SoftBank rides AI boom to post $1.6 billion net profit

by AFP Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 12, 2026

Japan's SoftBank Group said Thursday that net profit rebounded year-on-year in the third quarter as it reaped the rewards of its investment in artificial intelligence.

The firm, a major backer of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, logged net profit of 248.6 billion yen ($1.6 billion), after a net loss of 370 billion yen a year earlier.

"The increase in OpenAI's portfolio value certainly made a significant contribution," SoftBank chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto told a ness conference.

"I believe these investment decisions, as they are, have greatly contributed to the investment results," he said.

After suffering massive losses across its broad tech portfolio in recent years, SoftBank has turned things around by diving into the fast-growing AI sector.

It announced in December that its stake in OpenAI was around 11 percent after completing the second stage of a $41 billion investment.

SoftBank's earnings often swing dramatically because it invests heavily in tech start-ups and semiconductor firms, whose stocks are volatile.

mac-tmo/ami

SOFTBANK GROUP

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