SoftBank Net Profit Surges 334% to ¥5 Trillion on OpenAI Mark-Up

Vision Fund 2 booked a ¥6.47 trillion mark-up on OpenAI exposure, lifting SoftBank Group's FY26 net profit attributable to owners to ¥5.00 trillion. Management withheld FY27 guidance, citing significant uncertainty.

Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba - SoftBank Group headquarters SoftBank Group Corporation · Tokyo Stock Exchange

SoftBank Group Corporation (TSE: 9984) reported consolidated full-year results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 (FY2026) under IFRS. Revenue rose 7.7% year-on-year to ¥7,798.7 billion, while pre-tax profit surged 259.9% to ¥6,134.9 billion. Profit attributable to owners of the parent reached ¥5,002.3 billion, up 333.7% from ¥1,153.3 billion in the prior year, lifting basic EPS to ¥873.51 (versus ¥195.20, restated for the 1-for-4 share split effective January 1, 2026). The parent-owners' equity ratio improved to 29.0% from 25.7%.

Vision Fund 2 carries the year on OpenAI

The principal driver was the Vision Fund (SVF) segment, which delivered investment gains of ¥6,638.6 billion versus ¥387.6 billion a year earlier. SVF2 alone recorded gains of ¥6,853.7 billion, predominantly from a ¥6,465.5 billion mark-up on OpenAI exposure. By fiscal year-end, cumulative investment in OpenAI stood at US$34.6 billion with a fair value of US$79.6 billion — unrealized gains of US$45.0 billion. SoftBank completed the second closing of its US$40 billion (later raised to US$41 billion) commitment via a US$22.5 billion injection in December 2025 and, in February 2026, signed a further US$30 billion commitment across three tranches.

The Holding Company Investment segment posted gains of only ¥218.1 billion (versus ¥3,413.8 billion) and a segment loss of ¥472.1 billion. NVIDIA disposals contributed ¥339.1 billion (32.1 million shares sold for US$5.83 billion); the September 2025 Intel investment was marked up ¥278.6 billion. These were offset by T-Mobile losses of ¥656.8 billion (75.4 million shares sold for US$16.25 billion) and Alibaba forward-contract losses of ¥169.7 billion.

Telecom steady, AI Computing in investment mode

The SoftBank telecommunications segment generated revenue of ¥7,040.9 billion (+7.6%) and segment profit of ¥965.0 billion (+6.5%), with PayPay listing ADSs on Nasdaq in March 2026 (proceeds of ¥96.3 billion to PayPay and ¥57.6 billion to SVF2; SoftBank retained 90.7% control). The newly disclosed AI Computing segment (Arm, Ampere, Graphcore) posted revenue of ¥640.3 billion (+8.5%) but a segment loss of ¥137.3 billion on higher R&D, Ampere consolidation costs and acquisition-related expenses. Ampere Computing Holdings was acquired for US$6.5 billion (closed November 25, 2025), generating provisional goodwill of ¥1,078.6 billion. Arm unveiled its first in-house silicon, the Arm AGI CPU, developed with Meta and targeting OpenAI and SAP — a strategic shift from IP licensing toward direct chip supply.

Aggressive financing for the OpenAI program

Operating cash flow was negative ¥428.8 billion (tax payments ¥821.6 billion); investing cash outflow reached ¥4,507.2 billion, including SVF investment outflows of ¥5,106.1 billion (mainly OpenAI) and Ampere-related cash outflow of ¥930.8 billion. Financing inflows of ¥6,377.3 billion reflected ¥11,948.2 billion of new debt, including ¥1,120 billion of domestic bonds, ¥2,000 billion of hybrid notes, US$15 billion of bridge loans for OpenAI/Ampere, and a US$11.5 billion increase in the Arm-collateralized margin loan. Period-end cash and equivalents rose to ¥5,362.2 billion. Post-period, in April 2026, SoftBank drew US$20 billion under a newly arranged US$40 billion bridge facility primarily for OpenAI funding.

Full-year FY26 dividends totaled ¥44.00 on a pre-split basis (interim ¥22.00 plus year-end ¥5.50 post-split). For FY27, SoftBank guides ¥11.00 annual (¥5.50 interim and year-end). A ¥330.3 billion share buyback program completed in August 2025, and 42,033,200 treasury shares were cancelled on October 31, 2025. Management refrained from issuing FY27 earnings guidance.

SoftBank Group — FY2026 Key Financials (IFRS, consolidated)
MetricFY2026FY2025YoY
Revenue (¥ billion)7,798.77,242.0+7.7%
Pre-tax profit (¥ billion)6,134.91,704.5+259.9%
Net profit attrib. to owners (¥ billion)5,002.31,153.3+333.7%
Basic EPS (¥, post split-adjusted)873.51195.20+347.5%
SVF investment gain (¥ billion)6,638.6387.6×17
Total assets (¥ billion)60,749.553,876.0+12.8%
Equity ratio (parent owners)29.0%25.7%+3.3pp

JapanStockPulse provides informational content only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures are taken from the company's published earnings short report and may be subject to subsequent revision.