In brief: Vision Fund pushes SoftBank’s profit past estimates

• SoftBank Group’s operating profit for the first quarter came in at around 688.8 billion yen (US$6.49 billion), down 3.7% year on year but beating the 336 billion yen (US$3.16 billion) estimate from five analysts compiled by Refinitiv, Reuters reported.
• The result was attributed to a leap in investing gains from the group’s US$100 billion Vision Fund, whose operating profit climbed 66% to 397.6 billion yen (US$3.74 billion) for the three months ended June.
• Results have become volatile for the company as founder and CEO Masayoshi Son shifts focus from telecoms to fast-growing startups, including hotel chain Oyo and delivery service Doordash.

Currency converted from Japanese yen to US dollar: US$1 = 106.3 yen.