The downturn was heavily fueled by US$3.7 billion in equipment losses after an affiliate adjusted its U.S. artificial intelligence data centre projects. At the same time, financing costs more than doubled to hit 462 billion yen during the July-September period. SoftBank's strategy remains deeply exposed to the artificial intelligence boom, but OpenAI's postponed initial public offering has delayed crucial returns on its US$64.6 billion investment.
Key points
The firm's quarterly financing costs climbed significantly to reach 462 billion yen durin…: The firm's quarterly financing costs climbed significantly to reach 462 billion yen during the three-month period.
OpenAI has postponed its initial public offering until next year, delaying SoftBank's pla…: OpenAI has postponed its initial public offering until next year, delaying SoftBank's plans to monetise its 13 percent stake.
SoftBank shares have dropped by nearly half since early June amid growing investor skepti…: SoftBank shares have dropped by nearly half since early June amid growing investor skepticism regarding returns on artificial intelligence.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
TOKYO: Technology investor SoftBank Group said on Tuesday (Nov 10) it booked a net loss of 1.1 trillion yen (US$7 billion) in the July-September quarter, hit hard by hefty advance payments it made to support the buildout of data centres in the US.
The result compares with 2.5 trillion yen profit in the same period a year earlier when it logged a huge investment gain on an increase in the value of its stake in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
SoftBank's earnings are volatile and difficult to predict. Forecasts from three analysts polled by LSEG had ranged from a profit of 233 billion yen to a loss of 113 billion yen.
SoftBank said it recorded a US$3.7 billion loss due to a subsidiary investing in equipment for AI data centre projects in the US with those plans later revised.
Its financing costs also more than doubled to 462 billion yen in the quarter.
The Japanese firm's big bets on artificial intelligence - particularly the US$64.6 billion it has spent on its 13 per cent stake in OpenAI - have raised questions about how…
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