TLDR
- GlobalFoundries stock jumped roughly 12% after markets opened on May 21, 2026, after the company launched a new quantum computing division.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a letter of intent for a $375 million grant, along with a roughly 1% equity stake in the company.
- The funding is part of a broader $2 billion quantum computing package spread across nine companies, with IBM receiving the largest share at $1 billion.
- Analyst upgrades followed the news: Evercore ISI raised its price target to $85 (Outperform), and Susquehanna raised its target to $125 from $100 (Positive).
- Smaller quantum peers posted even larger single-day moves — D-Wave was up 27%, Rigetti up 28%, and Infleqtion surged 42%.
GlobalFoundries (GFS) stock was trading around $78.88 in pre-market, up roughly 11.4%, before climbing to around 12% gains after the opening bell on May 21, 2026.
The catalyst: the company launched a new business unit called Quantum Technology Solutions and received a letter of intent for $375 million in U.S. government funding through the CHIPS and Science Act.
The grant comes as part of a wider $2 billion federal investment in nine quantum computing companies. IBM is the biggest beneficiary, set to receive $1 billion — which it plans to use alongside its own matching funds to build a dedicated quantum chip foundry in the U.S.
GlobalFoundries’ $375 million grant is earmarked to scale its quantum computing hardware manufacturing. The U.S. government will also take a roughly 1% equity stake in the company as part of a separate agreement.
This fits a broader pattern from the current administration. Since early 2025, the federal government has taken equity positions in several critical tech firms, including a 10% stake in Intel.
Analyst Upgrades Pile On
The quantum announcement landed on already positive ground. Evercore ISI raised its price target on GFS to $85, maintaining an Outperform rating, pointing to growing demand from data centers. Susquehanna went further, lifting its target to $125 from $100, with a Positive rating.
The stock crossed above its prior 52-week high of $76.98 in pre-market trading.
GFS had already put together a solid Q1, reporting $1.634 billion in revenue. The company also recently declared its first-ever quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share and laid out a framework to return up to 50% of adjusted free cash flow to investors.
Its Communications Infrastructure and Data Center segment was a standout, posting $230 million in revenue — up 32% year-over-year — marking six straight quarters of double-digit growth.
Smaller Names Move More
While GFS was up around 12%, the smaller quantum companies in the funding package posted much sharper moves.
D-Wave Quantum rose 27%. Rigetti Computing gained 28%. Infleqtion jumped 42%.
IBM, which received the largest single grant, saw its stock climb just over 4.6% after opening.
The deals have not been finalized, and the Commerce Department had not issued an official comment as of Thursday morning. D-Wave confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that its entire $100 million would be structured as an equity investment, with Rigetti and Infleqtion describing similar arrangements.
The broader market added a tailwind, with the S&P 500 up 1.1%, the Dow up 1.3%, and the Nasdaq up 1.5% on the day.
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