David O'Connor

David O'Connor asked about the pipeline for U.S. onshoring manufacturing, following the expanded partnership with Silicon Labs, and GlobalFoundries' capacity to support additional high-volume wins from its Malta fab. He also questioned GlobalFoundries' Gallium Nitride (GaN) strategy, especially after TSMC's exit, and how GF addresses profitability and competition concerns.

Answer

CEO Tim Breen detailed eight customer announcements for U.S. onshoring, representing a significant share gain opportunity with ramps expected from 2027. He noted similar trends in Europe and Singapore. Regarding GaN, Tim Breen emphasized its role in power density and reduced losses for data centers and automotive, highlighting GF's U.S. manufacturing in Burlington, Vermont, as a key differentiator. President and COO Niels Anderskouv added that GF's GaN strategy focuses on highly reliable, safe, and high-quality devices, integrating technologies around discrete devices for differentiated solutions.

David O'Connor from BNP Paribas asked about the pipeline for onshoring demand, specifically in the US, following the expanded partnership with Silicon Labs, and GlobalFoundries' capacity to support additional high-volume wins from its Malta fab. He also questioned GlobalFoundries' GaN strategy, how it differs from TSMC's, and how the company addresses profitability and competition concerns in this market.

Answer

CEO Tim Breen stated that GlobalFoundries has eight specific customer announcements regarding US onshoring, representing $15-20 billion in total silicon spend, indicating a strong share gain opportunity. He noted a significant pipeline of other customers, with ramps largely expected in 2027 and beyond, and highlighted similar trends in Europe (Dresden) and Asia (Singapore). Regarding GaN, Tim Breen expressed excitement about its role in improving power density and reducing losses in data centers, critical infrastructure, and automotive, emphasizing GlobalFoundries' US-based manufacturing in Burlington, Vermont. President and COO Niels Anderskouv added that their GaN strategy focuses on highly reliable, safe, high-quality devices, integrating additional technologies around discrete devices for differentiated, higher-performing solutions, unlike TSMC's approach.

David O'Connor from BNP Paribas asked about the current sentiment among automotive OEMs regarding L2+ adoption, given previous trends of optimizing for price. He also requested a breakdown of the year-over-year revenue growth between unit volume and average selling price (ASP).

Answer

CEO Fermi Wang confirmed that OEMs continue to focus on cost and safety, leading to more interest in lower-end L2+ and ADAS functions rather than high-end features. VP Louis Gerhardy reiterated that while the lifetime revenue opportunity is large, the frequency of decisions is lower. In response to the second question, CFO John Young stated that the company's strong revenue growth this year is estimated to be driven roughly 50/50 by increases in unit volume and ASP.

David O'Connor requested a breakdown of the auto funnel's change from $2.4B to $2.2B, asking about the scale of cancellations versus additions and their geography. He also asked why the China mix isn't higher given its faster innovation.

Answer

President and CEO Dr. Fermi Wang described the funnel changes as 'volatile,' with project pushouts, forecast reductions, and cancellations primarily in Europe and the U.S. He explained that the 6-year funnel methodology underrepresents China's contribution because its typical 2-3 year design cycles occupy a smaller portion of the 6-year window compared to Western projects.

David O'Connor of BNP Paribas asked about Arm's strategy for expanding into full end-solutions, such as the ASIC market, and the potential execution risks.

Answer

CEO Rene Haas confirmed that Arm is exploring moving beyond its current platform to chiplets or full solutions, driven by customer demand for better starting points. Haas stated that the company has the necessary expertise and is uniquely positioned to provide solutions across the compute spectrum, from 'milliwatts to megawatts,' but had nothing specific to announce.

David O'Connor of BNP Paribas asked about the competitive environment for the ADAS NPU win and the key differentiators for CEVA's technology. He also sought color on the softness in the low-end smartphone market and inquired about the health of the licensing pipeline amid macro concerns.

Answer

CEO Amir Panush attributed the ADAS win to CEVA's NPU advantages in power efficiency, low latency, and a scalable architecture supporting advanced models like vision transformers. He explained the smartphone softness was due to a sharper-than-expected seasonal drop and supply chain adjustments, not tariffs, and expects a sequential ramp-up. CFO Yaniv Arieli and CEO Amir Panush both noted that while they haven't seen deal postponements, they are taking a cautious outlook due to general macro uncertainty.