Japanese multinational investment holding company SoftBank Group has reported its first quarterly net loss in almost two years after its subsidiary, Silver Bands 7 (SB7), was forced to swallow a US$ 3.7 billion write down attributed to its US data center projects while AI valuations dip globally.
In its second quarter results SoftBank Group reported a net loss of US$ 7 billion after writing down payments to secure power-generation equipment for its 8 GW PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio. The advance payment was non refundable and totaled US$ 2.85 billion, and a further US$ 880 million was paid for contract modifications and settlements.
In its results, SoftBank Group said its subsidiary SB7, which is also backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, had become entitled to receive rebates of up to US$ 2.1 billion over the next 10 years on future equipment purchases. The exact figure had not been determined as of September 30, 2026.
While net sales climbed 13.3 percent to US$ 26.4 billion, SoftBank Group swung to a half-year net loss of US$ 4.8 billion from a profit of US$ 20 billion a year earlier.
The company reported that it had invested US$ 20 billion in OpenAI in the first two quarters of its fiscal year. With an additional US$ 10 billion invested in October, SoftBank’s cumulative investment in OpenAI sits at US$ 64.6 billion for a stake of around 13 percent. SoftBank also acquired DigitalBridge Group, Inc. during the reporting period for US$ 3.1 billion.
“We can treat the loss from the review of the AI data center plans as temporary. The more worrying factor is the increase in financial cost,” Kazuki Sawamura, Shinkin Asset Management strategist, told Bloomberg. “If investment income and the value of its holdings don’t grow steadily from here, the interest burden could squeeze earnings and heighten concern about SoftBank’s financial health.”
Sharon Chen, a credit analyst at Bloomberg, said that after spending US$ 11 billion on data center investments in the first half of the year, there was a risk that uncertainty would increase.