Marvell (MRVL) and GlobalFoundries (GFS) Rise on Expanded Deal: What Investors Should Know

On September 17, shares of Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) moved sharply higher, with Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) gaining more than 4% and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) rising more than 6% by the end of the trading session.

Reuters reported that the two companies have expanded their agreement to increase production capacity for silicon germanium (SiGe), a semiconductor technology used in high-speed optical connections for data centers. The multi-year agreement will expand capacity for GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GFS) SiGe technology at its facility in Burlington, Vermont. SiGe allows semiconductor devices to operate at higher speeds while using less energy, making it increasingly important as data centers handle larger volumes of data.

Robb Johnson, Vice ​President, Foundry Technology at Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) said the expanded collaboration will help ensure that the company has the "SiGe technology and manufacturing capacity ​to support ⁠the significant growth" it expects ahead.

According to the report, the increased manufacturing capacity will help Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) meet growing demand for optical networking products, including pluggable optical transceivers, near-packaged optics, and co-packaged optics.

GlobalFoundries Is Seeing Strong SiGe Demand

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GFS) recent results show why the expanded capacity could be an important growth driver for the company. The company reported $1.786 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2026, up 6% year over year, supported by strong demand from its communications infrastructure and data center end market.

The communications infrastructure and data center segment accounted for about 16% of total Q2 2026 revenue. Revenue from the end market increased 20% sequentially and 62% year over year, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth and its fastest quarterly growth since 2022.

Within this end market, GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) is seeing strong customer demand for its silicon photonics and SiGe offerings. CEO Tim Breen said demand for SiGe remains strong and that the company is "oversubscribed throughout 2027."

Marvell Benefits From Rising AI Demand

Meanwhile, Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) continues to benefit from the surge in demand for AI-focused data center infrastructure. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, the company reported record net revenue of $2.739 billion, representing 37% year-over-year growth.