From Fired Researcher to $13.7 Billion King: How Leopold Aschenbrenner Broke the Hedge Fund World

23. Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) PUT

Situational Awareness LP’s Stake: $21 Million

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is a new addition to the 13F portfolio of Situational Awareness LP. The fund declared a new stake in the company in filings for the first quarter of 2026. This stake consists of PUT bets worth close to 155,000 shares. The firm operates in optical communications, display, specialty materials, automotive, and life sciences businesses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. Driven by intense hype surrounding the optical fiber agreements with AI hyperscalers like Meta, the stock soared to all-time highs, driving market capitalization past $164 billion. In the past twelve months, shares have climbed close to 300%.

However, smart money managers like Leopold Aschenbrenner realize that Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is trading on a software-like valuation without software-like cash generation. Instead, the physical footprint of the firm requires massive, ongoing capital injections just to sustain operations and fulfill new hyperscaler contracts. In Q1 2026, while Corning reported core net income growth, it converted that into just $188 million in Free Cash Flow. On a quarterly revenue base of $4.35 billion and a market cap of $164 billion, an FCF print this low represents a cash conversion rate of just 4.3%. To support new optical fiber expansions, management revealed on the Q1 call that capital expenditures are escalating. Projected CapEx for FY 2026 is modeled at $1.7 billion or higher.