SoftBank's Intel bet pays off big, but OpenAI goes quiet on the books
The Japanese investment giant posted a $2.2 billion profit for the June quarter, well above forecasts. A huge gain on Intel shares did the heavy lifting. OpenAI, which SoftBank has pumped $55 billion into, added nothing this time.
Key points
- SoftBank reported net profit of 347.3 billion yen ($2.2 billion) for the April-to-June quarter, beating analyst forecasts of 120.23 billion yen.
- A 1.3 trillion yen gain on SoftBank's Intel shares drove most of the upside, after Intel's stock rose nearly 400% over the past 12 months.
- SoftBank has invested $55 billion of a planned $60 billion total commitment in OpenAI, but recorded zero gain or loss on that stake this quarter.
- The Vision Fund, SoftBank's main investment vehicle, posted a $1.7 billion gain, largely because ByteDance's estimated value rose by $2.2 billion.
- SoftBank's AI computing segment, which owns Arm, Graphcore and Ampere, posted a 200.8 billion yen loss, wider than last year's 32.4 billion yen loss.
SoftBank, the Japanese technology conglomerate that has made huge bets on artificial intelligence companies, reported stronger-than-expected profits for the three months ending June 2025. The headline number: 347.3 billion yen, or roughly $2.2 billion, per figures first reported by CNBC Tech. That still marked an 18% year-on-year decline. Analysts had expected less than half that profit.
One investment did most of the work.
Where did the money actually come from?
SoftBank's stake in Intel, the American semiconductor company, produced a 1.3 trillion yen paper gain. SoftBank had put about $2 billion into Intel the previous year. Intel's shares have risen nearly 400% since, and that surge flowed straight into SoftBank's results, helping its investment division book segment profit of 1.05 trillion yen.
The Vision Fund added $1.7 billion in value. A $2.2 billion rise in the estimated value of ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, was the main driver, partially offset by declines at companies including PayPay.
What happened with OpenAI?
Nothing, in financial terms, and that's worth noticing. SoftBank has committed more than $60 billion to OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, with $55 billion already invested. That gives SoftBank roughly 13% ownership, and OpenAI makes up around 20% of SoftBank's total net asset value.
This quarter, SoftBank recorded no gain and no loss on that position.
The contrast with last quarter is stark. The previous quarter's Vision Fund posted a nearly $20 billion gain, almost entirely because OpenAI's valuation rose. That windfall is now absent. We covered SoftBank's broader political context in our 6 August story on a $50 million donation to Trump's presidential library, which adds another layer to how closely this company is being watched.
SoftBank's share price has fallen about 34% from its record high in June. Much of the concern centres on how concentrated the company's bets are: Arm and OpenAI together form a large share of what SoftBank owns, neither delivering steady cash returns yet.
Should ordinary investors or workers pay attention?
If you use AI tools at work, yes, indirectly. SoftBank's willingness to keep funding OpenAI affects how quickly those tools improve and stay affordable. A SoftBank under financial pressure might slow future investment rounds.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, speaking to CNBC, called the AI shift "50 times bigger than the dot-com boom" and said it's "just like the beginning of the internet." Bold claims. Worth tracking against actual numbers.
The honest read: one quarter of Intel gains doesn't prove SoftBank's broader AI strategy is working. It proves one chip investment went well. The AI computing segment posted a 200.8 billion yen loss, wider than a year ago, driven by higher research and development spending at those chip companies.
Nearly all the profit came from a single trade. The $55 billion OpenAI bet remains an open question, and next quarter will matter far more than this one.
