Corning previously reported full year 2021 and 4Q earnings. Wendell P. Weeks, chairman of Corning's board of directors, said 4Q was another quarter of strong year-over-year growth for Corning. Throughout 2021, Corning reported sales of more than $14 billion, EPS of more than $2, near doubling of cash flow, a 9 percent increase in dividends and a 5 percent reduction in preferred stock. Corning is gaining short- and long-term competitive advantage across all product lines based on enhancing core competencies and adopting a "more Corning" strategy.
Corning's GAAP sales for the fourth quarter were $3.7 billion, up 12% year-over-year, and full year GAAP sales of $14.1 billion, with core business growth of 23% year-over-year driven by optical communications, display, and life sciences. GAAP EPS of $0.56 and core business EPS of $0.54 for the four quarters and GAAP EPS of $1.28 and core business EPS of $2.07 for the full year. Core business gross margin was 36.5% for the fourth quarter, down 180 basis points sequentially, and gross margin for the full year increased 110 basis points to 37.1%. Corning GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $487 million, compared to $371 million in the previous quarter and $252 million in the same quarter last year. Full year net profit was $1,906 million, compared to $512 million in 2020. Year-over-year growth of 272%.
Corning's optical communications business will grow 22% year-over-year to $4.3 billion in 2021, with growth driven by growth in broadband, 5G and cloud computing. Innovations in this area in 2021 include the introduction of low-loss bend-insensitive SMF-28 Contour fiber, the EDGE Rapid Connect super data centre cabling solution that can increase deployment speeds by 70 percent, and the launch of a new product line in Corning's largest fiber optic cable plant in indoor millimeter wave base stations and edge deployments with Verizon's 5G partnership, among others. Corning expects to see even greater growth in its optical communications business in 2022.
Corning Optical Communications sales of $1.206 billion in the fourth quarter, compared to $1.131 billion in the previous quarter and $976 million a year ago. Full-year revenue was $4.349 billion, compared to $3.563 billion in 2020. Net income from optical communications operations of $155 million in the quarter, compared to $139 million in the previous quarter and $141 million a year ago. Net profit for the whole of 2021 is US$553 million, compared to US$366 million in 2020, an increase of 51% year-on-year.
