(Reuters) – GlobalFoundries on Tuesday forecast first-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates as the contract chipmaker braces for the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on automaker clients and a challenging smartphone market in 2025.
Shares of the Malta, New York State-based company were down 5.1% before the bell.
GlobalFoundries expects its first quarter revenue between $1.55 billion and $1.60 billion. Analysts were expecting $1.66 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The automotive sector, the company’s third-largest revenue segment, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in the U.S.
GlobalFoundries signed a long-term agreement with General Motors in 2023 to establish dedicated production capacity exclusively for the Detroit-based carmaker at the chipmaker’s Malta facility.
The company’s biggest segment, smartphones, is also under pressure, with the global smartphone market expected to be turbulent in 2025, according to research firm Canalys.
On an adjusted basis, GlobalFoundries expects to earn between 24 cents per share and 34 cents per share in the first quarter, the mid-point of which is below analyst estimates of 32 cents.
The world’s third-largest chipmaker posted revenue of $1.83 billion in the fourth quarter, which missed analysts’ estimates of $1.98 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Excluding items, GlobalFoundries posted a profit of 46 cents per share in the fourth quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of 57 cents per share.
Earlier this month, the chipmaker appointed Tim Breen as its CEO, succeeding Thomas Caulfield.
(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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