By Kosaku Narioka
SoftBank Group reported a quarterly net profit, driven by gains from its tech funds business.
The Japanese technology investment company on Thursday posted a net profit of 248.59 billion yen, equivalent to $1.62 billion, for the three months ended December, compared with a net loss of Y369.2 billion in the year-earlier period. That missed the Y336.7 billion estimate in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha.
Its Vision Funds business recorded a profit of Y735.49 billion, compared with a loss of Y309.93 billion a year ago.
SoftBank Group shares have gained 9.5% so far this year after nearly doubling in 2025, driven by hopes that stronger demand for artificial intelligence will buoy its investees such as Arm Holdings and OpenAI.
The stock got a boost this week after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's election victory on Sunday fueled expectations that she will ramp up strategic investment in key industries such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
SoftBank Group is in talks to invest as much as $30 billion more in OpenAI, The Wall Street Journal reported in late January, as the ChatGPT maker seeks up to $100 billion in new capital from investors. The funding round could value OpenAI at up to $830 billion if it raises the full amount.
The Japanese company is one of OpenAI's largest shareholders. It held an 11% stake as of December after an additional $22.5 billion investment.
SoftBank Group in December agreed to buy DigitalBridge Group, a Florida-based asset manager focused on investing in data centers and other digital infrastructure, for $4 billion, including debt. In October, it agreed to acquire Swiss industrial giant ABB's robotics business for $5.4 billion, aiming to combine the potential of AI with robots.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-12-26 0206ET
