SoftBank Group posted a fourth consecutive quarterly profit, fueled by a surging valuation of its OpenAI stake and deeper bets on artificial intelligence.
The Japanese conglomerate reported net profit of 248.6 billion yen ($1.62 billion) for October–December, reversing a 369 billion yen loss a year earlier.
Earnings were boosted by rising gains on its investment in OpenAI, even as markets question potential overexposure to a single AI company.
SoftBank has invested over $30 billion in OpenAI, securing roughly an 11% stake in what it calls an “all-in” AI strategy.
The group recorded a total investment gain of $19.8 billion on OpenAI by December-end, strengthening its Vision Fund 2 portfolio.
To finance expansion, SoftBank increased margin loans backed by Arm shares to $20 billion and raised borrowings against SoftBank Corp stock.
Its loan-to-value ratio climbed to 20.6% from 16.5%, while cash reserves declined to 3.8 trillion yen.
Shares rose 2.4% before results, as investors weighed growing leverage against potential upside from a future OpenAI IPO.
