AMD Shares Slide Despite Earnings Beat as Cautious Revenue Outlook Weighs on Stock 
Nvidia Nears $20 Billion OpenAI Investment as AI Funding Race Intensifies 
SpaceX Pushes for Early Stock Index Inclusion Ahead of Potential Record-Breaking IPO 
CK Hutchison Launches Arbitration After Panama Court Revokes Canal Port Licences 
Instagram Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Users 
Global PC Makers Eye Chinese Memory Chip Suppliers Amid Ongoing Supply Crunch 
Prudential Financial Reports Higher Q4 Profit on Strong Underwriting and Investment Gains 
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks 
FDA Targets Hims & Hers Over $49 Weight-Loss Pill, Raising Legal and Safety Concerns 
Missouri Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Starbucks’ Diversity and Inclusion Policies 
Toyota’s Surprise CEO Change Signals Strategic Shift Amid Global Auto Turmoil 
Nintendo Shares Slide After Earnings Miss Raises Switch 2 Margin Concerns 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
Nasdaq Proposes Fast-Track Rule to Accelerate Index Inclusion for Major New Listings 
Ford and Geely Explore Strategic Manufacturing Partnership in Europe 
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Investment Boom Is Just Beginning as NVDA Shares Surge 
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports 
Japan's SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) posted its first annual profit in four years, reporting 1.15 trillion yen ($7.78 billion) for the fiscal year ending March, a significant turnaround from last year's 227.6 billion yen loss. The strong recovery was driven by robust telecom earnings and soaring valuations in late-stage startups.
SoftBank’s January-March quarter alone saw profits surge to 517 billion yen, more than double the figure from the same period last year. Gains from T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) and Deutsche Telekom (OTC:DTEGY), both hitting record highs, provided consistent returns for the tech giant.
Vision Fund 1, which targets mature startups, recorded a 940 billion yen gain, boosted by higher valuations in ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) and e-commerce firm Coupang. In contrast, Vision Fund 2, focused on earlier-stage companies, suffered a 526 billion yen loss.
The company is ramping up investments in artificial intelligence, signaling its most aggressive spending phase since launching its Vision Funds. In March, SoftBank committed $6.5 billion to acquire U.S. chipmaker Ampere and pledged up to $30 billion for OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
It is also spearheading financing for “Stargate,” a $500 billion U.S. data center project, leveraging project finance loans for most of the funding. These bold AI and infrastructure investments mark SoftBank’s bet on future tech dominance, but rising U.S. tariffs have raised concerns about market volatility.
SoftBank’s strategy reflects the high-risk, high-reward nature of its tech investments—exemplified by the success of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and the collapse of WeWork (OTC:WEWKQ). As it dives deeper into AI and digital infrastructure, investors are watching closely to see whether these massive bets will pay off.
