How Corning Is Using Trump’s Tariffs To Its Advantage

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Corning is everywhere: from the fiber optic cables powering the internet to the Gorilla Glass on your iPhone. Now, the 175-year-old company is making domestic manufacturing profitable. In this week’s episode of Bold Names, CEO Wendell Weeks sits down with WSJ's Christopher Mims to discuss how he plays the long game with technology investments and why his company is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the Trump administration’s tariffs and industrial policy. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: Condoleezza Rice on Beating China in the Tech Race: 'Run Hard and Run Fast' Biden’s Antitrust Architect on How Big Tech Threatens U.S. Prosperity This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	AI is incredible. They can teach you how to fry an egg and even write a poem, pirate style.
0:07.0	But it knows nothing about your work. Slackbot is different. It doesn't just know the facts.
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0:20.0	Because Slackbot isn't just another AI.
0:23.3	It's AI that knows your work as well as you do.
0:26.4	Visit Slack.com forward slash meet Slackbot to learn more.
0:30.1	For the average person, I don't think they know anything about Corning.
0:35.5	You want to start in the beginning?
0:38.2	Yeah, let's start with Thomas Edison.
0:40.0	Actually, I keep that in my office, the very first order that he ever gave to Corning for glass envelopes.
0:47.3	I keep that to remind me the big things start out very small, because that is a very small order.
0:59.2	This week on bold names, we have Corning CEO Wendell Weeks.
1:03.9	Now, what does Corning do?
1:05.1	They have made everything from the glass in Thomas Edison's light bulbs to the glass screens
1:10.6	on every iPhone ever manufactured.
1:12.7	They also make the glass fibers in the fiber optic cables, which comprise the internet,
1:17.4	and which are huge now because of the AI boom.
1:20.4	So how has this company remained relevant from the 1800s until the present day?
1:26.2	That's what's next.
1:31.3	Thank you. From the 1800s until the present day, that's what's next. From the Wall Street Journal, I'm Christopher Mims.
1:34.5	This is Bold Names, where you'll hear from the leaders of the bold name companies featured in the Wall Street Journal.
1:41.6	On this week's show, how is this 175-year-old company thriving in 2026?
	...

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