softbank group profits surge 2.2x: is this a turning point?

2025-05-13 general

Tokyo, Tuesday, 13 May 2025.
softbank group saw its net profits jump 2.2 times in the january-march 2025 quarter. rising share prices and company valuations, including didi chuxing, fueled this growth. this quarterly surge could signal a positive shift for the technology investor. the full-year results still reflect a net loss. but the vision fund saw a significant turnaround, posting a profit of 177.2 billion JPY after a 352.7 billion JPY loss in the prior quarter. will this trend restore investor confidence in softbank’s ai-focused strategy?

full-year turnaround

the full year ending march 2025 saw softbank achieve a net profit of 1.1533 trillion JPY, a significant recovery from the 227.6 billion JPY loss in the previous year [1]. this marks the first full-year profit in four years, since march 2021 [1]. revenue also increased by 11% to 1.9411 trillion JPY [1]. softbank’s cfo, yoshimitsu goto, is scheduled to provide further details on the q1-q3 results and future strategies at a press conference later today [1].

market reaction and analysis

despite the positive quarterly results, softbank group’s stock has faced headwinds [4]. concerns over large-scale ai investments and potential returns have created some investor apprehension [3]. the stock had already fallen approximately 18% year-to-date due to concerns about us tariffs and their broader economic consequences [7]. one analyst noted that a weaker yen could boost the company’s net asset value, offering some support to the share price [3].

vision fund performance

the vision fund’s turnaround is a key factor for investors to consider [1]. while the fund experienced a significant profit in the last quarter, earlier results were mixed. for instance, the vision fund posted a 309.93 billion JPY loss in the third quarter, a sharp contrast to the 422.74 billion JPY profit in the same period the previous year [7]. declines in the value of investments like coupang and ola contributed to this volatility [7]. investors are looking for sustained improvement in the fund’s performance as an indicator of long-term stability.

ai strategy and investments

softbank is aggressively pursuing artificial intelligence-driven ventures, including the ‘stargate’ project in the us [3]. the company recently agreed to lead a funding round of up to 40 billion USD for openai, valuing the chatgpt maker at 300 billion USD [7]. these substantial investments highlight softbank’s commitment to ai, but also raise questions about capital allocation and future profitability [3]. softbank is funding these initiatives through various means, including loans from mizuho bank and a 620 billion JPY corporate bond issuance targeting individual investors [3].

softbank corp’s results

separate from softbank group, softbank corp, a domestic telecommunications company, announced its fiscal year results on may 8, 2025 [8]. the company reported an 8% increase in revenue to 6.5443 trillion JPY and a 13% increase in operating income to 989 billion JPY [8]. president and ceo of softbank corp, junichi miyakawa, noted that the company achieved its mid-term management plan goals ahead of schedule [8]. net income, however, was impacted by valuation losses on its portfolio [8].

Bronnen

net profit softbank