Feb 11 (Reuters) - GlobalFoundries forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, bolstered by strong demand for its chips, and announced a $500 million share buyback
GlobalFoundries Projects Strong Revenue Growth Driven by Chip Demand
GlobalFoundries Revenue Forecast and Market Trends
Feb 11 (Reuters) - GlobalFoundries forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, bolstered by strong demand for its chips, and announced a $500 million share buyback program, sending its shares up over 7% in premarket trading.
Demand for Specialized Chips
GlobalFoundries has been increasingly shifting to cater to the high-growth artificial intelligence infrastructure sector, making specialized chips that allow data centers to transfer data between each other at high speeds.
Recent Acquisitions and Growth
In November, the company bought Advanced Micro Foundry, a Singapore-based chipmaker that focuses on silicon photonics, a technology that uses pulses of light to transmit data.
Quarterly Earnings Overview
GlobalFoundries said it doubled silicon photonics revenue to over $200 million last year, and expects it to nearly double again this year.
GlobalFoundries forecast first-quarter revenue of $1.63 billion, plus or minus $25 million, compared with estimates of $1.61 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It expects adjusted earnings per share of 35 cents, plus or minus 5 cents, while analysts expect 34 cents.
Revenue for the fourth quarter came in at $1.83 billion, beating estimates of $1.80 billion.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 55 cents per share, compared with estimates of a profit of 47 cents.
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
