SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) announced earnings on Thursday amid an increase in some Vision Fund equities and a market eager for news on its anticipated Arm offering to strengthen the investment company’s financial sheet.
After four straight quarters of investment losses by the Vision Fund unit, investors debated whether privately held holdings would fall further in the fourth quarter.
“The public side did well but questions linger about the private side because we don’t have a lot of visibility on that,” said Astris Advisory Japan analyst Kirk Boodry.
“They have some cushion to writedowns,” he added.
E-commerce company Coupang Inc (CPNG.N) and robotics company AutoStore Holdings Ltd (AUTO.OL) are Vision Fund portfolio companies that rose in January-March.
WeWork (WE.N) fell. Last month, SoftBank filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO of chip manufacturer Arm to generate $8 billion to $10 billion later this year, Reuters said.
A strong IPO would boost CEO Masayoshi Son’s investment credentials and offer vital funds for his business, which has pulled back spending after tech prices plummeted.
SoftBank is selling its Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988. HK) holding to raise funds.
Earnings are meaningless. According to SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Satoru Kikuchi, SoftBank needs Arm to prove it can succeed as an investor.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index (.SOX) is up 17% year-to-date after last year’s market collapse
Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), whose offer to purchase Arm failed due to regulatory objections, has roughly quadrupled this year.
Kikuchi said SoftBank executives will unlikely provide additional Arm listing details on Thursday.
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