--- title: "GlobalFoundries booked a $441 million charge for US government shares, and Washington can sell them" description: "GlobalFoundries just ran its best fab quarter in years. The reported loss came from a shareholder no model carries: the U.S. Department of Commerce, which took 9.9 million shares in September, was booked as a $441 million expense, and is already registered to sell them." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-11-06T14:16:29.011Z modified: 2026-11-06T14:16:29.011Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/globalfoundries-booked-a-441-million-charge-for-us-government-shares-and-washington-can-sell-them language: en keywords: "GlobalFoundries, Earnings, CHIPS Act, Analyst Calls, Semiconductors" --- # GlobalFoundries booked a $441 million charge for US government shares, and Washington can sell them > GlobalFoundries just ran its best fab quarter in years. The reported loss came from a shareholder no model carries: the U.S. Department of Commerce, which took 9.9 million shares in September, was booked as a $441 million expense, and is already registered to sell them. [GlobalFoundries](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/globalfoundries), the Malta, New York contract chipmaker, [reported third-quarter revenue of $1.899 billion on November 4](https://investors.gf.com/news-releases/news-release-details/globalfoundries-reports-third-quarter-2026-financial-results), up 13% year over year, with a record 31.4% gross margin on the company's adjusted basis and $647 million of adjusted EBITDA [1]. Adjusted earnings of $0.53 a share beat the $0.51 consensus and revenue edged past estimates [4]. Under IFRS, the reporting standard its accounts follow, the same quarter lost $270 million, or $0.49 a share, against a $249 million profit a year earlier [1]. ## The loss is a shareholder, not a factory The swing came from a $441 million non-cash charge: in September, under a September 3 agreement with the U.S [1][2]. Department of Commerce, the agency that steers CHIPS funding to American fabs, [GF issued 9.9 million ordinary shares priced at $37.85 each](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/49919) [1][2]. No cash left the company; the shares sit in non-operating expense [1]. In the same quarter GF spent $100 million repurchasing stock and $66 million on dividends [1], while Washington funds two new Malta fabs under the U.S.-Japan initiative and reallocated $955 million of CHIPS incentives [1]. The government's equity claim traces to July, when Commerce signed [a $300 million silicon photonics award](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322032/20260729/globalfoundries-wins-300m-chips-award-scale-silicon-photonics-us-ai-infrastructure.htm) and took roughly 1% of the company alongside it [7]. The state funds the fabs, takes the equity, and books the dilution to everyone else. *Chart: **The government share charge flipped a record quarter into a reported loss** Column chart comparing GlobalFoundries reported IFRS net income against adjusted non-IFRS net income for Q3 2025, Q2 2026 and Q3 2026, showing the two lines diverging in Q3 2026 when adjusted net income reached $298 million while reported net income fell to a $270 million loss.* *Net income in US$ millions, GlobalFoundries, reported IFRS vs company-adjusted non-IFRS, quarterly. Source: GlobalFoundries Q3 2026 results, November 4, 2026 [1]. [1]* ## One number does not tie Nine-point-nine million shares at $37.85 come to about $375 million [1][2]. The release books $441 million [1][2]. [The $66 million gap works out to roughly $44.55 a share](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/earnings-flash-gfs-globalfoundries-inc-reports-q3-revenue-1-90b-vs-factset-est-of-1-89b-ce785fdfdb80f327), about 18% above the $37.85 headline, and the release does not reconcile the two figures [4]. At the November 5 close of $36.36, the same shares were worth about $360 million, less than the expense booked for them [4]. Which figure is the government's true cost basis is not stated in the sources for this story. ## The seller is already registered Commerce is a [registered selling shareholder for up to 9,907,399 GF shares](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/u-government-preparing-offload-over-183612647.html), and GF receives none of the proceeds; terms arrive later in prospectus supplements [6]. This is the exit The Inference flagged on October 5 in [Washington's 9.9 million GlobalFoundries shares are up 29%, and the exit is already drafted](https://theinference.org/article/washington-s-9-9-million-globalfoundries-shares-are-up-29-and-the-exit-is-already-drafted); it has since moved from drafted to filed [3]. On the same day, Fidelity's fund group, FMR, [reported 45.0 million GF shares, 8.2% of the company, held as of September 30](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1709048/000031506626002761/0000315066-26-002761-index.htm) [3]. ## The street cannot price a state Targets now run from $45 (Wedbush, cut from $72) to $110 (Susquehanna, still Positive), with [JPMorgan cut to $50 from $57](https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:e47d1dfc63213:0-jp-morgan-maintains-globalfoundries-at-neutral-lowers-price-target-to-50-from-57/) and UBS to $43 from $48 [4][5]. The mean across 23 analysts is $73.73, more than double a close that fell 9.87% on November 5 [4]. *Chart: **Price targets span $45 to $110 around a stock that closed at $36.36** Bars chart ranking analyst price targets for GlobalFoundries against the last closing price of $36.36, from UBS at $43 up to Susquehanna at $110, showing a threefold spread.* *GlobalFoundries (GFS) analyst price targets in US dollars as of November 5, 2026; mean across 23 analysts is $73.73. Sources: MarketScreener (MT Newswires) [4], TradingView (Benzinga) [5]. [4][5]* ## The next tranche is unpriced Fourth-quarter guidance is solid: revenue of $2.0 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.59 [1]. But the footnote states GF has not included non-cash charges for "additional common share issuances to the USG" because the timing and amount "are uncertain" [1], and it guides to a diluted count of about 575 million shares against 551 million basic [1]. Two filings decide what happens next: the prospectus supplement that prices Commerce's registered sale, and the next quarterly footnote that sizes the next government tranche. Until then, the reported earnings line belongs to Washington's calendar, not the fab's. ## Takeaway GlobalFoundries' best fab quarter in years produced a $270 million reported loss only because a $441 million non-cash charge for 9.9 million US Commerce shares hit the line, and Commerce is already a registered seller of those shares. ## Sources 1. [GlobalFoundries Inc., GlobalFoundries Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results, 4 November 2026](https://investors.gf.com/news-releases/news-release-details/globalfoundries-reports-third-quarter-2026-financial-results) 2. [TokenPost, GlobalFoundries Posts $270 Million Q3 Loss After $441 Million Charge, November 2026](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/49919) 3. [SEC EDGAR, Schedule 13G/A, FMR LLC and Abigail P. Johnson in GlobalFoundries Inc., filed 5 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1709048/000031506626002761/0000315066-26-002761-index.htm) 4. [MarketScreener (MT Newswires), Earnings Flash (GFS) GlobalFoundries Inc. Reports Q3 Revenue $1.90B vs FactSet Est $1.89B, 4 November 2026, with 5 November quote and target data](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/earnings-flash-gfs-globalfoundries-inc-reports-q3-revenue-1-90b-vs-factset-est-of-1-89b-ce785fdfdb80f327) 5. [TradingView (Benzinga), JP Morgan maintains GlobalFoundries at Neutral, lowers price target to $50 from $57, 5 November 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:e47d1dfc63213:0-jp-morgan-maintains-globalfoundries-at-neutral-lowers-price-target-to-50-from-57/) 6. [Barchart via Yahoo Finance, Aditya Raghunath, The U.S. Government Is Preparing to Offload Over 9 Million GlobalFoundries Shares, 18 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/u-government-preparing-offload-over-183612647.html) 7. [TechTimes, Edward Northmore, GlobalFoundries Wins $300M CHIPS Award to Scale Silicon Photonics for US AI Infrastructure, 29 July 2026](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322032/20260729/globalfoundries-wins-300m-chips-award-scale-silicon-photonics-us-ai-infrastructure.htm) --- GlobalFoundries booked a $441 million charge for US government shares, and Washington can sell them — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/globalfoundries-booked-a-441-million-charge-for-us-government-shares-and-washington-can-sell-them