President Trump and chipmaker GlobalFoundries (GFS) announced a multifaceted series of deals Wednesday, doubling what was already a sizable US government stake in the company, as well as plans for two new semiconductor fabrication plants to be operated by the company and the US and Japanese governments. GlobalFoundries’ market capitalization, according to Yahoo Finance data,
President Trump and chipmaker GlobalFoundries (GFS) announced a multifaceted series of deals Wednesday, doubling what was already a sizable US government stake in the company, as well as plans for two new semiconductor fabrication plants to be operated by the company and the US and Japanese governments.
The company’s stock opened Thursday down over 5% from Wednesday’s close and is also down for the week amid volatile trading. The stock price spiked on Wednesday around the announcement of the deal.
48.40 -0.54 (-1.10%)
As of 3:04:07 PM EDT. Market Open.
The deal includes the formation of a new “Special Purpose Vehicle” co-owned by the US and Japanese governments. The new entity will fund construction of the two fabrication plants and then own the underlying infrastructure, according to a presentation from GlobalFoundries to its investors.
GlobalFoundries will receive payments for its technological know-how and for operating the facility, with the company describing itself as the “the technology provider and operator” of the plants.
The announcements on Wednesday were the latest twist in the US government’s aggressive move into equity stakes in private companies, which now spans 35 companies.
President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally on October 14 in Bullhead City, Arizona. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) ·Alex Wong via Getty Images
The overlapping GlobalFoundries deals also include reallocating a previous $955 million US government award made under the 2022 Chips and Science Act toward modernizing the company’s facilities.
Trump, in his social media post, directly linked the $955 million to an increased equity stake, saying that money “brings our total Investments to 1.63 Billion Dollars, and now, the U.S. Government’s stake is worth over 2 Billion Dollars.”
GlobalFoundries described the two as separate agreements but confirmed that the US government is taking an additional stake of approximately 4% of the company.
The company hasn’t released full details of the previous deals, but a company official confirmed to Yahoo Finance that those prior equity stakes totaled between 3% and 4%, resulting in a current government stake approaching 8%.
The math in Trump’s post about a more than $2 billion stake in a $27.2 billion company implies an equity stake of at least 7.35%.
A continued role for the US and Japanese governments
GlobalFoundries also announced plans to help build two semiconductor fabrication plants, which Trump described as a $21 billion investment paid for by Japan.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry confirmed some of the details of the deal in a press release Thursday and added that the plant would provide Japanese companies with increased business opportunities including in supplying manufacturing equipment.
The Japanese statement described the “total project cost” as $10 billion but that the plans could potentially expand to $21 billion in the future.
GlobalFoundries, likewise, described the investment as “up to $21 billion” confirming the plans for an initial investment of approximately $10 billion from the new US-Japan joint initiative.
The new facilities will be adjacent to existing GlobalFoundries plants, with the company helping to both build and then operate the facilities
The company, according to CFO Sam Franklin, will be “compensated for the critical roles and services being provided,” which he estimates will total about $3 billion over the coming decade.
“Ultimately, this is a clear win-win for the US and Japan,” added GlobalFoundries CEO Tim Breen.
Tim Breen, the CEO of GlobalFoundries, speaks during a visit to Dresden in 2025 (Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images) ·picture alliance via Getty Images
The first new 300mm semiconductor fabrication plant is scheduled to come online in 2029, with a second fabrication plant aimed to begin production in 2031.
In a presentation to investors, the company described it as a “modular build-out plan” that is expected to create about 27,000 construction-related jobs followed by more than 1,000 high-skilled manufacturing jobs in the area.
Wednesday’s announcement comes on the heels of two other deals between GlobalFoundries and the Trump administration unveiled earlier this year.
In May, the US government announced a $375 million investment to develop a foundry for large-scale quantum computers. In return, the government took “a minority, non-controlling equity stake,” which GlobalFoundries said represented approximately 1% ownership.
The company negotiated another 1% stake to build next-generation silicon photonics as part of a separate agreement that included a $300 million check from the US.
Wednesday’s move makes GlobalFoundries one of the largest companies in the US government’s growing portfolio but still far short of the government’s 10% equity stake in Intel that is now worth north of $50 billion.
The Trump administration has taken stakes in nearly 3 dozen companies across sectors ranging from critical minerals to quantum computing.
Trump and his team’s aggressive and unprecedented efforts have come under criticism from advocates of smaller government, including some Republicans.
The Cato Institute launched a Restoring Free Enterprise project this week that “charts a path toward getting Washington out of the boardroom, unwinding state ownership, and strengthening the US economy.”
It’s a criticism that Trump has often dismissed, instead promising more deals.
The latest one, he said, is “AN ALL-AROUND HUGE WIN FOR AMERICA!”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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