SoftBank Group shares have soared more than 10 per cent after its telecom arm, SoftBank Corp, upgraded its full-year profit outlook, with strength from Arm Holdings further boosting the group’s AI credentials.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2025, SoftBank Corp posted record revenue of 5.2 trillion yen, up 8 per cent year on year, alongside an identical rise in operating income to 884 billion yen.
The unit now forecasts full-year revenue at 6.95 trillion yen, up from 6.7 trillion, and operating income at 1.02 trillion yen, reflecting steady progress towards targets despite tweaks to prioritise consumer profitability over subscriber growth.
Consumer revenue rose 3 per cent and segment income 6 per cent, even as smartphone users fell by 100,000 in Q3 due to tighter acquisition policies.
SoftBank Group’s stake in British chip designer Arm added further lift, noted Andrew Jackson, head of Japan equity strategy at Ortus Advisors.
“Our data center royalty revenue has grown more than 100% year-on-year, and we expect in a few years our data center business to be our largest business, larger than mobile,” said Rene Haas, CEO of Arm, in an earnings call on Wednesday.
Arm targets half of hyperscalers’ CPUs by year-end and hit record Q4 2025 revenue of $1.242 billion despite missing licensing estimates, powered by AI demand.