SoftBank’s AI Bet Takes a $7 Billion Quarterly Hit

SoftBank went big on artificial intelligence. Now, the bill is making an entrance.

The Japanese investment giant reported a 1.1 trillion yen net loss — roughly $7 billion — for the three months through September 2026. That’s a dramatic swing from its 2.5 trillion yen profit in the same quarter a year earlier, according to The Associated Press.

And no, this wasn’t just a bad day for a chatbot. The damage came from a mix of costly infrastructure plans, financing expenses and the unpredictable world of tech investments.

The Data Center Hit

One particularly painful item: a roughly $3.7 billion loss tied to revised plans for power-generation equipment for U.S. AI data center projects, including a development in Pike County, Ohio, Reuters reported.

SoftBank’s financial report says the charge included nonrefundable advance payments, as well as costs related to contract changes and settlements. The company is entitled to rebates of up to $2.1 billion on future purchases, Reuters reported. Those potential rebates are not the same thing as money already recovered.

Then there’s the cost of borrowing. Financing expenses more than doubled to about 462 billion yen, or $2.9 billion, during the quarter. SoftBank has used substantial financing to support its investments, including borrowing backed by shares in chip designer Arm.

Big Stakes, Big Swings

Founder Masayoshi Son’s company has put serious money behind OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Reuters reports SoftBank has spent $64.6 billion for a 13% stake, a figure that includes a final $10 billion follow-on investment completed in October, after the quarter ended.

That’s a huge bet on one of AI’s most closely watched companies. It also helps explain why investors are paying close attention to SoftBank as the industry faces questions about whether its enormous spending will produce returns.

The comparison with last year shows how sharply the numbers can move: SoftBank’s profit in the September 2025 quarter was helped by a large investment gain as the value of its OpenAI stake rose. This time around, the data center charge and financing costs weighed heavily on the bottom line.

There were bright spots. Quarterly sales rose 16% to 2.2 trillion yen, AP reported, and Reuters said SoftBank recorded a $1.3 billion investment gain on its ByteDance stake during the quarter.

Investors have been on a ride, too. SoftBank shares closed nearly 14% higher in Tokyo on November 10, before the results were released, even though Reuters reported they had nearly halved in value since the start of June.

The takeaway? SoftBank’s AI ambitions remain enormous — and this quarter showed that building and financing them can come with an enormous price tag.

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