- SoftBank is hitting the brakes. The tech investor posted a $7.1 billion loss in the most recent quarter, its first swing into the red in nearly two years, and signaled it would temper its aggressive pursuit of AI, The Wall Street Journal reported. CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said now isn’t the time to invest aggressively, citing big stock-market declines and widening credit spreads.
- US data centers drove the loss. Much of it came from $3.7 billion of charges on equipment related to power generation for AI data-center projects in the U.S., along with a drop in the share price of holdings including Coupang. “It is only natural that there is some discussion now about waiting and seeing how things play out for a little while,” Goto told reporters.
- It keeps raising cash. SoftBank added a $5 billion margin loan tied to its Arm shares and effectively sold much of its Intel stake through a collar trade that raised $7.4 billion, after investing $2 billion in Intel in August 2025, the WSJ reported. In October it invested another $10 billion in OpenAI, bringing its total investment to $64.6 billion for about 13% ownership.
- The stock reflects the AI chill. SoftBank shares have more than halved from their June peak and are down 12% this year, despite a 14% rebound on Tuesday before the results, a sharp contrast with a 92% jump in 2025.
What Happened?
SoftBank has faced a string of setbacks in recent months, the WSJ reported. China blocked its $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB’s robotics business, a deal meant to anchor a push into physical applications of AI. In the U.S., SoftBank-backed data-center company SB Energy delayed its IPO after pushback on its potential valuation. OpenAI, its largest holding after Arm, raised less than half of what it initially targeted in its latest round at a lower-than-targeted $1.25 trillion valuation, as Anthropic eclipsed it in valuation and revenue.
Why It Matters?
SoftBank has been one of the most aggressive financiers of the US AI build-out, so a pullback from its CFO is a meaningful signal for data-center developers, power-equipment suppliers and AI labs relying on its capital. The US power-generation writedowns show that the physical side of AI infrastructure carries real execution risk, not just the chips. Heavier use of margin loans and collars against Arm and Intel stakes also means SoftBank’s balance sheet is increasingly tied to the same tech equities that have been selling off.
What’s Next?
Watch how SoftBank paces any further OpenAI funding and whether SB Energy revives its IPO plans. The value of its OpenAI stake will be benchmarked against Anthropic, which forged ahead with its IPO plans Tuesday seeking a valuation of around $1.3 trillion, according to the WSJ. Further declines in Arm or other listed holdings would tighten the collateral behind its new borrowing.
Affected Tickers and Coins: SFTBY, ARM, INTC, CPNG
Source: The Wall Street Journal
