SoftBank Reports First Quarterly Net Loss in Two Years, Intel and Data Center Dragging Down Performance

On November 10, SoftBank Group announced its consolidated financial results for the second quarter and first half of fiscal year 2026, ending September 30, 2026 (from April 1 to September 30, 2026). The net sales for the first half reached 4.235 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%. However, the company reported a pre-tax loss of 438.7 billion yen and a net loss attributable to shareholders of 768 billion yen, compared to a pre-tax profit of 3.6864 trillion yen and a net profit of 2.9241 trillion yen in the same period last year. The basic earnings per share were -136.47 yen (considering the impact of the 1-for-4 stock split effective January 1, 2026). The net loss attributable to shareholders for the second quarter was approximately 1.12 trillion yen (about 7 billion USD), marking the first quarterly net loss in nearly two years.

According to data from LSEG, the quarterly loss at the end of September was the first in nearly two years and was far from analysts' expectations of an 84 billion yen profit. In contrast, the profit for the previous quarter was 347.3 billion yen, and the profit for the same period last year was 2.5 trillion yen.

The group's Vision Fund, heavily invested in technology, recorded an investment income of 85 billion yen, but the overall performance of the group was dragged down by several factors: costs related to U.S. data center procurement amounting to 597.2 billion yen (3.7 billion USD), high financing costs, and a loss of 270.1 billion yen from its holdings in Intel shares and related derivatives.

The financial report showed that SoftBank's investment income for the first half was 1.7258 trillion yen, a significant decline from 3.9267 trillion yen in the same period last year. The holding company's investment business contributed approximately 1.0783 trillion yen in investment income, mainly from Intel stock gains, while the Vision Fund's investment income was about 705.6 billion yen. The main reasons for the shift from profit to loss included a significant increase in selling and administrative expenses (mainly due to rising equity incentive costs in AI computing and the Energy Global sector), rising financial costs, derivative-related losses of approximately 433.3 billion yen, and a loss of about 597.2 billion yen recognized due to adjustments in the procurement plan for power generation equipment needed for U.S. AI data center projects.

In terms of strategic layout, the company completed an additional investment of 30 billion USD in OpenAI in October 2026. As of September 30, the cumulative investment amounted to 54.6 billion USD, with a fair value of 99.6 billion USD and a cumulative investment gain of 45 billion USD (the valuation remained unchanged compared to the end of the previous fiscal year). After the completion of the third investment of 10 billion USD, the total cumulative investment reached 64.6 billion USD, with a shareholding ratio of approximately 13%. Additionally, the company completed the acquisition of DigitalBridge Group, Inc. for about 3.1 billion USD on September 30, further strengthening its investment capabilities in digital infrastructure such as data centers, communication towers, and fiber optic networks. Semiconductor-related businesses, including Arm, have been incorporated into a newly established AI computing reporting division, with strong sales performance continuing. The company did not provide a consolidated performance outlook, and the interim dividend remains at 22 yen per share (pre-split basis).

SoftBank Group stated that it will continue to focus on the long-term strategic layout of AI and related infrastructure. The company will hold a performance briefing on the same day, and relevant materials can be found on its official website. This press release is based on the company's publicly disclosed financial reports, and actual results may differ from expectations due to various factors.

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