Latest news with #VisionFunds
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
SoftBank Group shares surge 13% to a record high after quarterly profit beat estimates
Shares of SoftBank Group surged 13% Friday to hit a fresh record, following the company's higher-than-expected fiscal first-quarter profit. This marks the Japanese investment firm's fourth straight session of gains, and comes after it closed at a record high in its previous session, before its earnings release. SoftBank's profits for the April to June quarter came in at 421.8 billion yen ($2.87 billion), substantially overshooting LSEG consensus estimates of127.6 billion yen. This marks the investment house's second consecutive quarter of profit and is a sharp reversal from the 174.28 billion yen loss it posted in the same period a year ago. The Japanese giant announced on Thursday that the value of its Vision Funds rose $4.8 billion, its largest gain since the June quarter of 2021. Profit for the Vision Funds segment, which also captures factors such as expenses, hit 451.4 billion yen in the fiscal-first quarter ended June, a reversal from losses in the same period last year. The Japanese giant attributed this to gains from private investments as well as listed companies such as the Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing firm Grab Holdings, and Indian food delivery firm Swiggy. Companies that have received investments through SoftBank's Vision Funds include chip designer Arm Holdings, game software player Animoca Brands and internet technology giant ByteDance. A few of the investment firm's portfolio companies are expected to go public this year. Among them is Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart which filed for an initial public offering on July 29, which includes the issue of fresh shares worth 21.5 billion rupees ($247.58 million). Other companies set to list soon include Japanese mobile payment service operator PayPay, Swedish financial services player Klarna and travel app Klook.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
SoftBank Q1 results: Posts $2.9 bn profit, stock up 1.3% on AI rally
The company's fortunes tend to fluctuate because it invests in a range of ventures through its Vision Funds, a move that carries risks AP Tokyo Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. posted a 421.8 billion yen ($ 2.9 billion) profit in the April-June quarter, rebounding from a loss a year earlier as its investments benefited from the craze for artificial intelligence. Quarterly sales at Tokyo-based SoftBank Group, which invests heavily in AI companies like Nvidia and Open AI, rose 7 per cent to 1.8 trillion yen ($ 12 billion), the company said Thursday. SoftBank's loss in April-June 2024 was 174 billion yen. The company's fortunes tend to fluctuate because it invests in a range of ventures through its Vision Funds, a move that carries risks. The group's founder Masayoshi Son has emphasised that he sees a vibrant future in AI. SoftBank has also invested in Arm Holdings and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Both companies, which produce computer chips, have benefitted from the growth of AI. The era is definitely AI, and we are focused on AI, SoftBank senior executive Yoshimitsu Goto told reporters. An investment company goes through its ups and downs, but we are recently seeing steady growth. Some of SoftBank's other investments also have paid off big. An example is Coupang, an e-commerce company known as the Amazon of South Korea, because it started out in Seoul. Coupang now operates in the US and other Asian nations. Goto said preparations for an IPO for PayPay, a kind of cashless payment system, were going well. The company has already held IPOs for Chime, a US neobank that provides banking services for low-credit consumers, and for Etoro, a personal investment platform. SoftBank Group stock, which has risen from a year ago, finished 1.3 per cent higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after its earnings results were announced. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
SoftBank's AI investment spree to be in focus on at Q1 earnings
By Anton Bridge TOKYO: When Japan 's SoftBank Group reports earnings on Thursday, its mammoth investments in artificial intelligence companies are set to take the spotlight. Analysts and investors are keen for updates on how they will be financed, the timeline for returns to materialise and whether assets will be sold to fund the new projects. SoftBank has embarked on its biggest spending spree since the launch of its Vision Funds in 2017 and 2019. It is leading a $40 billion funding round for ChatGPT maker OpenAI. SoftBank has until the end of the year to fund its $22.5 billion portion, although the remainder has been subscribed, according to a source familiar with the matter. It is also leading the financing for the Stargate project - a $500 billion scheme to develop data centres in the United States, part of its effort to position itself as the "organiser of the industry," founder Masayoshi Son said in June. SoftBank has yet to release details on what kinds of returns its financing of the Stargate project could generate. The extent of third-party investment will determine what other financing tools, such as bank loans and debt issuance, it may have to deploy. In July, SoftBank raised $4.8 billion by selling off a portion of its holding in T-Mobile. "If other sources of capital are less supportive, SoftBank could look to asset-backed finance, which is collateralised by equity in other holdings," Macquarie analyst Paul Golding said. The Japanese conglomerate is expected to post a net profit of 127.6 billion yen ($865 million) in the April-June quarter, according to the average estimate of three analysts polled by LSEG. That would mark SoftBank's second consecutive quarter of profit and follow its first annual profit in four years when it was helped by a strong performance by its telecom holdings and higher valuations for its later-stage startups. Its results are, however, typically very volatile and difficult to estimate due to manifold investments, many of which are not listed. SoftBank's performance in exiting from investments and distributing profits has been patchy of late. The Vision Funds had made a cumulative investment loss of $475 million as of end-March. That said, 13 of 18 analysts have a "buy" or "strong buy" rating for SoftBank's stock, according to LSEG. Although there is some concern in the market that AI-related valuations have become bubbly, they continue to climb. OpenAI is in early-stage discussions about a stock sale that would allow employees to cash out and could value the company at about $500 billion, according to the source - a huge jump from its current valuation of $300 billion.
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
SoftBank Group swings to profit in first quarter on market enthusiasm for tech stocks
[TOKYO] Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group on Thursday (Aug 7) booked a net profit of US$2.87 billion in the first quarter, driven by gains among larger listed investments in its Vision Fund portfolio. The result will likely be welcomed by investors as SoftBank pursues its biggest spending spree since the launch of its Vision Funds in 2017 and 2019, this time making mammoth investments in artificial intelligence companies. Investors and analysts are awaiting updates on how these investments will be financed, the timeline for returns to materialise and whether assets will be sold to fund the new projects. Favourable market conditions for technology companies over the quarter raised valuations of SoftBank's array of startup stakes, potentially fuelling monetisation opportunities that can be directed toward newer investments. SoftBank's Vision Funds hold US$45 billion worth of late-stage companies ready to list soon, up from US$36 billion at the end of March. The group overall logged a net profit of 421.8 billion yen (S$3.68 billion) for the April-June quarter. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The result compared with a net loss of 174.3 billion yen for the same period a year earlier and the 127.6 billion yen average profit from three analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. The Vision Fund unit posted an investment gain of 726.8 billion yen, around half of which derived from a surge in the share price of South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang over the quarter. AI investment spree SoftBank is leading a US$40 billion funding round for ChatGPT maker OpenAI. SoftBank has until the end of the year to fund its US$22.5 billion portion, although the remainder has been subscribed, according to a source familiar with the matter. It is also leading the financing for the Stargate project – a US$500 billion scheme to develop data centres in the United States, part of its effort to position itself as the 'organiser of the industry,' founder Masayoshi Son said in June. SoftBank has yet to release details on what kinds of returns its financing of the Stargate project could generate. The extent of third-party investment will determine what other financing tools, such as bank loans and debt issuance, it may have to deploy. In July, SoftBank raised US$4.8 billion by selling off a portion of its holding in T-Mobile. However, SoftBank's performance in exiting from investments and distributing profit has been patchy of late. The Vision Funds have made a cumulative investment gain of just US$5 billion out of a total committed capital of US$172.2 billion as of the end of June. REUTERS
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
SoftBank Group swings to profit in first quarter on market enthusiasm for tech stocks
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group on Thursday booked a net profit of $2.87 billion in the first quarter, driven by gains among larger listed investments in its Vision Fund result will likely be welcomed by investors as SoftBank pursues its biggest spending spree since the launch of its Vision Funds in 2017 and 2019, this time making mammoth investments in artificial intelligence and analysts are awaiting updates on how these investments will be financed, the timeline for returns to materialise and whether assets will be sold to fund the new market conditions for technology companies over the quarter raised valuations of SoftBank's array of startup stakes, potentially fuelling monetisation opportunities that can be directed toward newer Vision Funds hold $45 billion worth of late-stage companies ready to list soon, up from $36 billion at the end of group overall logged a net profit of 421.8 billion yen ($2.87 billion) for the April-June result compared with a net loss of 174.3 billion yen for the same period a year earlier and the 127.6 billion yen average profit from three analyst estimates compiled by Vision Fund unit posted an investment gain of 726.8 billion yen ($4.94 billion), around half of which derived from a surge in the share price of South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang over the is leading a $40 billion funding round for ChatGPT maker OpenAI. SoftBank has until the end of the year to fund its $22.5 billion portion, although the remainder has been subscribed, according to a source familiar with the is also leading the financing for the Stargate project - a $500 billion scheme to develop data centres in the United States, part of its effort to position itself as the "organiser of the industry," founder Masayoshi Son said in has yet to release details on what kinds of returns its financing of the Stargate project could generate. The extent of third-party investment will determine what other financing tools, such as bank loans and debt issuance, it may have to July, SoftBank raised $4.8 billion by selling off a portion of its holding in SoftBank's performance in exiting from investments and distributing profit has been patchy of late. The Vision Funds have made a cumulative investment gain of just $5 billion out of a total committed capital of $172.2 billion as of the end of June.
