After years of turbulent swings and heavy losses, SoftBank Group has made a dramatic return to profitability, posting a net profit of $7.4 billion for FY25 — a sharp reversal from its $1.4 billion loss in the previous fiscal year. At the heart of this turnaround is founder Masayoshi Son’s enduring faith in the future of artificial intelligence and semiconductors, a bet that’s finally beginning to pay off.
Revenue for the Japanese conglomerate rose 7.2% year-on-year to $45.97 billion, while income before tax surged to $10.8 billion — a leap from just $367.5 million a year ago. The windfall came largely from a $23.5 billion gain on investments in heavyweights like Alibaba, T-Mobile, and Deutsche Telekom.
SoftBank’s investment business, still largely shaped by Son’s bold vision, recorded ¥3.41 trillion ($21.7 billion) in gains. Major contributors included Alibaba at ¥1.88 trillion ($11.94 billion) and T-Mobile at ¥1.35 trillion ($8.58 billion). But not all bets worked in its favor. A ¥2.03 trillion ($12.89 billion) loss from derivative contracts, primarily tied to prepaid forward deals using Alibaba shares, offset a chunk of those gains.
The performance of SoftBank’s closely watched Vision Fund arm was mixed. Vision Fund 1 delivered a strong gain of ¥940 billion ($5.97 billion), while Vision Fund 2 — home to newer and riskier tech bets — posted a ¥526 billion ($3.34 billion) loss. A significant part of that decline came from its exposure to Indian startups like Ola and Swiggy, which saw a sharp fall in valuations.
Adding to the pressure, SoftBank recorded a ¥491.8 billion ($3.17 billion) charge related to third-party investors in the Vision Funds, underscoring the complexity and high-stakes nature of its investment vehicles.
Yet, Son remains undeterred. SoftBank is doubling down on artificial intelligence, committing up to $30 billion to OpenAI Global and spending $6.5 billion to acquire US-based chipmaker Ampere. These moves are part of its larger “Stargate” project — a $500 billion moonshot to build massive AI data centers that Son believes will shape the future of computing.
Despite this rebound, the company remains cautious. It flagged macroeconomic uncertainties including currency fluctuations, regulatory hurdles, and unpredictable returns from private market investments. Still, it plans to maintain its full-year dividend at ¥44 ($0.28) per share — signaling confidence in its new direction.
From losing billions in WeWork and other risky ventures to re-emerging as a major AI investor, SoftBank’s FY25 performance underscores a pivotal shift. Masayoshi Son is betting that AI isn’t just the next big thing — it’s everything. And after years of setbacks, the market may finally be starting to agree.
