SoftBank Group Corp. swung to its first profit after four straight quarters of losses, backed by a rebound in the value of Vision Fund’s public holdings and a windfall from T-Mobile US Inc. shares.
The Tokyo-based technology investor reported a net income of ¥950 billion ($6.4 billion) for the December quarter, reversing a ¥783 billion loss for the same period a year ago. It’s the Japanese company’s first profit since September 2022, as it continues to navigate volatile swings in the value of its startup investments.
The Vision Fund segment reported a ¥422.7 billion gain for the period compared with a loss of ¥660.1 billion a year ago. DoorDash Inc., AutoStore Holdings Inc., and Symbotic Inc. were among the best performers contributing to the Vision Fund, and SoftBank said the Vision Fund was helped by a rise in TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd.’s fair value. The value of Didi Global Inc.’s shares also rose 22% in the over-the-counter market.
The solid quarter may herald more relief to come, according to Kirk Boodry, an analyst at Astris Advisory. “We have not been overly bullish on the current portfolio,” he said, but added that key portfolio companies like ByteDance or American online sportswear store Fanatics might list in 2024.
SoftBank booked an extra windfall from an arrangement to receive more than 48 million T-Mobile shares worth almost $8 billion. The deal was part of an agreement struck when T-Mobile acquired rival and former SoftBank unit Sprint Corp. in 2020, designed to give SoftBank more T-Mobile shares if the stock rose above a certain level during a given period.
A 40% rally in newly-listed chip design unit Arm Holdings Plc’s shares in the December quarter further bolstered SoftBank’s finances. As the owner of a roughly 90% stake in the UK firm, SoftBank will likely be able to use Arm to help finance loans for new investments, in the same way a stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. helped SoftBank secure financing…