SoftBank Group posts net loss attributable to owners of the parent of 768.0 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 2026
SoftBank Group announced its consolidated financial results for the second quarter and first half of fiscal 2026 ended September 30 on November 10, 2026. Net sales for the first half reached 4.235 trillion yen, up 13.3% year on year; loss before tax was 438.7 billion yen, and net loss attributable to owners of the parent was 768.0 billion yen. In the same period a year earlier, profit before tax was 3.6864 trillion yen and net profit attributable to owners of the parent was 2.9241 trillion yen. Basic earnings per share were -136.47 yen, after taking into account the 1-for-4 stock split implemented on January 1, 2026. Net loss attributable to owners of the parent for the second quarter alone was about 1.12 trillion yen (about US$70 billion), the first quarterly net loss in nearly two years.
According to LSEG data, the loss for the quarter was far below analysts’ expectation of about 84.0 billion yen in profit. Profit in the previous quarter was 347.3 billion yen, and profit in the same period last year was 2.5 trillion yen.
Vision Fund recorded investment gains, but the group’s overall performance was weighed down by factors including about 597.2 billion yen in expenses related to U.S. data center procurement, higher financing costs, and about 270.1 billion yen in valuation losses on Intel shares and related derivatives. Investment gains for the first half were 1.7258 trillion yen, sharply down from 3.9267 trillion yen in the same period a year earlier.
The company completed an additional US$30 billion investment previously committed to OpenAI in October 2026. As of September 30, cumulative investment amounted to US$54.6 billion, with a fair value of US$99.6 billion. After completion of the third US$10 billion investment, total cumulative investment reached US$64.6 billion, and the ownership stake was about 13%. The company completed the full acquisition of DigitalBridge Group, Inc. on September 30 for about US$3.1 billion. The company did not provide a consolidated earnings outlook, and the interim dividend was maintained at 22 yen per share (pre-split basis).
Original source:
Title: Consolidated Financial Report For the Six-Month Period Ended September 30, 2026 Publisher: SoftBank Group Corp. Publication date: 2026-11-10 URL: https://group.softbank/media/Project/sbg/sbg/pdf/ir/financials/financial_reports/financial-report_q2fy2026_01_en.pdf Nature of source: official company financial report Verification status: SoftBank Group’s official English financial report was read, confirming the first-half net sales, loss, earnings per share, and investment-related data; the second-quarter loss of about 1.12 trillion yen was cross-checked in Reuters, CNBC and other reports. Supporting content: net sales of 4.235 trillion yen, net loss attributable to owners of the parent of 768.0 billion yen, earnings per share of -136.47 yen, and data center-related expenses.
ABAB AI Insight
SoftBank Group swung from profit to loss in the first half, mainly due to weaker investment gains, higher financing costs, and about 597.2 billion yen in losses recognized from adjustments to its U.S. AI data center power equipment procurement plan. Vision Fund still posted positive investment gains, but the amount was far below the same period last year, reflecting the amplified effect of valuation swings in the investment portfolio on overall results.
During the reporting period, the company continued to advance its AI-related strategy, including completing cumulative investment of US$64.6 billion in OpenAI (about a 13% stake) and acquiring DigitalBridge to strengthen infrastructure capabilities such as data centers and fiber optics. These actions proceeded alongside the procurement losses recognized in the period and higher financing costs, showing the pressure that capital expenditure and investment pacing place on near-term profit.
As of September 30, OpenAI’s stake had a fair value of US$99.6 billion, creating an unrealized gain of about US$45 billion over the cumulative investment cost of US$54.6 billion, although the valuation had not changed from the end of the previous fiscal year. Future performance will depend on changes in portfolio valuations, the actual progress of data center projects, and the continued level of financing costs.
The company did not provide a full-year earnings outlook, and the interim dividend was unchanged. The gap between the quarterly net loss and analysts’ expected profit was mainly due to investment gains and losses and one-off procurement adjustments, rather than a decline in core telecom sales.