SoftBank More Than Quadruples Annual Profit on $44 Billion in OpenAI Gains

By Kosaku Narioka

SoftBank Group more than quadrupled its annual net profit thanks to tens of billions of gains from its investment in OpenAI.

The Japanese technology investment company's net profit soared to 5.003 trillion yen, equivalent to $31.74 billion, from Y1.153 trillion the previous fiscal year. That beat the Y3.531 trillion estimate in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha.

SoftBank said Wednesday that it booked $43.9 billion in gains related to its investment in the ChatGPT maker for the 12 months ended March. The Japanese company is one of OpenAI's largest shareholders.

The company in February agreed to invest an additional $30 billion in OpenAI in phases as part of the ChatGPT maker's recent funding round. That would bring SoftBank's total investment in OpenAI to $64.6 billion.

The Japanese technology investment company has issued debt, sold stakes in companies like Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom, and borrowed against its stake in Arm Holdings and other assets to fund bold AI investments.

SoftBank Group's payments app operator, PayPay, was listed on Nasdaq in March, a move that could further bolster the Japanese tech investor's coffers as it pours billions into AI.

The stock has climbed 37% so far this year, driven by growing expectations for rising AI-related demand.

Investors have turned to SoftBank as one of the few publicly traded stocks available that has a large exposure to OpenAI.

Its Vision Funds business recorded a profit of Y6.445 trillion, compared with a loss of Y115.02 billion a year earlier.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2026 03:28 ET (07:28 GMT)