SoftBank reports a net loss of $7 billion in the third quarter of 2026
This result compares with the profit of 2.5 trillion yen recorded in the same period last year from the investment in OpenAI
The Japanese group Softbank ended the third quarter of the year with a net loss of 1.1 trillion yen (7 billion dollars). This compares with a profit of 2.5 trillion yen recorded in the same period last year, when the company had benefited from a substantial gain arising from the increase in the value of its stake in OpenAI.
The loss is mainly due to non-refundable advance payments made to secure the equipment and production capacity required for its data centre campus in Ohio. Analysts had forecast an average profit of 129 billion yen.
The fall in share prices of chipmakers Arm Holdings and Intel, as well as the South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, has further weighed on SoftBank’s financial results. The Vision Fund segment, which manages stakes in hundreds of tech start-ups, recorded a loss of 81.6 billion yen, contrary to market expectations of a profit.
SoftBank is increasingly seen as a barometer of sentiment towards OpenAI and artificial intelligence sector in general. Its shares have plummeted by over 50 per cent from their all-time high reached in June, weighed down by fears over the debt incurred to fund major investments in artificial intelligence and concerns that the Democrats’ landslide victory in the US mid-term elections could stall many of the projects spearheaded by founder Masayoshi Son.
