Patent Lawsuit Causes $1.7 Billion Loss... Tower Semiconductor Plummets

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM) closed at $176.10 on the Nasdaq on the 26th, down 6.70%. Its market capitalization stands at about $20 billion (roughly KRW 27 trillion), with an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately KRW 1.7 trillion) wiped out in a single day. The drop appears to stem from news that competitor GlobalFoundries filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Tower in the U.S., which dampened investor sentiment. ()

Just one month ago, Tower announced a partnership with NVIDIA to jointly develop 1.6-terabit-class silicon photonics optical modules for data centers. In its Q4 2025 earnings released in February, the company posted record revenues of $440 million for the quarter and $1.57 billion for the full year, fueling higher growth expectations. ()

Headquartered in Israel, Tower Semiconductor is a pure-play foundry specializing in analog and power semiconductors as well as silicon photonics. It is recognized for its expertise in specialized process technologies, including SiGe and BiCMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensors, and power management chips. ()