(FILES) This file photo taken on May 2, 2024 shows a man talking on his phone outside the headquarters for Japanese company SoftBank Group in Tokyo. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)
Tokyo: Japanese tech investor SoftBank Group on Tuesday posted a bumper second-quarter net profit of $7.7 billion, returning to the black after net losses in the first quarter and the previous financial year.
The company's results often swing dramatically because it invests heavily in tech start-ups and semiconductor firms, whose share prices are volatile.
In July-September, SoftBank's net profit totalled 1.18 trillion yen -- far higher than the 295 billion yen forecast by analysts.
The figure marked a turnaround from a net loss of 174.3 billion yen in April-June, which itself was an improvement on net losses in the previous three months.
SoftBank's bets on artificial intelligence and other tech innovations -- championed by flamboyant founder Masayoshi Son -- have made for rollercoaster earnings seasons.
Son has repeatedly said that "Artificial Superintelligence" will arrive in a decade, bringing new inventions, new medicine, new knowledge and new ways to invest.
"The gold rush of intelligence is upon us," he said in a recent speech.
SoftBank Group's 1.01 trillion yen net profit in the first half of this year stood in stark contrast to a whopping six-month net loss of 1.4 trillion yen in the same period a year ago.
The group said it had benefited in particular from higher market values for South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang and Chinese ride-hailing app DiDi Global.
SoftBank's Vision Fund has reportedly decided to invest $500 million into Open AI, the firm behind popular generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
Son has also predicted that AI personal agents will become available in a few years, to do everything from managing email accounts to serving as a mentor.
SoftBank Group made its name as an early investor in Chinese ecommerce titan Alibaba and internet pioneer Yahoo.
It has also seen catastrophic failures, most notably in office-sharing firm WeWork. The company does not issue annual forecasts.
