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Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group posted a profit of 1.2 trillion yen ($7.8 billion) in its latest quarter, thanks to a series of successful initial public offerings (IPOs) in India and an improved technology valuation.
The company’s results easily beat analysts’ expectations for a profit of just 286.8 billion yen, following a loss of 931 billion yen in the September quarter of last year and a loss of 174.3 billion yen in the previous quarter.
The recovery was helped by a strong fiscal second quarter for the risk-taking, tech-heavy Vision Fund, which reported investment gains of 608 billion yen.
Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said on Tuesday that the Vision Fund’s cumulative investment income “turned positive for the first time in nine quarters.” I believe that is a big message for us. ”
Kirk Boudry, a SoftBank analyst at Astris Advisory in Tokyo, said the Indian IPO boosted its valuation by $1.7 billion, the best quarter for the Vision Fund’s public portfolio since the end of 2020. .
Devi Subhakesan, an independent analyst at Investor and author of the Smart Karma article, said that SoftBank has been linked to a series of investment companies, including electric scooter maker Ola Electric and baby goods retailer First Cry, which said, It was listed during the “harvest season,” he said.
Subhakesan said SoftBank’s $450 million investment in Indian food delivery group Swiggy could ultimately jump in value through this week’s IPO, but investors are hoping for growth in a fiercely competitive field. He said that the company was showing an indifferent response to the company’s aspirations.
SoftBank said it benefited from valuation gains from South Korean e-commerce group Coupang and Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, as well as interest rate cuts and China’s economic stimulus measures. Additionally, the weaker yen had a positive impact on net income.
The results prompt speculation about Son’s broader plans to invest billions of dollars to produce chips for artificial intelligence and put his group at the center of what he sees as humanity’s next steps. It’s going to happen.
“I feel like the clock is really starting to tick. Mr. Masa recently said that advanced AI will take two to three years to achieve, so we need to accelerate the implementation of our plans. I’m sure there are,” Boudry said.
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SoftBank’s cash position has decreased from the previous quarter, but remains at 3.8 trillion yen, which Goto said has “enabled further AI investment.”
Despite plummeting in August due to the record Tokyo stock market crash, the company’s stock price has risen 55% since the beginning of the year, and SoftBank’s share price decline comes as it announces a plan to buy back up to 500 billion yen in shares. contributing to the prevention of
Mr. Son’s ambitious plan involves running everything from chip production and software to powering data centers, with the company’s crown jewel, British chip design company Arm, working directly with its major customer, NVIDIA. There is a possibility of competition.
Son is scheduled to appear in a chat with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang in Tokyo on Wednesday morning. SoftBank’s founder stepped back from announcing financial results more than a year ago.
SoftBank’s Second Vision Fund, which is currently made up mostly of Son’s own funds, also agreed to invest $500 million in OpenAI.
