Key Highlights

● GlobalFoundries was selected as technology provider and operator for two new Malta fabs.

● Funding of up to US$21 billion is described as coming from Japan.

● The US Commerce Department is to receive roughly a 4% equity stake.

● Second-quarter revenue was US$1.786 billion, up 6% year on year.

Latest verified development

GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) said on 14 October 2026 that it had been selected as technology provider and operator for two new 300mm semiconductor fabs at its Malta, New York site, under a US-Japan initiative tied to a trade and investment agreement. The announcement, furnished on Form 6-K, says Japan supplies the investment while GlobalFoundries contributes its technology, manufacturing expertise and operations.

The release also cites about 27,000 construction and ecosystem jobs and more than 1,000 high-skilled manufacturing roles. The structure matters: the investment is described as coming from Japan, so GlobalFoundries is positioned as operator and technology provider, but the filing does not set out the commercial terms, fees or returns the company will receive.

Terms and caveats

Funding is described as up to US$21 billion, with about US$10 billion for the first fab, expected to come online in 2029, and about US$10 billion for a second. The release says the second investment would fund its facility, language that is less firm than for the first. Each fab is expected to add roughly 900,000 300mm wafers of annual US capacity once fully operational, and groundbreaking on the first is expected later in 2026.

Two other terms matter. The US Commerce Department is to receive roughly a 4% equity stake in GlobalFoundries under a separate agreement. The company also agreed to amend its existing CHIPS Act award, reallocating US$955 million to silicon photonics, silicon-germanium and advanced packaging in Malta and Burlington, Vermont.

The company cautions that benefits may not materialise if funding is delayed or withheld, and cites trade tensions, tariffs and policy developments as risks.

Latest reported results

The most recent results are for the second quarter, reported on 5 August 2026. Revenue was US$1.786 billion, up 6% year on year. Gross margin was 28.3% on an IFRS basis and 29.9% on a non-IFRS basis. Net income was US$167 million under IFRS and US$256 million non-IFRS, equal to diluted earnings per share of US$0.30 and US$0.46.

Operating cash flow was US$405 million, but adjusted free cash flow was a negative US$3 million, a reminder of how capital-intensive the business is.

Third-quarter guidance

For the third quarter the company guided revenue of US$1,885 million, plus or minus US$25 million, and non-IFRS diluted earnings per share of US$0.51, plus or minus US$0.05. Non-IFRS gross margin is guided at 30.5%, plus or minus 100 basis points. Under IFRS the guide is US$0.37 per share, plus or minus US$0.05, on about 556 million fully diluted shares, with an operating margin of 12.7%, plus or minus 170 basis points.

Malta fabs and capital spending

The company has announced a third-quarter results call for 4 November 2026. Groundbreaking on the first Malta fab is expected later in 2026, with the first fab coming online in 2029.

With second-quarter adjusted free cash flow at negative US$3 million and no commercial terms set out in the filing, how much of the Malta build will weigh on GlobalFoundries' own capital spending remains an open question.