GlobalFoundries projects Q4 revenue of $1.8b on data center demand

GlobalFoundries forecast Q4 profit and revenue above Wall Street expectations, citing continued demand from automotive and data center clients.

The Malta, New York-based contract chipmaker reported its shares rise about 6% in premarket trading after also beating Q3 profit estimates.

Automotive customers make up around 16% of its annual revenue, while communications, infrastructure, and data center clients account for about 10.5%; smartphones remain its largest segment at over 40%.

GlobalFoundries projects Q4 adjusted earnings of 47 cents per share, plus or minus 5 cents, and revenue of US$1.8 billion, plus or minus US$25 million, slightly above analyst forecasts.

In Q3, the company reported earnings of 41 cents per share on revenue of US$1.7 billion, both just ahead of market estimates.

GlobalFoundries operates chip plants in Germany, Singapore, New York, and Vermont, supplying companies such as AMD, Qualcomm, and NXP Semiconductors.

It recently signed a technology licensing deal with TSMC and announced a €1.1 billion expansion of its German facility, backed partly by the German government.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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Implications, context, and why it matters.

GaN licensing grows U.S. capacity while differentiation remains unclear

GlobalFoundries (GF) is licensing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 650V and 80V Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology for power devices used in data centers, automotive, industrial uses 1. Production starts in late 2026 at GF’s Burlington, Vermont fab 1. TSMC plans to end its GaN wafer foundry services on July 31, 2027, then shift capacity to advanced packaging (techniques that tightly integrate or stack chips to improve performance and energy efficiency) 2.
The deal expands U.S.-based GaN manufacturing 1. It also brings competitive risk because GF will ship GaN built on TSMC 650V and 80V processes 2. Without process features beyond the licensed variants (often referred to as nodes in this context), GF could face margin pressure in these segments as Chinese makers keep pushing prices lower 2.

IP vendors eye portability across TSMC GaN and GF’s licensed process

Semiconductor intellectual property (IP) providers and design service firms (outsourced chip design houses) can build portable GaN IP blocks for TSMC 650V or 80V processes that also map to GF’s licensed version 1.
GF targets development in early 2026, with production later that year 1. TSMC plans to end GaN wafer foundry services by July 31, 2027 2. That gives about 18 months to craft and qualify GaN IP libraries for GF’s Burlington process before TSMC exits, which lets IP vendors support supply chain diversification by giving chipmakers alternative sources 1.