SoftBank profit beats forecasts on $8.8B Intel stake gain
What's the deal? SoftBankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → reported fiscal first-quarter net profit of 347.3 billion yen ($2.2 billion), beating the 120.23 billion yen analysts expected, according to LSEG. The result was driven by a 1.3 trillion yen gain on its stake in IntelDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The numbers: Despite the beat, profit fell nearly 18% year-on-year. SoftBank's investment division, which is separate from the Vision Fund, booked segment profit of 1.05 trillion yen, lifted largely by the US chipmaker's shares.
The context: SoftBank announced a roughly $2 billion investment in Intel in 2025. The Japanese group invests across chips, artificial intelligence, and consumer tech.
What about the Vision Funds? The division, which houses stakes in OpenAI and TikTokDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →-owner ByteDance, gained $1.7 billion in value over the quarter. That was driven mainly by a $2.2 billion rise in the value of SoftBank's ByteDance stake, offsetting declines at companies such as PayPay.
The Vision Funds segment posted a 5.4 billion yen profit, down sharply from 451.4 billion yen in June 2025. SoftBank said it recorded no gain or loss from its OpenAI investment.
Why it matters: This contrasts with the quarter ended March 2026, when the Vision Funds posted a near-$20 billion gain almost entirely driven by OpenAI.
The signal: SoftBank's earnings increasingly swing on the fortunes of a handful of outsized bets. This quarter, chip and Chinese tech gains carried the result — a reminder of how much its performance hinges on the timing of individual positions rather than steady operating income.
Read more: Urall News
Image credit: jurvetson
