NEW YORK, May 21, 2026, 10:08 (EDT)
GlobalFoundries surged 12.7% to $79.75 early Thursday, with more than 3.4 million shares changing hands as investors bought in after new U.S. moves on quantum-chip manufacturing. The stock, listed on the Nasdaq, started at $77.99 and went as high as $82.44, market data showed.
Washington is starting to put real capital into quantum computing, stepping beyond just policy talk and pushing into a technology that relies on quantum bits, not regular binary ones, for some calculations. For GlobalFoundries, a foundry that builds chips for other companies, the funding means a shot at growth outside its main business in chips for autos, communications, defense and data centers.
GlobalFoundries said it started Quantum Technology Solutions and is set to get $375 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce, which signed a letter of intent. Commerce gets a strategic equity stake of around 1% in the company. CEO Tim Breen said the move helps a “coordinated national push” to grow manufacturing in the U.S. GlobalFoundries Inc.
Tech stocks were under pressure as the Nasdaq slipped 0.4% and the S&P 500 dropped 0.31% during the morning. WTI crude stayed over $100 a barrel, while the 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 4.61%. That kind of setup tends to weigh on high-growth tech names.
GlobalFoundries is getting pulled into the quantum trade, and it’s not the only one. IBM lined up $1 billion and is planning a standalone quantum-chip foundry, Anderon. GlobalFoundries’ $375 million deal puts it in the same domestic supply-chain push.
GlobalFoundries is setting up a new division focused on quantum processor units, or QPUs, and cryogenic CMOS, which are control chips designed for very low temperatures. Chief Technology Officer Gregg Bartlett said quantum is “at its inflection point.” Chris Miller, a Tufts professor and author of Chip War, said countries able to produce quantum hardware at scale will have the edge. GlobalFoundries Inc.
GlobalFoundries has a stronger story now than last year. The chipmaker’s first-quarter revenue came in at $1.634 billion, up 3% year over year. Non-IFRS diluted EPS was 40 cents, with adjusted EBITDA at $561 million. For the current quarter, the company guided revenue to $1.760 billion, give or take $25 million. Non-IFRS numbers adjust for costs like stock-based pay and restructuring to show the business without those swings.
Earlier this month, the company said it plans to pay its first quarterly dividend of 12 cents a share on July 14 to shareholders of record as of June 24. It also told investors it aims to return up to 50% of trailing 12-month non-IFRS adjusted free cash flow, after investments, through dividends and buybacks.
Quantum trading has warning signs. Quantum computers deal with big technical issues like high error rates, and when they’ll be ready is far from clear; Reuters noted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said last year that “very useful quantum computers” are probably 20 years out. D-Wave and Rigetti shares climbed after the award news too, so some of GlobalFoundries’ action could be about a rush across the sector, not changes to GlobalFoundries’ own earnings. Reuters
Right now, the market isn’t seeing GlobalFoundries as a mature-node chip maker. Instead, it’s pricing the stock like the company is a key player in government-backed tech efforts. That’s been good for the shares so far. But foundries always run up against the same challenge—turning big announcements and customer wins into actual shipments, real revenue, and margin growth.
Related articles: NASDAQ:GFS
