The logo of Japanese company SoftBank Group is seen outside the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, January 22, 2025.
Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images
SoftBank’s continued push into AI with investments in ChatGPT maker OpenAI and PayPay helped the Japanese giant post a $19 billion profit on its Vision Fund in the second quarter of its fiscal year.
The broader Vision Fund segment considers non-investment performance, such as management fees and gains and losses attributable to third-party investors. The fund’s value increased by $4.8 billion in the company’s fiscal first quarter.
SoftBank is moving forward with its efforts in artificial intelligence, investing in and acquiring companies that will increase its presence in the robotics and artificial intelligence (ASI) fields.
SoftBank said in an investor briefing on its results that AI revenue reached a “new high” with annualized growth of 93% in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. Gains from the company’s investments in OpenAI totaled 2.157 trillion yen ($14 billion) in the quarter.
The company also announced Tuesday that it will conduct a 4-for-1 stock split at the end of the year, with the aim of making its shares more accessible to investors and further expanding its shareholder base.
SoftBank’s second quarter results are as follows.
According to LSEG’s consensus estimate, profit for the quarter came to 2,502 billion yen, compared to the expected 206,890 million yen. Additionally, net income for the same period last year was 1,180 billion yen. Sales for the quarter reached 1.92 trillion yen. LSEG’s forecast was 1.9 trillion yen.
AI Jitter
Shares of Japanese conglomerates have fallen over the past week as concerns about an AI bubble spooked global markets. About $50 billion of the company’s market capitalization was wiped from its stock last week, marking its worst weekly loss since March 2020. But the stock is up more than 140% this year as the company’s tech investment arm shows signs of recovery.
Last month, SoftBank reportedly approved the final round of funding to complete its $30 billion investment in OpenAI. The Japanese company’s investment in the ChatGPT maker came with the caveat that the total investment could be cut to $20 billion if OpenAI did not reorganize into a commercial company by Dec. 31.
The AI startup recently completed a recapitalization and is now a public benefit corporation called OpenAI Group PBC, becoming more of a nonprofit with a controlling stake in the for-profit business.
SoftBank announced in its Tuesday earnings call that it will invest an additional $22.5 billion in OpenAI through Vision Fund 2 in December.
—CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.
