SoftBank Q1 profit fell 18% to 347.3 billion yen as chip bets lifted results
What's new: profit still beat estimates by a wide margin as gains tied to Intel offset weaker startup valuations.
SoftBank Group posted fiscal first-quarter net income of 347.3 billion yen, down 18% from a year earlier but well above the roughly 166 billion yen analysts expected. The Tokyo-based investor said unrealized gains on chip holdings, including Intel, helped counter weaker valuations in its Vision Fund portfolio and muted gains in OpenAI. Intel shares more than tripled during the quarter, giving SoftBank a boost as investors weighed its broader AI strategy. The results come as Masayoshi Son pushes deeper into artificial intelligence while taking on more leverage, including a $40 billion bridge loan and a $20 billion margin loan backed by Arm Holdings, to fund planned OpenAI investments that could reach nearly $65 billion by October.