GlobalWafers said on May 4 that its first-quarter performance reflected a transitional period, as short-term cost pressures and capacity expansion weighed on margins even as demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing began to strengthen.

Flex shares rose 13% in after-hours trading on May 5 after the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider forecast fiscal 2027 results above Wall Street expectations and announced plans to spin off its Cloud and Power Infrastructure segment into a separate publicly traded company.

GlobalFoundries is reporting a stark divergence in its primary end-markets, as the company pivots its manufacturing focus toward high-growth sectors like automotive and data centers to counter a cooling smartphone market. While overall wafer shipments reached approximately 579,300 12-inch-equivalent units in the first quarter, the company is managing a transition in which two-thirds of its revenue now originates from markets outside smart mobile devices.