SoftBank Surges 20% After Nvidia’s Blockbuster Quarter Lifts AI Sentiment

CNBC reported Thursday that SoftBank Group shares surged nearly 20%, adding roughly $35 billion in market capitalization. The rally followed an exceptional earnings report from Nvidia, whose quarterly revenue jumped 85% year-over-year. SoftBank Nvidia earnings excitement spread quickly across Asian markets.

SoftBank’s Deep AI Exposure Drives the Move

SoftBank’s dramatic single-day recovery ended five consecutive losing sessions. The Japanese conglomerate holds a significant stake in Arm Holdings, whose processor designs underpin many AI servers and data centers running Nvidia hardware. SoftBank has also committed more than $30 billion into OpenAI. Investment gains tied to that position reached $45 billion in the fiscal year ended March.

Andrew Jackson, head of Japanese equity strategy at Ortus Advisors, told CNBC that renewed optimism around a potential OpenAI public listing helped push Arm Holdings shares up more than 15% in U.S. trading. Jackson noted that despite the move being broadly expected, its scale was still striking given SoftBank’s concentrated AI exposure.

Also Read: Arm Holdings Races Toward $100 Billion Valuation as AI Chip Demand Grows

A Record Quarter and a Familiar Warning

Nvidia’s latest results showed revenue of $81.62 billion, up from $44.06 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company also announced an $80 billion share buyback program and lifted its dividend. Despite the strong numbers, Nvidia’s stock dipped in after-hours trading. CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged to CNBC that Nvidia has effectively ceded China’s AI chip market to Huawei, a notable concession given that geography’s scale.

Also Read: Jensen Huang Says Nvidia Has Largely Conceded China AI Market to Huawei

Asia’s Semiconductor Supply Chain Rallies in Tandem

The Nvidia-fueled enthusiasm extended across the region’s chip ecosystem. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company gained more than 2%, reflecting its central role manufacturing Nvidia’s advanced processors. SK Hynix, a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips used in Nvidia systems, climbed over 8%. Japan’s Renesas Electronics added more than 7%, while chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose over 5%. Advantest, which makes semiconductor testing equipment, gained nearly 3%. Samsung Electronics also rose 6.7%, helped partly by news that the company and its South Korean labor union reached a tentative pay agreement, removing the threat of a strike.

Background: SoftBank’s Vision Fund Bet on AI

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has spent years repositioning the group around artificial intelligence. Last week the company disclosed a $46 billion annual gain at its Vision Fund, driven heavily by OpenAI’s surging valuation. Analysts at the Fitch Ratings unit CreditSights reiterated an outperform recommendation on SoftBank’s debt, noting that Arm Holdings’ gains have significantly reinforced the group’s balance sheet even as new AI commitments continue to grow.

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