GFS vs UMC Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
GlobalFoundries and United Microelectronics are both specialty semiconductor foundries focused on mature and specialty process technologies rather than leading-edge manufacturing, but GlobalFoundries maintains a geographically diversified footprint including significant US manufacturing, while United Microelectronics concentrates its manufacturing primarily in Taiwan.
GFS offers geographically diversified specialty foundry exposure with US manufacturing presence, while UMC offers a longer operating history concentrated in Taiwan-based mature node manufacturing. The decision depends on whether geographic diversification or manufacturing scale and history matters more to you.
UMC holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. UMC has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+186.90% vs +38.92%), though GFS has the better forward P/E setup (17.04x vs 23.82x for UMC). UMC leads on both revenue growth (17.00%) and operating margin (21.71%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for GFS (+71.50%) than for UMC (-8.62%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want specialty foundry exposure with a geographically diversified manufacturing footprint
- Value US and European manufacturing presence alongside Asia-based facilities
- Believe government funding support can aid domestic semiconductor manufacturing investment
- Prefer reduced geographic concentration risk relative to Asia-concentrated foundries
- Want specialty foundry exposure from a company with a long operating history
- Value a diversified customer base across communications, consumer, computer, and automotive markets
- Are comfortable with geographic concentration risk tied to Taiwan-based manufacturing
- Believe mature node manufacturing demand will remain stable over the long term
| Metric | GFS | UMC |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 32.7 | 75.2 |
| AI ranki | #2007 | #64 |
| Latest closei | $48.76 | $20.92 |
| 1M returni | +14.06% | -3.19% |
| 3M returni | -16.28% | -6.15% |
| 6M returni | -3.23% | +100.45% |
| 1Y returni | +38.92% | +186.90% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | GFS | UMC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $14.1K (+41.0%) started 2025-10-16 | $29.17K (+191.7%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $10.51K (+5.1%) started 2021-10-28 | $35.38K (+253.8%) started 2021-10-15 |
| 10Y ago | $10.51K (+5.1%) started 2021-10-28 | $317.28K (+3072.8%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | GFS | UMC |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $24.56B | $52.47B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 34.97 | 19.37 |
| Forward P/Ei | 17.04 | 23.82 |
| Price/Salesi | 3.08 | 0.21 |
| EV/Revenuei | 3.45 | -0.13 |
| Analyst targeti | $76.76 | $19.12 |
| Target upsidei | +71.50% | -8.62% |
| Metric | GFS | UMC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 5.80% | 17.00% |
| Earnings growthi | -26.80% | 374.60% |
| EPS growthi | -26.80% | +374.60% |
| FCF margini | +10.93% | +14.71% |
| Operating margini | 9.74% | 21.71% |
| Profit margini | 10.32% | 33.29% |
| ROIC proxyi | 6.17% | 21.33% |
| Return on equityi | 6.17% | 21.33% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.07% | 1.92% |
| Payout ratioi | 9.38% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | 1 yr |
| Betai | 1.80 | 1.71 |
| Debt/equityi | 14.13 | 14.29 |
| Current ratioi | 2.48 | 2.17 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.73 | 1.77 |
Over the past year, GFS and UMC have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.56), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | GFS | UMC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +41.03% | +186.90% |
| CAGRi | +41.12% | +187.11% | |
| Volatilityi | 59.52% | 64.16% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.80 | 1.90 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.22 | 3.29 | |
| Max drawdowni | 52.48% | 37.84% | |
| Current drawdowni | 45.80% | 24.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 16.78% | 12.51% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 24.70% | 16.69% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.83% | 10.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 19.52% | 21.07% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +5.09% | +164.22% |
| CAGRi | +1.00% | +21.45% | |
| Volatilityi | 51.74% | 43.11% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.19 | 0.56 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.28 | 0.89 | |
| Max drawdowni | 61.53% | 54.30% | |
| Current drawdowni | 45.80% | 24.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 34.76% | 26.75% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 37.72% | 28.97% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.83% | 10.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.06% | 21.07% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +5.09% | +1694.99% |
| CAGRi | +1.00% | +33.50% | |
| Volatilityi | 51.74% | 41.79% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.19 | 0.79 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.28 | 1.30 | |
| Max drawdowni | 61.53% | 54.30% | |
| Current drawdowni | 45.80% | 24.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 34.76% | 19.93% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 37.72% | 23.88% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.83% | 10.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.06% | 21.07% |
| Category | GFS | UMC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | GlobalFoundries Inc. | United Microelectronics Corporation |
| Sector | Technology | Semiconductors |
| Industry | Semiconductors | Semiconductors |
| Core business | A specialty semiconductor foundry that manufactures chips for other companies using mature and specialty process technologies, with manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Europe, and Singapore. | A specialty semiconductor foundry based in Taiwan that manufactures chips for other companies primarily using mature process technologies, serving customers across communications, consumer, computer, and automotive end markets. |
| Investor focus | Specialty and mature node manufacturing demand across automotive, industrial, and communications customers, US government funding support for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and capacity utilization trends affecting profitability. | Mature node manufacturing demand and pricing trends across its diversified end markets, capacity utilization rates affecting profitability, and geopolitical considerations tied to its Taiwan-based manufacturing base. |
- Geographically diversified manufacturing footprint across the United States, Europe, and Asia provides customers with supply chain diversification options
- Focus on specialty and mature process technologies serves stable, long-lifecycle applications in automotive and industrial markets less exposed to leading-edge node competition
- Government funding support for domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity provides an additional avenue for facility investment
- Long operating history as a specialty foundry has built deep manufacturing expertise and established customer relationships across many chip types
- Diversified customer base across communications, consumer, computer, and automotive markets reduces reliance on any single end market
- Focus on mature process technologies serves stable, long-lifecycle applications with generally more predictable demand than leading-edge nodes
- Specialty and mature node foundry manufacturing generally carries lower profit margins than leading-edge chip manufacturing
- Capacity utilization rates significantly affect profitability, requiring the company to manage supply and demand balance carefully
- Customer demand across automotive, industrial, and communications end markets can be cyclical, affecting near-term revenue visibility
- Concentration of manufacturing capacity in Taiwan creates geopolitical and regional concentration risk for investors to weigh
- Mature node foundry manufacturing generally carries lower profit margins than leading-edge chip manufacturing
- Capacity utilization rates significantly affect profitability, requiring careful management of supply and demand balance
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