GlobalFoundries Hits Record 31.4% Gross Margin as Silicon Photonics Revenue Accelerates

GlobalFoundries reported a record non-IFRS gross margin of 31.4% for the third quarter of 2026 on its November 4 earnings call, as the chipmaker shifted capacity toward optical networking and custom automotive silicon. The Motley Fool covered the call and management's remarks.

GlobalFoundries' Silicon Photonics Run Rate Target

GlobalFoundries is a specialty semiconductor foundry that makes differentiated chips on proprietary platforms including FDX FD-SOI, FinFET, RF-SOI, silicon photonics and GaN for AI infrastructure, automotive, aerospace and defense, mobile and IoT markets, according to akta.pro company records.

Management expects to exit 2027 at an annualized $1 billion revenue run rate in silicon photonics, pulling that milestone forward by a year. "To support the ramping demand for optical networking in 2028 and beyond, we plan to approximately triple our silicon photonics capacity over the course of next year," CEO Tim Breen said on the call.

Crypto Briefing reported that the 31.4% non-IFRS gross margin was up 540 basis points year over year, with revenue of $1.899 billion. Communications infrastructure revenue rose 81% year over year and now accounts for about 17% of total revenue, and the company raised its silicon photonics revenue outlook to $500 million for 2026.

How Partnerships Fund GlobalFoundries' Expansion

GlobalFoundries is securing customer prepayments and government grants to scale manufacturing. Breen described a partnership for the Malta, New York site that uses fee structures and cost reimbursements to generate wafer profits comparable to self-funded plants without heavy upfront capital expenditures. "The unique and innovative partnership structure allows GF to expand capacity faster without investing capital, with an economic model that is accretive to our long-range plans," he said.

CFO Sam Franklin said more than two-thirds of Q3 revenue came from outside smart mobile devices for the first time in the company's history. "Our revenue mix continues to shift toward differentiated high-value technologies and services, while our government and customer partnerships are enabling us to make capital-efficient investments to scale and accelerate key technologies with favorable economics," Franklin said.

GlobalFoundries' Recent Expansion Moves

In November 2026, GlobalFoundries broke ground on its first new semiconductor fab in Malta, New York, under a U.S.-Japan initiative, TradingView reported. The project is backed by up to $21 billion in funding and will add about 900,000 wafers of annual capacity.

Governor Hochul celebrated the groundbreaking of GlobalFoundries' new $10 billion semiconductor facility in Saratoga County, part of a $12.3 billion expansion, according to a state announcement. In May 2026, the company launched its SCALE co-packaged optics solution, an OCI MSA-capable platform, with Meta and Amazon as anchor customers under multi-billion dollar supply agreements, the same records show.

What Comes Next for GlobalFoundries

GlobalFoundries targets high-volume manufacturing of its FDX Fusion planar FD-SOI process, which delivers 7nm-class power and performance without EUV lithography, by 2030, Tom's Hardware reported. The company also plans to approximately triple its silicon photonics capacity over the course of 2027.