SoftBank profit lifted by OpenAI stake

SoftBank Group is expected to report a January-to-March net profit of 236 billion yen (US$1.5 billion) on May 13.

Gains in the value of its OpenAI stake lift results, though investors are watching how it will fund more AI spending.

TD Cowen estimated SoftBank’s 11% stake in OpenAI was worth US$80 billion at the end of March, after the ChatGPT maker’s valuation rose to US$840 billion in its latest funding round.

Analysts said SoftBank still plans to invest another US$30 billion in OpenAI in 2026 and about US$25 billion in other deals.

S&P Global Ratings cut its outlook to negative and a recent filing showed it reduced a proposed loan backed by its OpenAI stake.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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Implications, context, and why it matters.

OpenAI gains come with cash burn and concentration risk

SoftBank’s planned extra US$30 billion would lift its total OpenAI investment to US$64.6 billion, or nearly 30% of SoftBank’s investment assets 1.
That exposure to one private company led S&P Global Ratings to revise SoftBank’s credit outlook to negative 1.
Jefferies said the stake is harder to value because OpenAI is burning through large sums of cash. Jefferies cited reports that OpenAI lost about US$12 billion in the third quarter of 2025, which suggests a yearly cash burn above US$50 billion 2.
SoftBank also pays OpenAI about US$3 billion each year for services in Japan. Jefferies flagged that as a related-party transaction 2.

SoftBank’s AI spending meets its robotics and data center plans

SoftBank Group plans to spin off and list a new U.S. AI and robotics company called Roze to help fund its AI commitments. The target valuation is US$100 billion 3.
Roze plans to use autonomous robots for the physical work of building server farms, also known as data centers. Reports also said it may include assets such as ABB Robotics, the industrial robot business SoftBank agreed to buy last year 3.
The plan marks a push into physical AI infrastructure, with Roze focused on data center construction and robotics that can make that work more SoftBank profit lifted by OpenAI stake efficient 4.
The proposed listing is meant to help offset SoftBank’s multibillion-dollar commitments, including its large OpenAI investments 5.