SoftBank beat analysts’ forecasts in the June quarter, posting net profit of ¥347.3bn ($2.2bn) versus the ¥148.4bn expected, though profit fell 17.7% year‑on‑year. The surprise came from a $8bn gain on its Intel stake, where a $2bn investment at $23 a share now trades above $100 after a 150% rally. The group also recorded a ¥358.4bn gain on its ByteDance holding, while the Vision Funds added ¥255.8bn in investment gains with no OpenAI impact. PayPay’s performance dragged results lower.

Leverage improved as the loan‑to‑value ratio dropped to 13% from 17% in March, well under the 25% ceiling; CFO Yoshimitsu Goto suggested the firm may “invest more.” Masayoshi Son’s AI‑centric portfolio — including Arm, OpenAI and robotics — keeps SoftBank at the centre of the boom.

Shares rose 23% year‑to‑date but have slipped about a third from last year’s peak, leaving SoftBank third in market value behind MUFG and Toyota.