Global OEM Factory (GFS), 432 billion KRW buyback of company shares... Expanding AI and automotive semiconductor investments

GlobalFoundries (GFS), an American semiconductor foundry company, is continuously expanding its influence in the supply chain through various initiatives such as technological investments, strategic alliances, and share buybacks targeting the AI and automotive semiconductor markets. Especially as it strengthens its core business portfolio centered on “Physical AI,” automotive semiconductors, and data center infrastructure, Wall Street’s attention is once again focusing on it.

Recently, GlobalFoundries announced a secondary public offering of 20 million shares, coinciding with a reduction of its major shareholder Mubadala’s holdings. Although the company is not issuing new shares directly in the offering, it plans to use its own funds to repurchase part of the shares held by the selling shareholder, valued at $300 million (about 432 billion KRW). This buyback is part of a board-approved plan with a maximum scale of $500 million (about 720 billion KRW), aimed at absorbing some of the market’s circulating shares to protect shareholder value. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are serving as lead underwriters for this offering.

At the same time, investments to strengthen technological competitiveness are underway. The company announced it will offer “AutoPro150 eMRAM” technology for automotive system-on-chip (SoC) on its enhanced FDX platform. This memory is designed for automotive-grade applications operating in environments up to 150°C, supporting up to 500,000 write endurance cycles and read speeds below 10 nanoseconds. GlobalFoundries plans to start mass production in the second half of 2026 at its factories in the U.S. and Dresden, Germany. The company explained, “This technology focuses on achieving low-power, high-speed non-volatile memory necessary for Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV) and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).”

In the realm of globalized semiconductor supply chains, meaningful collaborations have also been announced. GlobalFoundries signed a multi-billion-dollar semiconductor manufacturing cooperation agreement with Renesas of Japan and plans to expand its manufacturing capacity in the U.S. The two parties plan to leverage processes such as FDX (FD-SOI), BCD, and CMOS based on non-volatile memory to enhance Renesas’ production of microcontrollers (MCUs), power semiconductors, and SoCs. The initial design phase is expected to begin in mid-2026, with initial production in the U.S., followed by expansion to Germany, Singapore, and China. Industry comments on this cooperation include: “This is a case where foundries and chip design companies’ interests align amid the trend of reshaping the U.S.-led semiconductor supply chain.”

Efforts to acquire design assets (IP) for the AI era are also progressing. GlobalFoundries has reached an agreement to acquire Synopsys’ (SNPS) processor IP solutions business unit. The acquisition includes ARC-V based RISC-V CPU IP, DSP, NPU IP, as well as ARC MetaWare development tools and ASIP Designer·Programmer software. The company plans to combine these assets with chip design firm MIPS to develop customized processor platforms for “Physical AI” applications. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026 after regulatory approvals.

Financial performance remains relatively stable. GlobalFoundries announced that its revenue for Q4 2025 was $1.83 billion (about 2.6352 trillion KRW), with a net profit of $200 million (about 288 billion KRW). For the full year, revenue reached $6.79 billion (about 9.7776 trillion KRW), and net profit was $888 million (about 1.2787 trillion KRW). During the same period, adjusted EBITDA for Q4 was $641 million (about 923 billion KRW), with an annual total of $2.357 billion (about 3.395 trillion KRW). The company’s cash and cash equivalents amount to approximately $4 billion (about 5.76 trillion KRW).

Management has also been strengthened. GlobalFoundries appointed Ganesh Moorthy, former CEO of Microchip Technology with over 40 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, as a board member. The company stated, “He is a leader with manufacturing and technical strategy experience, which will help enhance our customer-centric operational execution.”

GlobalFoundries is also enhancing investor communication. The company plans to hold an “Investor Day” in New York in May 2026 to announce its long-term growth strategy and plans to expand its AI, data center, and automotive semiconductor businesses. Additionally, it hosted an investor webinar focused on silicon photonics and advanced packaging technologies, continuously introducing its new growth initiatives.

Wall Street comments that GlobalFoundries is strengthening its strategy by not competing in advanced logic process nodes but instead focusing on specialized process technologies to ensure profitability and stable demand. Especially if the AI infrastructure and automotive semiconductor markets continue to grow, GlobalFoundries’ technological portfolio is highly likely to translate into long-term competitiveness.