SoftBank Group posted a fiscal second-quarter net loss of 1.12 trillion yen, or $7 billion, marking its first swing into red figures in nearly two years as U.S. data center costs and tech stock declines weighed on earnings.
Power Procurement Realignment Costs
Much of the quarterly loss stemmed from 597.2 billion yen, or $3.7 billion, in charges tied to changes in procurement plans for power generation equipment for artificial intelligence data center projects in the U.S., according to financial reports released on November 10, 2026.
Production output had been reserved and equipment purchases were finalized by Silver Bands 7 LLC—an affiliate backed by SoftBank Group and SoftBank Vision Fund II-2—in order to secure power-generation equipment ahead of anticipated supply constraints.
“We made bridge investments in advance to secure power generation equipment in anticipation of shortage,” a SoftBank executive said during the company’s earnings call, CNBC reported.
The procurement losses comprised $2.85 billion in non-refundable advance payments for factory capacity and equipment, alongside $880 million for contract modifications and settlements, Open Magazine noted. Cumulative procurement payments totaled $9.5 billion from the previous fiscal year through September 30, 2026, with $6.6 billion remaining allocated to equipment purchases for the PORTS-Pike technology campus and other projects at quarter-end, Unite reported.
At SoftBank Group’s earnings briefing on November 10, 2026, for the fiscal second quarter covering July through September of the year ending March 2027, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto reported financial results alongside other corporate metrics.
For the six-month period, finance costs more than doubled to 790.7 billion yen, which CFO Goto attributed to larger borrowing and corporate-bond balances, higher funding rates, and the full recognition of remaining unamortized financing costs when bridge loans were repaid early.
“both are sufficient figures from a safety standpoint,” CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said, taking pride in the early repayment of the bridge facility and stating that the move was greatly appreciated by the banks. Regarding the organization’s broader outlook, management said that while the short-term environment is a time to wait and see, there is no change to the medium- to long-term artificial intelligence investment strategy.
Total investment gains fell 56.0% year over year to 1.73 trillion yen for the six-month period. Meanwhile, net asset value rose by 20 trillion yen from the prior fiscal year-end to reach a record 59.8 trillion yen, which is approximately $377.2 billion.
“repaying the bridge facility ahead of schedule is greatly appreciated by the banks. From a financing standpoint, it is an arrangement that is very positive for our relationships with banks down the road,” CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said.
Falling Share Prices and Vision Fund Losses Drag Results Down
Beyond the data center charges, the conglomerate absorbed financial pressures from falling share prices across publicly traded portfolio companies, including Coupang, Grab, and Intel, CNBC reported. Declines in the stock prices of chipmakers Arm Holdings and Intel, alongside Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, further dragged down the bottom line.
The Vision Fund segment swung to a loss of 81.58 billion yen in the fiscal second quarter, dropping sharply from a profit of 2.38 trillion yen a year earlier, CNBC reported.
Vision Fund 1 recorded an investment loss of $20 million in the quarter, even as it secured a $1.3 billion gain on ByteDance, while Vision Fund 2 posted investment gains of 89.26 billion yen. Total investment gains across the Vision Funds segment fell to 85.45 billion yen, down from 2.81 trillion yen in the year-earlier period, CNBC reported.
CFO Yoshimitsu Goto reported at the earnings briefing that “investment gains came in at ¥1.7 trillion (approximately $10.7 billion),” while net income landed at a loss of 80 million yen for the half, BigGo Finance reported. For the quarter ended September 30, 2026, the net loss attributable to owners of the parent reached 1.1 trillion yen, compared with 2.5 trillion yen in net income a year earlier.
OpenAI Demand Drives Infrastructure Growth Despite Financial Headwinds
Despite the financial headwinds, SoftBank executives emphasized ongoing demand and operational growth within artificial intelligence ventures, highlighting a 20-year lease agreement with OpenAI for eight gigawatts of IT capacity at the Ohio campus, CNBC reported.
As of the end of September, cumulative investment in OpenAI stood at $54.6 billion, carrying a fair value of $99.6 billion and a cumulative investment gain of $45 billion. Leadership pointed out that results did not yet factor in any potential valuation growth for OpenAI stemming from an upcoming funding round, since no official declaration had been made yet.
“ChatGPT has been continuously a weapon of OpenAI, especially for consumers,” the SoftBank executive said during the earnings call.
“OpenAI's business model has also improved significantly,” CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said, noting that weekly active users exceeded 1.2 billion, with the enterprise mix reaching 50%. Prior to the earnings release, SoftBank announced plans with Grab and Malaysia’s PETROS to commit $1.85 billion in initial capital to develop AI infrastructure in Malaysia, targeting at least five gigawatts of computing capacity, CNBC reported.
![[9984.T FY2026 Q2 Earnings Call] SoftBank Group Posts ¥770 Billion Net Loss but Record NAV of ¥59.8 Trillion](https://img.biggo.com/MXWFfTiR3KPaJsGGFDCZtp_1pFjEe7sPbvctEsPSX_M/fit/1200/0/sm/0/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWcuYmdvLm9uZS9uZXdzLWltYWdlL2Vhcm5pbmdzX2NhcmQvMjAyNi0xMS9KUF85OTg0LlRfMjAyNi0xMS0xMF8xNzk0MzIwOTQxLndlYnA.jpg "Photo: finance.biggo.com")
Analysts peppered management with questions regarding the details of the review and reconsideration process for power-generation equipment deployed at data centers. Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal previously noted in a report that Arm shares trading meaningfully below $200 increases financial pressure on SoftBank. As of May 21, 2026, SoftBank held 922.7 million Arm shares according to annual filings, having pledged 769.0 million of them.
Earlier coverage: Nikkei Suffers Worst Weekly Loss in 6 Years Amid AI Fears
