Note 13 - Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

Guarantees

The Company is required, at the time a guarantee is issued, to recognize a liability for the fair value or market value of the obligation it assumes. In the normal course of business, the Company does not routinely provide significant third-party guarantees. Generally, third-party guarantees provided by Corning are limited to certain financial guarantees, including stand-by letters of credit and performance bonds, and the incurrence of contingent liabilities in the form of purchase price adjustments related to attainment of milestones. These guarantees have various terms and none of these guarantees are individually significant. The Company believes a significant majority of these guarantees and contingent liabilities will expire without being funded.

Purchase Commitments

Purchase obligations are enforceable and legally binding obligations. The Company has purchase commitments primarily for raw materials and energy-related take-or-pay contracts. Commitments made under these obligations as of December 31, 2022 are as follows (in millions):

	Amount of commitment expiration per period
	Less than 1 year		1 to 3 years		3 to 5 years		5 years and thereafter
Purchase obligations	$	230	$	212	$	102	$	453

Litigation, Environmental and Indemnifications

Corning is a defendant in various lawsuits and is subject to various claims that arise in the normal course of business, the most significant of which are summarized below. In the opinion of management, the likelihood that the ultimate disposition of these matters will have a material adverse effect on Corning’s consolidated financial position, liquidity, or results of operations, is remote.

Dow Corning Chapter 11 Related Matters

Until June 1, 2016, Corning and The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) each owned 50% of the common stock of Dow Corning Corporation (“Dow Corning”). On May 31, 2016, Corning and Dow realigned their ownership interest in Dow Corning. Following the realignment, Corning no longer owned any interest in Dow Corning. With the realignment, Corning agreed to indemnify Dow for 50% of Dow Corning’s non-ordinary course, pre-closing liabilities to the extent such liabilities exceed the amounts reserved for them by Dow Corning as of May 31, 2016, subject to certain conditions and limits. Corning does not believe that its indemnity obligation will be material.

Dow Corning Environmental Claims

In September 2019, Dow formally notified Corning of certain environmental matters for which Dow asserts that it has or will experience losses arising from remediation and response at a number of sites. In the event Dow is liable for these claims, Corning may be required to indemnify Dow for up to 50% of that liability, subject to certain conditions and limits. As of December 31, 2022, Corning has determined a potential liability for these environmental matters is probable, and the amount reserved is not material. 

Environmental Litigation

Corning has been designated by federal or state governments under environmental laws, including Superfund, as a potentially responsible party that may be liable for cleanup costs associated with 19 hazardous waste sites. It is Corning’s policy to accrue for its estimated liability related to such hazardous waste sites and other environmental liabilities related to property owned by Corning based on expert analysis and continual monitoring by both internal and external consultants. As of  December 31, 2022 and 2021, Corning had accrued approximately $109 million and $55 million, respectively, for the estimated undiscounted liability for environmental cleanup and related litigation. Based upon the information developed to date, management believes that the accrued reserve is a reasonable estimate of the Company’s liability.