SoftBank posts profit for second straight quarter as Vision Fund steadies

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. reported a net profit of 421.83 billion yen ($2.87 billion) in Q1 FY25, against a profit of 517.18 billion yen ($3.49 billion) in the January–March period (Q4).

Profit at the conglomerate’s investment arm, SoftBank Vision Fund, came in at 726.83 billion yen ($4.94 billion), compared with a gain of 177.26 billion yen ($1.19 billion) last quarter, when mark-ups on Vision Fund I holdings offset weak returns from Indian portfolio companies.

SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund segment posted an investment gain of 660.2 billion yen ($4.5 billion) in the June quarter, led by strong mark-ups across both public and private holdings. 

Gains at Vision Fund I totaled 510.1 billion yen ($3.47 billion), primarily driven by valuation increases in Coupang and Auto1, while Vision Fund II saw a 55 billion yen gain, aided by rising share prices of Symbotic and Swiggy. Since launch, SVF I stands at a $27.0 billion gross gain and SVF II at a $22.1 billion gross loss. 

SoftBank’s India portfolio remains in the black overall. Across four disclosed stakes—FirstCry, Delhivery, Swiggy and Ola Electric—the group has deployed about $1.3 billion and is now carrying those holdings at roughly $2.0 billion, implying an unrealised gain of $700 million.

Swiggy provided the biggest uplift as its mark-to-market value has doubled to $800 million, generating a $400 million paper profit. FirstCry and Delhivery contribute gains of $300 million and $100 million, respectively, while Ola Electric is the sole position under water, marked $100 million below its $500 million cost.

AI and other plans

SoftBank’s AI ambitions have been the top focus this year. SoftBank and OpenAI have pared their ambitious $500 billion “Stargate” AI-infrastructure vision. They now hope to set up a single data centre—likely in Ohio—by year-end. 

The partners had pledged $100 billion of near-term funding with Oracle and MGX, but disagreements over site selection slowed progress. Both firms say they remain “moving with urgency on site assessments,” while Oracle chairman Larry Ellison notes construction is already underway at a separate Texas facility tied to the programme.

In India, however, the story is different. Despite historically being one of the most aggressive tech investors in India, SoftBank has been very cautious about investing in the country over the past two years. While SoftBank has come close to investing in a couple of new companies, the Japanese investor has not cut a single new cheque in India since 2022.

However, SoftBank has been fairly active in India when it comes to divesting. A few of its top companies in the country are set to go public over the next 12 months. The Japanese investor will be hoping for blockbuster returns from these public listings.

Eyewear retailer Lenskart, which filed draft papers with India’s market regulator last week, is expected to give SoftBank a 6X return on its investment. SoftBank will be offloading 25.5 million shares in Lenskart’s IPO at an indicative price of Rs 400-500 apiece.

Meesho, another SoftBank portfolio company, also confidentially filed its DRHP with India’s market regulator last month. While it isn’t clear if SoftBank will be offloading any stake in Meesho, a potential $5 billion valuation that Meesho is eyeing at the IPO would keep SoftBank in the money.

Meanwhile, OYO’s parent, Oravel Stays, has asked bankers for formal pitches as it readies a fresh DRHP by September and a March–April 2026 listing window. Valuation talk centres on $6 billion–$7 billion, a level seen as acceptable to SoftBank, which owns about 40% OYO.

(The copy will be updated)