SoftBank Posts Multibillion-Dollar Loss Linked to U.S. Data-Center Equipment — Update

By Kosaku Narioka

SoftBank Group swung to its first quarterly loss in nearly two years, dragged in part by $3.7 billion in losses related to equipment for U.S. data-center projects, a potential warning sign about the sustainability of AI spending.

The disappointing results come as SoftBank's stock has more than halved from its peak in June as enthusiasm over an artificial-intelligence trade has waned. Despite shares rebounding 14% Tuesday before the results, mirroring a broad advance by tech and chip-related shares, its stock is down 12% year to date, a sharp contrast with its 92% jump in 2025.

The earnings miss also comes as SoftBank has been going all in on AI in recent years, pivoting from its earlier strategy of betting on a mix of startups.

Commenting on the special losses, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said the company rushed to secure some equipment that was in short supply in a nascent industry, and that it is necessary for SoftBank to reassess whether what it has secured is really the best.

Still, he said that data centers are in severe undersupply, adding that the company's AI infrastructure projects are making steady progress.

The Japanese technology investment company booked net loss of 1.115 trillion yen, equivalent to $7.06 billion, for the three months ended September.

It recorded $3.7 billion of losses due to procurement plan changes for power generation-related equipment for AI data-center projects in the U.S. The company cited a revision to its unit's equipment procurement strategy, given evolving requirements of its existing and planned projects.

The loss comprised $2.9 billion related to nonrefundable advance payments made to secure manufacturing capacity and purchase equipment, and $0.9 billion related to contract modifications and settlements.

Declines in the valuations of companies like e-commerce company Coupang also weighed on its latest quarterly investment results.

Goto also acknowledged the market volatility and said that now isn't the time to invest aggressively, pointing to big stock-market declines and the widening of credit spreads.

"It is only natural that there is some discussion now about waiting and seeing how things play out for a little while."

SoftBank has faced a string of other setbacks in recent months. China recently blocked its $5.4 billion acquisition of Swiss industrial giant ABB's robotics business, a deal announced in October 2025 aimed at combining the potential of AI with robots.

SoftBank had been banking on the acquisition of ABB's robotics unit, which makes robotic arms and other devices used in manufacturing and logistics, to headline a broader push into physical applications of AI.

In the U.S., SoftBank-backed data-center company SB Energy has delayed its initial public offering date after getting pushback on its potential valuation.

Meanwhile, OpenAI rival Anthropic plans to forge ahead with its IPO later this month despite recent market volatility tied to AI investments, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

OpenAI raised less than half of what it initially targeted for its latest funding round at a lower-than-targeted valuation of $1.25 trillion. SoftBank said in October it invested an additional $10 billion in OpenAI as part of its previously announced investment plan, bringing its total investments in the ChatGPT maker to $64.6 billion and its ownership interest to about 13%.

Last week, British chip-design unit Arm Holdings reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings as AI demand fuels growth.

SoftBank Group's quarterly net loss was worse than the estimated net profit of Y53.5 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha. The Japanese company recorded net profit of Y2.502 trillion in the year-earlier period, boosted by billions of dollars of gains from its OpenAI investment.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2026 07:01 ET (12:01 GMT)