Market AnalysisMay 13, 20262 Min

SoftBank Posts Strong Quarter Amid Rising OpenAI Debt Concerns

SoftBank has posted another strong quarterly profit as its aggressive investment in OpenAI continues to pay off. At the same time, concerns are beginning to grow over how much debt the Japanese technology investor is taking on to fund its ambitions.

The company reported its January-March earnings on Wednesday (May 13). It recorded a net profit of 1.9 trillion yen ($12.05 billion). This heavily beats analyst estimates of a net profit of 236 billion yen ($1.50 billion), according to data compiled by LSEG.

Alongside impressive earnings, its growing exposure to OpenAI has emerged as a major driver of investor optimism.

OpenAI Stake Surges In Value

SoftBank’s heavy investment in the ChatGPT creator has become valuable after OpenAI’s valuation jumped to $840 billion in its latest funding round in February. According to analysts’ estimates, SoftBank’s 11% stake in OpenAI was worth around $80 billion at the end of March, up from $54.4 billion at the end of December 2025.

The Japanese conglomerate is also expected to invest another $30 billion in OpenAI over 2026. Analysts believe the investment could become even more lucrative if OpenAI proceeds with a public listing, which is currently expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

Concerns Over Concentrated Exposure

Despite the rise in value, some analysts are becoming uneasy about SoftBank’s increasing dependence on a single private company. The situation has drawn comparisons with WeWork, the office-sharing company that SoftBank heavily backed before it eventually collapsed into bankruptcy.

Credit Outlook Turns Negative

The company’s expanding debt burden has already attracted attention from credit agencies. Following OpenAI’s latest funding round, S&P Global Ratings revised SoftBank’s credit outlook to negative.

The ratings agency said, “SoftBank’s asset liquidity and ‌quality of ⁠its portfolio, and its financial capacity are likely to deteriorate because of its additional huge investment in OpenAI.”

More Investments Still To Come

Questions are also mounting over how SoftBank plans to fund several other major investments lined up for 2026. The company still needs to finance around $25 billion worth of investments, including:

• $16 billion for Stargate data centre developments
• $9 billion for the acquisitions of ABB Robotics and DigitalBridge

Another report suggested that SoftBank is considering creating and listing an AI and robotics company in the United States as early as this year, targeting a valuation of $100 billion. The move is being explored as a way to offset some of its growing investment commitments.

For now, investors appear willing to look past the risks. SoftBank shares have nearly doubled since the beginning of April and are now approaching the record high of 6,923 yen reached in October last year.

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