SoftBank Group reported quarterly profit that fell short of analyst expectations, even as the company dramatically reshaped its portfolio around artificial intelligence and deepened its exposure to OpenAI.
The Japanese investment giant posted a quarterly profit of ¥248.6 billion, missing forecasts of ¥336.7 billion. Despite the miss, the broader picture tells a more complex story: profits are up sharply, investment gains have doubled, and AI now dominates the company’s balance sheet.
Profit miss but earnings momentum builds
For the nine-month period from April to December, SoftBank’s net sales rose 7.9% year over year. Income before tax jumped 228%, while net income surged nearly 400% compared to the same period last year.
That’s not exactly weakness.
The company’s Vision Funds division swung back into profit after posting losses in the prior year. However, investment performance outside the Vision Funds fell sharply, declining 91.9%.
In short, the profit engine is running but it’s increasingly concentrated in AI.
OpenAI becomes central to strategy
SoftBank committed capital to OpenAI in March 2025 through its second Vision Fund (SVF2). The first funding round closed in April, followed by another in December after OpenAI completed a recapitalization.
As a result, SoftBank now holds roughly 11% ownership in OpenAI, with most of that exposure sitting inside the Vision Funds structure.
Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto made the company’s direction clear during the earnings call: approximately 60% of SoftBank’s assets are now AI or ASI related ASI referring to artificial superintelligence.
Goto said the company believes OpenAI is positioned to lead the industry long term. While OpenAI has yet to reach profitability, SoftBank sees future monetization opportunities in enterprise services, hardware, and advertising.
The bet is clear AI first, everything else second.
Major exits: T-Mobile and Nvidia
To fund this pivot, SoftBank has been actively reshuffling its holdings.
Between June and December, the company sold a significant portion of its stake in T-Mobile US. In October, it fully exited its position in Nvidia.
The group has also borrowed against its holdings in Arm Holdings and other assets to maintain liquidity.
In parallel, SoftBank continues strategic acquisitions. In December 2025, it announced plans to acquire DigitalBridge Group, expanding into data center infrastructure. Earlier, it agreed to acquire ABB’s robotics division, reinforcing its automation footprint.
The portfolio shift signals a deliberate consolidation around AI infrastructure, compute power, robotics, and large-scale intelligence platforms.
Market reaction and political tailwinds
SoftBank shares have risen in 2026, building on gains from 2025. The stock also received a boost following the electoral victory of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, who has campaigned on increased government spending in AI and semiconductor development.
For SoftBank, the macro environment appears supportive of its strategy.
A high-stakes AI concentration
SoftBank’s earnings report reflects a company in transition.
While the quarterly profit miss may grab headlines, the deeper narrative is about concentration risk. With 60% of assets now tied to AI and superintelligence ambitions and a significant stake in OpenAI SoftBank is doubling down on what it believes will define the next technological era.
The exits from T-Mobile and Nvidia mark the end of one chapter. The OpenAI-led AI pivot marks the beginning of another.
Whether that bet pays off will depend not only on OpenAI’s monetization timeline but on the broader global race toward advanced artificial intelligence.
For now, SoftBank has made its choice.
