GlobalFoundries’ Communications Infrastructure & Data Center revenue rose 80.6% to $316 million in the third quarter, while Smart Mobile Devices revenue fell 18.8% to $611 million, according to the quarterly report it filed on 4 November. Each moved by $141 million.
By our arithmetic, the data center gain matched the phone decline dollar for dollar, and data center’s share of revenue rose to 16.6% from 10.4%. The quarter ended before GlobalFoundries signed a $2 billion silicon interposer agreement with TSMC in October.
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The key insight: GlobalFoundries’ Communications Infrastructure & Data Center revenue rose $141 million and Smart Mobile Devices fell $141 million; data center rose to 16.6% of revenue from 10.4%, and 74.9% of the added revenue became non-IFRS gross profit, by our arithmetic.
Revenue was $1.899 billion, up 12.5%. The quarterly report attributes the rise to “a 7.5% increase in wafer shipment volumes to 647 thousand 300mm-equivalent wafers, a 4.8% increase in average selling prices (“ASPs”) driven by favorable product mix” and higher Technology Services revenue.
It says data center revenue grew “primarily driven by growth in data center networking applications utilizing SiPh and SiGe technologies”, and that phone revenue fell “primarily reflecting memory price-driven demand weakness in the smartphone market”.
Chief executive Tim Breen said the quarter delivered “record non-IFRS gross margin reflecting a richer mix of business across high-value, high-growth AI applications”.
Change in GlobalFoundries third-quarter revenue against a year earlier by end market: Communications Infrastructure & Data Center up $141 million, Smart Mobile Devices down $141 million, with Home and Industrial IoT, Automotive and Technology Services. Source: GlobalFoundries Form 6-K quarterly report, quarter ended 30 September 2026. Shares are our arithmetic.
Wall St Engine’s results card, posted at 12:03Z, lists GlobalFoundries’ third-quarter figures against consensus estimates, the TSMC and U.S.-Japan announcements, and the CEO’s line on AI applications. We use it only for the estimates.
Where the Margin Came From
Non-IFRS gross margin was 31.4%, against 26.0% a year earlier. Non-IFRS gross profit rose $158 million on $211 million of added revenue, so 74.9% of the added revenue became gross profit, by our arithmetic.
Smart Mobile Devices fell to 32.2% of revenue from 44.5%, by the same method. Home and Industrial IoT grew 48.8% and Automotive 20.3%.
The $441 Million Share Charge
The company reported a net loss of $270 million, against non-IFRS net income of $298 million. The release says GlobalFoundries “issued 9.9 million ordinary shares to the USG, resulting in a $441 million non-cash charge recorded in non-operating expense, which was the primary driver of the IFRS net loss in the quarter”.
The quarterly report says the shares were valued at the “closing stock price of $ 44.53 per share on September 3, 2026”. Fourth-quarter guidance excludes “expected non-cash charges in non-operating expense for additional common share issuances to the USG”, because their timing and amount are uncertain.
The Fourth Quarter and the October Deals
GlobalFoundries guides fourth-quarter revenue of $2,000 million, plus or minus $25 million, 5.3% above the third quarter at the midpoint, by our arithmetic, and non-IFRS gross margin of 31.5%, plus or minus 100 basis points.
In October it agreed a multi-year, $2 billion manufacturing agreement with TSMC “to establish a U.S.-based supply of silicon interposers for TSMC’s CoWoS advanced packaging ecosystem”, with volume production expected to begin ramping in the first half of 2028.
It was also selected to operate two new fabs in Malta, New York, under a U.S.-Japan initiative “that will provide up to $21 billion in funding”, and agreed to reallocate $955 million of CHIPS Act incentives.
Against the Consensus
Against the consensus estimates cited by Wall St Engine, revenue of $1.90 billion compared with $1.89 billion expected, adjusted EPS of $0.53 with $0.50, and adjusted gross margin of 31.4% with 30.4%. Wall St Engine cites a 30.7% estimate for fourth-quarter adjusted gross margin, against guidance of 31.5%.
The Reaction on X
Wall St Engine posted its results card at 12:03Z. The only comment it quotes is Breen’s line on “high-value, high-growth AI applications”, and it lists the TSMC agreement and the U.S.-Japan fabs under announcements.
What the Risk Factors Say
GlobalFoundries reports on Form 6-K, and its quarterly report has no risk-factor section of its own. It says: “For a discussion of potential risks and uncertainties, please refer to the risk factors and cautionary statements in our 2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F”, so this piece has no risk-factor comparison.
As we read the end-market table, the quarter’s revenuegrowth and margin came from data center networking and other non-phone markets, while phones, the largest end market, shrank.
As we read the share charge, the net loss is a non-cashaccounting result of issuing 9.9 million shares to the U.S. government at the 3 September closing price, which the company says may recur.
Tim Breen, GlobalFoundries chief executive, Q3 2026 release
“record non-IFRS gross margin reflecting a richer mix of business across high-value, high-growth AI applications”
Three Implications
FOR THE PRODUCT MIX Data center rose to 16.6% of revenue and phones fell to 32.2% from 44.5%, by our arithmetic.
FOR MARGINS Non-IFRS gross margin rose to 31.4% from 26.0%; 74.9% of the added revenue became non-IFRS gross profit, by our arithmetic.
FOR U.S. PACKAGING CAPACITY The $2 billion TSMC agreement adds U.S. silicon interposer capacity for CoWoS, with volume production expected to begin ramping in the first half of 2028.
The framework puts it this way: “The digital economy rests on a physical foundation that most people in that economy never see.”
As we read it, GlobalFoundries’ quarter shows that foundation being rebuilt in the U.S.: U.S. government shares, Japanese funding for fabs in New York and TSMC interposers made in Malta. The framework, published in December 2025, does not discuss GlobalFoundries.
The filings do not name the data center customers or split the segment between data center and communications. The two $141 million changes are reported separately; the filings do not describe one as replacing the other. Guidance is the company’s outlook. We did not use the earnings call and did not contact GlobalFoundries.
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GlobalFoundries’ data center revenue rose $141 million, or 80.6%, while phone revenue fell $141 million, and 74.9% of the added revenue became non-IFRS gross profit, by our arithmetic. A $441 million charge for shares issued to the U.S. government turned the quarter into a $270 million net loss.
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A note on sourcing. Every GlobalFoundries figure comes from its third-quarter 2026 results release and Form 6-K quarterly report, filed on SEC EDGAR on 4 November 2026. Estimates are the consensus figures cited by Wall St Engine. Shares, ratios and the quarter-on-quarter change are our arithmetic.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
