SoftBank swung to a fiscal second-quarter net loss of 1.12 trillion yen ($7 billion) on Tuesday, driven primarily by losses related to U.S. AI data center power generation equipment procurement and declines in Intel holdings. The company recorded a 597.2 billion yen ($3.7 billion) loss over the six-month period ending September 30 attributable to changes in power equipment procurement strategies. Cumulative payments for power-generation equipment supporting U.S. AI data center projects totaled $9.48 billion as of the end of September.
Despite the quarterly loss, SoftBank’s consolidated revenue rose 13.3% in the six-month period, buoyed by growth in telecommunications and AI computing segments. The Vision Fund segment, however, swung to a loss of 81.58 billion yen in the quarter compared with a 2.38 trillion yen profit in the year-earlier period. Vision Fund 1 recorded a $20 million investment loss despite a $1.3 billion gain on ByteDance, as publicly traded portfolio companies including Coupang and Grab experienced share declines. The broader Vision Funds segment recorded investment gains of 85.45 billion yen, down sharply from 2.81 trillion yen previously.
SoftBank’s cumulative investment in OpenAI reached $54.6 billion with a fair value of $99.6 billion and an accumulated gain of $45 billion as of September 30. The company noted that potential valuation increases from OpenAI’s recent funding round had not yet been reflected in results pending official announcement, with updated valuations potentially appearing in the fiscal third quarter. On its infrastructure initiatives, SoftBank highlighted a 20-year lease agreement with OpenAI for eight gigawatts of IT capacity at an Ohio data center facility and announced a combined $1.85 billion commitment with Grab and Malaysia’s PETROS to develop AI infrastructure in Malaysia targeting at least five gigawatts of capacity.
SoftBank stock closed 13.9% higher on Tuesday, moving in line with broader gains in Asian technology stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The company addressed environmental concerns regarding its planned Texas data center by noting implementation of a closed-loop, air-cooled system to reduce water consumption.
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