some really exciting opportunities here from a strategic outcome in accelerating Ensurge, derisking Ensurge, adding people and process and know-how and this wonderful collaboration between companies large and small. They offer a performance that is unbeatable, and I'm so excited to be working with them. What does this mean? So it's not just a passive investment. This is an active collaboration that we have started. There's a joint development agreement that is in multiple phases. We integrate their materials with our solid-state battery platform. And the goal is for this ultra-high power density output. And it's exciting across lots of different sectors. They'll provide know-how and process technology, process capability and also just a know-how of how to rapidly industrialize and scale production. If you think about COVID, they were the ones behind the lightning speed at which they got vials to market for vaccines. They're applying the same know-how to Ensurge now into solid-state batteries. I know another company whose stock price went ballistic on the news of just a supply agreement. This is way more than just a supply agreement. This is collaboration. This is about working together toward the future. This is something that is about the people and the time. When you're developing new technologies, the one thing you never have enough of are people and time. And so to have their people and their time is truly something extraordinary. And the investment as well, so the investment comes in two parts. The investment is an in-kind contribution for the people and the time that they put in, up to $5 million; as well as the option to invest in Ensurge up to $10 million. This is again greater than anything that has certainly been discussed in reality inside Ensurge and certainly is something that I'm quite excited about and I'd expect the investor base to be as well. What it means is there is stack level integration. We integrate their cathode into our ability to do layering and to optimize the technology with our solid electrolyte and our electrode development. That stack level integration is key to ensuring that we get both the volumetric energy density and the other charging capabilities and lifetime capabilities out of the product while not completely substituting what Ensurge does well already, which is a stainless steel substrate. Again, this is additive, not replacing. We also get to tap into Corning's fantastic process capability. They're a material science powerhouse, a company that knows technology and knows how to process it. And this is a know-how that is deeply ingrained into that company and is an area that already Ensurge has capability and an area for us to excel on together. The step change in energy density is the most exciting thing here, and this is something that is going to be an unbeatable product in the market. And manufacturability as well, the ability to scale into high-volume applications. Again this is a company with the know-how and the capability. And so as well going to customers together, this brings credibility to Ensurge. When we go talk to these major companies around the world, I was recently sitting down with the CTO of a major wearables company. The need is there. There are questions. And so by bringing Corning with us, there is a credibility that comes and an ability for us to have a much more substantive conversation with these customers and an opportunity to get into their future product lines at a much faster clip. So lastly, what is ahead for us? I'm extremely excited. Right now, we are shipping products. We're delivering to customers. And we're unlocking that by virtue of that 75-micron reference platform, a product that has step-out volumetric energy density and a lot of promise. We also are negotiating some long-term customer contracts. More to come on that. Mainly we're focused on quality. Right now, quality is our foundation. It might not sound sexy. It might not sound exciting. But I've got to tell you, from my experience, there's nothing more important than quality execution, and that is what we're focused on. Coming into 2026, we're going to be focusing on scaling that. We're going to be growing our customer base. We're going to be going to customers and we're going to be securing more deals with them. We'll be able to demonstrate our performance, and we'll be starting to work and be building off of true production-based processes. Lastly, by the end of the year, we will be in commercial stage. We will be shipping commercial units. We will be validating our product. And we will be scaling our manufacturing into production level types of quantities and processes. So across our proven platform, a quality foundation, partners who support us, partners as iconic and impressive and as involved as Corning, long-term customers who have already demonstrated a need and a desire to work with us and the opportunity to scale our production, I'm about as excited as I've ever been in my career. I don't think I would be anywhere else right now. There is no place to be than Ensurge at this moment in time, when an AI is upon us, AI is on the dawn of requiring new products. And we are at the heart of that. We are right there. So this is a team with the credibility and the capability to execute. We've cleaned up the past, and now it's time to look forward. This is a new Ensurge. This is a new day, and this is a very exciting time for a very capable company. With that, I'll answer a couple of questions. And I'll go into the chat. So bear with me while I read some of these questions.

Yes. So thank you for the presentation. Many are wondering how you progress the 28-layer design and how many charge cycles you've reached so far. So on the 28-layer design, we have progressed. We have done quite a lot. We've developed and we built 28 layers both in terms of 75 micron and 10 micron. And we're getting very impressive cycling, especially on the 75 micron, a product that we've been developing for quite some time. We can pump that out [ in minutes ]. That one is charging quite well. The 10-micron 28-layer as well, we're showing very promising results. And that one, the challenge of the 10 micron has been simply some process steps that we've actually solved. And showing very exciting results there and more to come on that. When do we expect warrants to be exercised? And that is in the terms of the agreement, the agreement has a 2-year window for those to be exercised. And that is as far as we know. And in terms of yield, defect rate, targets for cost per unit, these are very good questions about KPIs. And this is where the company has -- we do track KPIs internally. And frankly, I think the past management was focusing on everything and anything all at once, which means you can't focus on KPIs. And so with the team already we're working on metrics. We have metrics internally. And the more we can share with you, the better, and I look forward to that and that will come very soon. Pardon me, there's a technical glitch. What's the time frame for developing this new battery with Corning? So it's a multiphase agreement. So in the next months, during the course 206, we will be developing a cell level demonstration and then, from that, a multi-layer battery. Okay. Is there any other questions in English? I'll welcome any questions you might have. All right. I'm not seeing any other English questions. I appreciate your time. I would say that right now is an exciting time to be at Ensurge. It's the very beginning of a new chapter for us, an opportunity for us to work with an iconic company, a company that's going to support us and to develop product that's going to truly change the face of AI at the edge and enable AI devices. So thank you for your time. I really appreciate all the questions and welcome any follow-on in the days ahead. Thank you.