New York-Based Glass & Ceramic Materials Co Corning: I Read the First Part of Corning's 4Q 2017 Earnings Release and I Think Things Are Fantastic For Corning ....................................................................................... Then I Focus on the Detailed Numbers Actually Reported and I Get Just the Opposite Feeling Including a Headache ....................................................................................... Corning's 4Q 2017 Sales Were Up 7%, Gross Margin Up 4%, Operating Income Down 14% or Down By $60 Mil, Pretax Income Down 76% or Down By an Amazingly High $1,838 Mil and Net Income (Loss) Deteriorated By an Off-the-Charts $2,984 Mil, Going From a Net Income of $1,572 Mil in the 4Q 2016 to a Net Loss of $1,412 Mil in the 4Q 2017 (Whoa!) ....................................................................................... The Biggest Reason For the Pretax Income Reduction was Related To Translated Earnings Hedging Contract Gains of $1,847 Mil in the 4Q 2016 and of a Much Lower $72 Mil in the 4Q 2017 (It Appears That Something Went Askew With Corning's Hedging Program of Many Foreign Currencies) ....................................................................................... The Biggest After Tax Earnings Deterioration Was Related To the $1,755 Mil Increase in Income Tax Expense in the 4Q 2017 Due To the Total Negative Impact of the US Trump Tax Bill on Corning's 4Q 2017 Earnings ....................................................................................... Corning States the Four Items Comprising This $1,755 Mil Income Tax Charge "a provisional amount related to the one-time mandatory tax on unrepatriated foreign earnings, a provisional amount related to the remeasurement of U.S. deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes in valuation allowances as a result of the 2017 Tax Act, and adjustments for the elimination of foreign tax credits", But Unfortunately Corning Does Not Disclose the Amounts of Each Item