Aug 8, 2023 - Economy

Vision Fund bounces back amid wider SoftBank losses

Kia Kokalitcheva

Illustration of SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son in front of money — Photo Illustration: Eniola Odetunde. Photo via Yoshikazu Tsuno/Getty Images

SoftBank's Vision Fund unit was a bright spot in the Japanese holding company's latest quarter, which posted a surprising overall loss of a ¥477.6 billion ($3.3 billion).

Why it matters: Gains during the quarter from SoftBank's investment arm were driven in part from the valuation of Arm, its chip design giant that is preparing a $60 billion IPO in September.

By the numbers: Analysts expected a profit for SoftBank this quarter, per Refinitiv.

Results put a spotlight on the Vision Fund, however, which outperformed thanks to a slew of deals.

Of note: The Vision Fund unit had a ¥159.8 billion ($1.1 billion) investment gain in the April-June quarter — its first in five consecutive quarters.

Vision Fund 1 and its Latin American fund booked small investment gains ($800 million and $300 million, respectively), while its second Vision fund posted an investment loss ($300 million).
Vision Fund's gains were driven by Arm, shares in other subsidiaries, and the acquisition of Pismo by Visa.

Zooming out: SoftBank's overall performance was dragged down by the stock price decline of Alibaba, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile.

The company has been trimming its Alibaba holdings.

What's next: Arm's roadshow, which is expected to begin in the first week of September.

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Vision Fund bounces back amid wider SoftBank losses

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