A few years ago, the world's technology investment giant SoftBank can be said to have been quite unsatisfactory, four consecutive quarters of losses made many people feel that SoftBank is too hard, and finally after a series of losses, SoftBank has achieved a turnaround, SoftBank finally made money, what should I think? Is Son finally able to fall asleep?
1. After four consecutive quarters of losses, SoftBank finally made a profit.
According to Jiemian News, after four consecutive quarters of losses, the SoftBank Group, founded by Masayoshi Son, has finally turned the tide.
The Japan-based venture capital firm today reported its latest quarterly earnings report. In the three months ended December 31, 2023, it achieved a net profit of 950 billion yen (about 6.4 billion US dollars), well above analysts' expectations, ending the same period last year of 783 billion yen (about 52.0 billion).$4.9 billion). It is also the first time it has been profitable since September 2022.
Profit was mainly derived from earnings from the Vision** segment. This includes Vision 1 (new investments were closed in 2019), Vision 2 and Latin America. In the third fiscal quarter, Vision** recorded a total of 4,227400 million yen (about 28.)$3.3 billion) compared to a loss of 660.1 billion yen (about 44.4.) in the same period last year$2.3 billion). Kunpeng Project
2. Masayoshi Son can finally sleep well?
Japan's SoftBank Group, once a famous investment giant for its successful investment in Alibaba, has not had a good time in recent years. After four consecutive quarters of losses, it finally announced a turnaround in its most recent earnings report. This undoubtedly gave the helmsman Masayoshi Son a shot in the arm, but can this profit report really make Masayoshi Son sit back and sleep with peace of mind from now on?
First, SoftBank Group's reputation in the global investment community is largely due to its founder, Masayoshi Son, who is betting on Alibaba Group's success. Back in the early 2000s, when the internet economy was still in its infancy, Mr. Son had the insight to invest $20 million in the start-up Alibaba. This decision brought more than 1,000 times the return in the following decades, not only shaping SoftBank's image as the world's top technology investment giant, but also establishing Son's strategic vision and adventurous spirit in the investment community. This history has made SoftBank's name closely associated with the disruptive innovations that have changed the world, and it has become a classic case in the venture capital space to accurately capture future industry trends.
Second, however, over time, SoftBank's investment strategy began to be questioned. Its investment in WeWork, in particular, was considered a major misstep. WeWork, a company that provides coworking space, had planned to invest heavily to fuel its rapid expansion and eventually go public. However, WeWork's business model and management problems were exposed, causing its valuation to shrink significantly and its IPO plan was forced to run aground. This incident not only caused SoftBank heavy losses, but also shook the market's confidence in its investment decisions. In addition to WeWork, other tech stocks invested by SoftBank are also facing continued sluggish performance. With the overall decline in tech stocks, SoftBank's portfolio has been severely affected, with consecutive quarters of losses. These losses not only affected SoftBank's finances, but also dealt a blow to Son's personal reputation.
Third, after a series of losses, SoftBank finally achieved a profit reversal with its British chip design company ARM. ARM's position in the semiconductor industry is irreplaceable, with its architecture design widely used in more than 95% of the world's smartphones and tablets, and has huge growth potential in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. SoftBank's investment in ARM has yielded significant returns, especially through the transfer of some shares, which reflects the success of Son and his team's forward-looking layout and strategic adjustment in the field of hard technology. This strategy of shifting to investing in the real economy and technology foundations such as artificial intelligence and chip design is an important source of SoftBank's ability to reverse the decline.
Fourth, turning losses into profits does not mean that SoftBank is out of the woods. In the long run, SoftBank's profitability depends more on the development prospects of its track. At present, with the rise of hard technology industries such as artificial intelligence and chips, SoftBank's investment layout in these fields has undoubtedly laid the foundation for its future development. But at the same time, SoftBank also needs to be alert to market changes and adjust its investment strategy in a timely manner to deal with possible risks.
As the helmsman of SoftBank, although Son's temporary profit can give him a temporary sigh of relief, in order to bring SoftBank back to the top, he also needs to have a longer-term vision and a more stable investment strategy. Only then will Son be able to truly sleep well and SoftBank will be able to maintain its leading position in the global investment space.