SoftBank Corp.'s enterprise arm is where AI spending is turning into revenue. Cloud and AI sales rose 36.7% to ¥163.8bn in the six months to 30 September, mainly on higher sales of AI computing platforms, with cloud and security demand also contributing. Enterprise segment profit rose 19.9% to ¥124.8bn.
The company is the Tokyo-listed telecom operator. Its parent is SoftBank Group Japan, which holds 39.92% of the shares, and its ultimate parent is SoftBank Group Corp. Its interim report shows group revenue at a record ¥3.80tn, up 11.7%, with operating profit up 2.1% to ¥642.1bn and net profit attributable to owners up 4.5% to ¥364.5bn. The company also raised its consolidated forecast for the year to March 2027; the report gives no revised figures.
Why profit lagged revenue
Media and e-commerce, the LINE Yahoo business, saw segment profit fall 24.5% to ¥126.5bn. The prior-year period had included a ¥58.9bn remeasurement gain from the LINE MAN and LINE Bank Taiwan takeovers, which did not recur. Consumer profit slipped 2.4% to ¥322.9bn as operating costs rose 11.8%, outpacing 8.6% revenue growth.
Total net profit fell 5.5% to ¥449.4bn because income tax roughly doubled to ¥201.3bn from ¥98.3bn. The report attributes this partly to a prior-year tax benefit at PayPay that did not repeat, and partly to tax on the sale of an Energy Global preferred interest.
| Segment | Segment profit | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer | ¥322.9bn | -2.4% |
| Enterprise | ¥124.8bn | +19.9% |
| Distribution | ¥25.4bn | +15.7% |
| Media and e-commerce | ¥126.5bn | -24.5% |
| Finance | ¥67.0bn | +73.9% |
Payments and the capital commitments
Finance is the other engine. Segment revenue rose 27.5% to ¥241.9bn and segment profit rose 73.9% to ¥67.0bn, on higher QR-code and credit-card payment volume and more interest income. Costs also climbed, notably promotional spending on points, credit-loss provisions and interest paid.
Completed deals are separate from announced ventures. On 30 September SB Payment Service, a subsidiary, finished buying the parent company of SP.LINKS, a payment-processing and card-data business, for ¥72.7bn in cash (¥56.6bn net of cash acquired). Provisional goodwill is ¥77.9bn, and the allocation can still change for a year. In July, SoftBank Corp. and PayPay signed capital and business alliance agreements with Seven & i Holdings. Each bought shares worth about ¥100bn, and the group paid ¥200.9bn in total.
Newer vehicles are earlier-stage. SB Neo, Inc., a US neocloud company set up in July, is owned 51% by SoftBank Corp. and 49% by SoftBank Group, and aims to supply computing capacity to US hyperscalers. The report records no revenue from it.
The Energy Global transaction involved a related party. A US subsidiary bought a preferred interest for $1bn and sold it for $1.5bn to SVF II Energy (DE) LLC, a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp.'s parent. The price was set with reference to an independent third-party valuation, and the company booked an ¥80.0bn gain in finance income.
Cash and payout
Capital spending rose to ¥503.1bn from ¥358.8bn, with AI-related spending at ¥26.7bn against ¥16.3bn. Adjusted free cash flow, excluding LINE Yahoo and PayPay, fell to ¥193.8bn from ¥349.5bn, and interest-bearing debt rose by ¥935.3bn. The board declared an interim dividend of ¥4.40 per ordinary share, up from ¥4.30, payable from 4 December.