SoftBank Group reported a net profit of 1.83 trillion yen for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, approximately six times market expectations, with the primary driver being a sharp rise in the valuation of its stake in OpenAI. Boosted by this, SoftBank’s stock surged 14.71% on June 1, pushing its market capitalization to 49.08 trillion yen (about 2 trillion yuan), officially surpassing Toyota Motor and ending its 23-year reign as Japan’s most valuable company. According to the Forbes real-time billionaires list, SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son’s net worth soared to $100.7 billion, surpassing Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani to reclaim the title of Asia’s richest person after more than a decade, and ranking 21st globally.
Commenting on the surge, Son said, “The scale of this AI wave is at least 10 times that of the internet era, and possibly even 50 times.” He described artificial general intelligence as the most profound productivity revolution since the internet and mobile internet. This earnings explosion marks a payday for Son’s long-term bet on the AI sector — SoftBank has deeply participated in OpenAI’s successive large funding rounds, now reaping the paper profits from its rising valuation. This has also allowed Son, who was once heavily questioned due to multiple investment failures in the Vision Fund, to return to the top of Asia’s wealth rankings.