SoftBank will report quarterly results on Tuesday; investors are seeking
reassurance on strategy after AI-related stocks sold off and a bid for ABB’s
robotics unit stalled. The group’s heavy AI exposure — including a $64.6bn
purchase for a 13% stake in OpenAI — has heightened concerns about its
resilience to sector setbacks. Rolf Bulk of Futurum Group said questions around
infrastructure build-out, financing, power supply and deployment sites that were
easier to answer six months ago are now far more complex. AI industry health is
material for SoftBank given investments spanning AI models, data centres,
semiconductors and robotics. Net interest-bearing debt rose to JPY10.8 tln at
end-June (about $68bn), from JPY6.6 tln a year earlier.
