SoftBank logged a shock net loss attributable to owners of the parent of 477.6 billion yen ($3.3 billion) during the first quarter from April-June, which was much softer than the steep 3.16 billion yen loss it saw in the same period last year. This came in much lower than the Refinitv analyst estimate that had forecast a 75 billion yen profit.The company's tech-focused Vision Fund, which is closely monitored by investors,recorded an investment gain of 159.8 billion yen ($1.1 billion) -- its first profit in five straight quarters. This was triggered by investments in subsidiaries, such as Arm, the chip design firm.Nevertheless, SoftBank also saw an unrealized valuation loss of 553.4 billion yen on its Alibaba shares, which were partially offset by a derivative gain of 769.9 billion yen.This was followed by a $32 billion loss at its Vision Fund in the previous quarter, as investments in companies like Uber and SenseTime, the Chinese AI firm, and GoTo, the Indonesian ride-hailing and e-commerce entity, proved less than successful.As a result, SoftBank has reduced its stake in Alibaba, as well as halted new investments and exited its remaining Uber shares. Further, its top executive Rajeev Misra stepped back from his SoftBank role due to mounting losses.CEO Masayoshi Son has now stated his intention to switch from a defensive position to an offensive one. He noted that cash holdings had risen to 5 trillion yen ($35.3 billion), positioning the firm to be able to make new investments.Going forward, observers are interested to see if SoftBank has profited from the rising demand for AI stocks, as well as the growth of tech giants such as Alphabet and Amazon. They are also curious to learn if SoftBank has anything to say regarding the initial public offering of Arm, for which it paid $32 billion back in 2016 -- only to have plans of selling it to Nvidia for $39 billion come undone due to regulatory challenges.Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto divulged that the group has a selection of companies valued at a combined $37 billion that are ready for public listings, but did not name them.As for Masayoshi Son, his Vision Funds are betting on high growth stocks while still contending with the effects of global interest rate hikes. All eyes will be on SoftBank to see if past losses can be reversed.This is a breaking new story. Come back for more updates.
Comments