SoftBank Group Corp.

Who owns SoftBank Group?
SoftBank Group Corp. is a publicly traded company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 9984. Masayoshi Son, the founder, is the largest individual shareholder and maintains effective control of the company. Institutional investors hold significant stakes, but Son's ownership and the company's governance structure give him decisive influence over investment decisions and strategy.

What is SoftBank's net asset value?
SoftBank's net asset value reached ¥72.3 trillion as of June 30, 2026, the highest in the company's history. This NAV is heavily concentrated in a few holdings, primarily Arm Holdings, OpenAI, and the Vision Fund portfolio. The concentration means that changes in the valuation of these holdings have a large impact on SoftBank's overall NAV.

How much has SoftBank invested in OpenAI?
SoftBank has committed to invest more than $60 billion in OpenAI, giving it approximately 13 percent ownership. As of Q1 FY2026, $55 billion had been invested, with $20 billion in follow-on investments in April and July 2026. The OpenAI investment generated a ¥6,730.4 billion ($43.9 billion) investment gain in FY2025. In Q1 FY2026, SoftBank recorded no gain or loss related to OpenAI.

What is the Stargate project?
Stargate is a joint venture between SoftBank and OpenAI to build large-scale AI data centers. The project includes a planned $100 billion, 1.5-gigawatt data center buildout in the United States and a 5-gigawatt facility in France announced in June 2026. SoftBank has moved away from its earlier assumption of $18 billion in equity for every $100 billion invested toward a project-by-project financing model. The total capital required is enormous, and the funding structure has not been finalized.

Does SoftBank own Arm Holdings?
SoftBank acquired Arm Holdings in 2016 for $32 billion and took it public again on NASDAQ in 2023 through an IPO. SoftBank retains a majority stake in Arm. Arm reported record Q1 FY2026 revenue of $1.38 billion, up 29 percent year over year, driven by AI-related demand for its semiconductor designs. Arm is part of SoftBank's newly established AI Computing segment alongside Graphcore and Ampere.

Is SoftBank profitable?
SoftBank's profitability is volatile due to its reliance on investment gains. In FY2025 (ended March 2026), the company reported net income of ¥1.49 trillion, driven by ¥7.29 trillion in investment gains. In Q1 FY2026, net income was ¥347.3 billion. However, the AI Computing segment posted a ¥200.8 billion loss, and the company's operating income can be negative when investment gains are excluded. SoftBank's financial results are not comparable to those of an operating company.

SoftBank was founded in 1981 by Masayoshi Son, a Japanese entrepreneur of Korean descent. The company started as a software distribution business, selling PC software to retailers in Japan. The name "SoftBank" referred to the company's focus on software as a bank of software products.

In the 1990s, Son began expanding beyond software distribution. He invested in internet companies, including a $200 million stake in Yahoo in 1995 that grew to be worth billions. SoftBank launched Yahoo Japan (later renamed LY Corporation) as a joint venture with Yahoo, creating one of Japan's most popular internet portals.

The 2000s brought a major strategic shift. SoftBank entered the Japanese telecommunications market, acquiring Vodafone Japan in 2006 for $15 billion. This acquisition transformed SoftBank from an internet investment company into a telecommunications operator. Son rebranded Vodafone Japan as SoftBank Mobile and competed aggressively against NTT Docomo and KDDI. In 2008, SoftBank secured the exclusive Japanese distribution rights for the iPhone, which drove significant subscriber growth.

SoftBank Mobile's telecom subsidiary, SoftBank Corp., was separately listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018. SoftBank Group retained a majority stake. The telecom business provides a source of relatively stable cash flow that partially offsets the volatility of the group's investment portfolio.

In 2016, SoftBank made two transformative acquisitions. First, it acquired Arm Holdings, the British semiconductor IP company, for $32 billion. Arm designs the instruction sets used in most mobile phones and an increasing range of other devices. Second, it launched the SoftBank Vision Fund (SVF1), a $100 billion investment vehicle that was the largest technology fund ever created at the time. SVF1 was funded by SoftBank, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the Mubadala Investment Fund of Abu Dhabi, and other investors.

The Vision Fund period (2017 to 2021) was marked by aggressive investment in technology companies, including Uber, WeWork, DoorDash, and dozens of others. Some investments generated massive returns (DoorDash, for example), while others resulted in significant losses. WeWork was the most notorious failure: SoftBank invested over $10 billion in the office-sharing company, which collapsed in value and filed for bankruptcy in 2023. The WeCoWork debacle led to the departure of Son's lieutenant, Rajeev Misra, and raised questions about SoftBank's investment discipline.

In 2019, SoftBank launched the second Vision Fund (SVF2), funded primarily by SoftBank's own capital after external investors were deterred by SVF1's mixed performance. SVF2 made smaller, more targeted investments.

The 2020 to 2022 period was difficult for SoftBank. The COVID-19 pandemic, the WeWork collapse, and a broad decline in technology valuations caused significant investment losses. Son announced a shift to "defense" mode, reducing new investments and preserving capital. The company sold significant portions of its Alibaba stake to raise cash. SoftBank had acquired a stake in Alibaba in 2000, and that investment grew to be worth tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the most successful venture investments in history.

In 2023, SoftBank took Arm public again on NASDAQ through an IPO. The offering raised $4.87 billion and valued Arm at approximately $54.5 billion. SoftBank retained a majority stake (approximately 90 percent at the time). Arm's stock has since appreciated significantly, driven by AI-related demand for its semiconductor designs.

The AI investment boom that began in 2023 with the launch of ChatGPT marked a new chapter for SoftBank. Son pivoted aggressively to AI investments, describing the technology as more significant than the internet. In 2024 and 2025, SoftBank made major AI-related investments, including the OpenAI commitment of over $60 billion, the acquisition of Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion in November 2025, and the Stargate data center joint venture with OpenAI.

In 2026, SoftBank continued its AI investment push. The company made $20 billion in follow-on investments in OpenAI in April and July 2026. It announced plans to develop a 5-gigawatt AI data center in France in June 2026. The company also acquired DigitalBridge, a digital infrastructure company, and contributed $500 million alongside OpenAI to SB Energy.

SoftBank's share price fell approximately 34 percent from its record high in June 2026 as investors grew concerned about the company's heavy concentration in Arm and OpenAI and questioned how it would continue to fund its AI investments. The company's loan-to-value (LTV) ratio remained at what it described as an "extremely safe level," but the cash position declined due to the aggressive investment pace.

SoftBank Group publishes sustainability information through its corporate website and annual reports. The company has made commitments related to carbon reduction, diversity, and responsible investment practices.

SoftBank's sustainability efforts are complicated by the nature of its business as an investment holding company. The environmental and social impact of its portfolio companies varies widely, from Arm's relatively low direct environmental footprint to the significant energy consumption of AI data centers planned through the Stargate project.

The company is not a Certified B Corporation and does not have independently verified Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitments at the group level. Its sustainability reporting is primarily self-reported through corporate communications.

The WeWork investment remains the most significant controversy in SoftBank's recent history. SoftBank invested over $10 billion in WeWork, the office-sharing company founded by Adam Neumann. WeWork's valuation collapsed from $47 billion to near zero, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2023. SoftBank took significant write-downs on the investment. The episode raised questions about Son's investment discipline and the governance of the Vision Funds.

SoftBank's Vision Fund model has been criticized for its governance structure. SVF1 was funded significantly by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and the Mubadala Investment Fund of Abu Dhabi. The involvement of Saudi government funds drew criticism from human rights advocates, particularly after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The company's heavy concentration in AI investments has drawn scrutiny from investors and analysts. With over $60 billion committed to OpenAI and the majority of NAV tied to Arm and OpenAI, SoftBank's fortunes are closely tied to the AI investment thesis. If AI valuations decline or if OpenAI's business model fails to generate expected returns, SoftBank would face significant losses.

SoftBank's share buyback programs and capital allocation decisions have also been questioned. The company has periodically bought back its own shares to support the stock price, using cash that some analysts argue could be better deployed or used to reduce debt.

The Stargate project has raised questions about SoftBank's ability to fund its commitments. The company has moved away from specific equity contribution assumptions toward a project-by-project model, but the total capital required for multi-gigawatt data centers is enormous. SoftBank's cash position declined in Q1 FY2026 due to the aggressive investment pace.