GlobalFoundries forecasts upbeat Q4 results on strong demand from smartphone makers

(Reuters) - World's third-largest contract chipmaker, GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ:GFS ) , forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, driven by recovering semiconductor demand from smartphone makers, sending shares up nearly 10% in premarket trading.

The New York-based company has seen a resurgence in demand from its smart mobile devices segment, offsetting weakness in the Home and Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive markets.

Research firm IDC said last month that global smartphone shipments increased 4% year-on-year to 316.1 million units in the third quarter despite global economic headwinds.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM ), a major supplier to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL ) and one of GlobalFoundries' largest customers, is anticipated to benefit from the expected demand for AI-enabled iPhones from Apple during the upcoming holiday season.

The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to be between $1.80 billion and $1.85 billion, compared to estimates of $1.80 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

GlobalFoundries, majority-owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co, reported revenue of $1.74 billion in the third quarter, marginally above estimates of $1.73 billion, according to LSEG data.

Its smart mobile devices end-market saw an 11% jump in quarterly revenue to $868 million in the reported quarter.



The company expects adjusted profit per share to be in the range of 39 cents to 51 cents in the fourth quarter, above estimates of 37 cents.

It reported an adjusted third-quarter profit was 41 cents per share, beating estimates of 33 cents per share.

Source: Investing.com