SoftBank Surges on OpenAI Valuation; Q4 Profit Hits New High

• Net income (October–December): 248.6 billion yen profit (prior year: 369 billion yen loss)
• OpenAI investment gain (as of end-December): 19.8 billion USD
• Total OpenAI exposure: just over 30 billion USD (roughly an 11% stake)
• Loan-to-Value (LTV): 20.6% (previously 16.5%)
• Cash balance: 3.8 trillion yen

OpenAI: A central earnings engine for SoftBank

The quarterly result is attributed by SoftBank to the revaluation of its stake in OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT. The investment gain on the OpenAI position stood at 19.8 billion USD at the end of December.

SoftBank has invested more than 30 billion USD in OpenAI and holds about 11% of the company, according to the report. The holding sits in Vision Fund 2, with 17% of that stake owned directly by the founders and CEO.

OpenAI reportedly aims for another fundraising round of around 100 billion USD, with SoftBank potentially joining alongside Amazon and Nvidia. A valuation around 830 billion USD has been floated, and OpenAI is laying groundwork for what could be a very large IPO in the future.

Financing moves: selling assets, borrowing, and more leverage

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SoftBank?

To finance the AI push, SoftBank is monetizing other positions and expanding credit lines. The company has already exited its Nvidia position. It also sold part of its T-Mobile stake between June and December for 12.7 billion USD.

On the debt side, SoftBank expanded its margin-backed loan against Arm shares to 20 billion USD (from 13.5 billion USD). The company has tapped the remaining capacity of this facility. Additionally, loans secured by SoftBank Corp. shares rose to 1.2 trillion yen (up from 800 billion yen).

Balance sheet metrics rise as cash declines

With greater deployment of capital, SoftBank’s leverage increased: the Loan-to-Value ratio climbed to 20.6% by the end of December, up from 16.5% three months earlier. The cash balance fell to 3.8 trillion yen.

Market environment and outlook

Even as OpenAI remains a heavyweight, the report notes rising costs for training and operating the models amid growing competition, notably from Alphabet. SoftBank shares finished the day about 2.4% higher in a otherwise subdued market ahead of the earnings release.