Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank Group (9984.T) pivoted to a quarterly profit this Monday, reporting a net profit of 328.9 billion yen ($2.11 billion) for the January-March period, a significant turnaround from the previous year. This achievement follows Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto’s assertion in February that the tech investment firm, known for its volatile earnings and substantial investments in technology startups, was on track for a “growth trajectory.”
Despite SoftBank founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son’s longstanding advocacy for artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, the company has not been a major player in transformative AI models like ChatGPT that have captured public and investor interest. However, the potential of an AI-driven future has bolstered the valuation of SoftBank’s prized asset, British chip design firm Arm Holdings.
Monday’s financial report marks SoftBank’s second consecutive quarter of profitability, although the company remained in the red for the full year. The Vision Fund investment unit recorded an investment loss of 57.5 billion yen after three consecutive quarters of profit. In comparison to a 32 billion yen loss in the same period a year earlier, fourth-quarter net profit at the group level demonstrates a remarkable turnaround, partly attributed to capital raised through SoftBank’s stake in Alibaba Group (9988.HK), which helped offset some of the writedowns in the value of Vision Fund private portfolio companies.
