Tokyo, Feb 12, 2026, 18:10 (JST)
- SoftBank posted a quarterly profit of 248.6 billion yen, marking its fourth consecutive profitable quarter
- OpenAI’s soaring valuation pushed Vision Fund investment gains into positive territory
- Leverage climbed as SoftBank increasingly relied on loans and asset sales to bankroll its AI investments
SoftBank Group posted a 248.6 billion yen ($1.62 billion) profit for the October-December quarter on Thursday, marking its fourth straight quarter in the black. The gain was driven largely by a strong valuation boost from its OpenAI stake, offsetting losses in other areas.
This result is crucial because SoftBank’s AI drive has shifted from a mere talking point to the company’s headline story. SoftBank’s stake in OpenAI now plays a bigger role in earnings and is shaping how investors value the stock more than ever.
SoftBank is zeroing in on funding. The company reported its loan-to-value ratio—net debt over the value of its holdings—climbed to 20.6% by the end of December. At the same time, its cash reserves dropped to 3.8 trillion yen.
SoftBank’s earnings presentation reported that its total investment in OpenAI stands at $34.6 billion after accounting for sale proceeds, with the fair value hitting $54.4 billion as of Dec. 31. That points to a $19.8 billion gain. The company recorded a $4.2 billion gain this quarter and said its stake in OpenAI Group PBC climbed to roughly 11% following a December transaction, joining Microsoft and other investors. Source: Group
A recent filing revealed SoftBank financed the Sprint deal through a blend of asset sales and borrowing. From June to December, it offloaded 56.9 million T-Mobile US shares, raking in $12.73 billion. It also sold all its remaining Nvidia shares for $5.83 billion. On top of that, SoftBank boosted margin loans secured by Arm and SoftBank Corp shares, and took out $8.5 billion in bridge loans tied to the initial closing of OpenAI follow-on investments. Source: Group
Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told reporters the gains extend beyond OpenAI, noting that “our investments are beginning to pay off.” The company reported an 8% rise in quarterly revenue, reaching 1.98 trillion yen. Source: Apnews
Some analysts argue that concentration is both the strategy and the danger. “The reality for SoftBank shareholders at the moment is that their fortune is tied with OpenAI,” said Rolf Bulk, head of semiconductor and infrastructure research at Futurum Equities. Source: Reuters
OpenAI remains the wildcard SoftBank can’t fully control. According to Reuters, OpenAI is aiming for an additional $100 billion funding round, valuing the company around $830 billion. Amazon and Nvidia are reportedly in talks to participate, while investors question whether SoftBank is effectively becoming a public proxy for a single private entity. Source: Reuters
The main risk here is that a lot of this remains paper profit. If OpenAI’s growth stutters, or if rising competition and the expense of developing and maintaining large language models — the tech powering chatbots trained on huge datasets — start eating into margins, SoftBank’s boosted valuations this quarter could quickly reverse. And with more leverage, any shift would be even more volatile.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund saw a $2.434 billion gain this quarter, led by a $4.153 billion boost from OpenAI. However, a $1.719 billion loss on other investments pulled some of that back. Vision Fund 1 took a hit, posting a $4.051 billion loss, whereas Vision Fund 2 and other vehicles racked up a $6.485 billion gain, largely thanks to OpenAI and recent deals.
SoftBank shares rose 2.4% before the earnings report. Analysts’ estimates for quarterly net income varied widely, from a 1.1 trillion yen profit to a 480 billion yen loss, highlighting how volatile the results can be when major holdings swing in value.
