TOKYO — SoftBank Group Corporation has dramatically reversed its financial trajectory, reporting substantial profits for the final quarter of 2025 following strategic investments in artificial intelligence ventures. The Japanese technology and telecommunications conglomerate announced on Thursday that it achieved a profit of 248.6 billion yen ($1.62 billion) during the October-December period, marking a significant recovery from the 369 billion yen losses recorded during the same timeframe in the previous year.
The company’s quarterly sales demonstrated healthy growth, increasing by 8% to reach 1.98 trillion yen ($12.9 billion). This financial resurgence stems primarily from SoftBank’s calculated pivot toward artificial intelligence technologies, including the October divestment of its Nvidia stake for $5.8 billion to reinforce its AI-focused strategy.
Among SoftBank’s most notable AI investments is its substantial $35 billion commitment to OpenAI, the pioneering developer behind the ChatGPT chatbot platform. This strategic move has secured SoftBank an approximate 11% ownership stake while generating considerable investment returns. The corporation has additionally expanded its technology portfolio through the $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere, a prominent U.S.-based semiconductor design firm that now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Beyond artificial intelligence, SoftBank continues to diversify its technological investments through robotics. The company finalized an agreement with ABB last year to purchase its robotics division for $5.375 billion, though this transaction still awaits regulatory approvals across multiple jurisdictions including Europe, China, and the United States.
For the nine-month period concluding in December, SoftBank posted remarkable profits of 3.17 trillion yen ($20.7 billion), representing a fivefold increase compared to the previous year. Sales during this extended timeframe rose nearly 8% to 5.7 trillion yen ($37 billion).
SoftBank Group Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto emphasized to reporters that the company’s investment strategy is demonstrating broad-based success, noting that financial gains are emerging from multiple ventures including Arm, an AI semiconductor company, rather than relying exclusively on OpenAI’s performance. Despite this positive momentum, analysts continue to caution that over-dependence on any single investment, including OpenAI, presents inherent risks given SoftBank’s history of volatile financial performance driven by its aggressive investment approach in emerging technologies.
The market responded favorably to these developments, with SoftBank Group shares climbing 2.4% during Thursday’s trading session.