SoftBank shares surge 10% as its telecom unit raises earnings forecast, with Arm business strength supporting the AI narrative
SoftBank Group Corp. shares surged more than 10% after its telecom subsidiary SoftBank Corp. raised its full-year profit forecast. The renewed optimism surrounding Arm also further boosted investor confidence in the Group’s artificial intelligence business strategy.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2025, SoftBank Corp.’s revenue grew 8% year-on-year to 5.2 trillion yen, setting a record high for the same period; operating income also increased by 8% to 884 billion yen.
Driven by this growth momentum, the telecom subsidiary raised its full-year revenue forecast from the previous 6.7 trillion yen to 6.95 trillion yen and increased its operating income target to 1.02 trillion yen.
SoftBank Corp. stated that although it is optimizing some of its consumer businesses and prioritizing long-term profitability over user growth, the results highlight the company’s steady progress toward its fiscal 2025 targets.
Consumer business revenue grew modestly by 3%, while departmental profits rose by 6%; despite tightening customer acquisition strategies and a reduction of 100,000 smartphone users in the third quarter, the business still achieved growth.
Andrew Jackson, Head of Japanese Equity Strategy at Ortus Advisors, commented that given SoftBank Group’s large stake in the UK chip designer, the significant rebound in Arm has also provided new momentum for SoftBank.
The driving force behind Arm’s rise is increasingly coming from growth beyond smartphones, particularly in artificial intelligence-related areas.
Arm CEO Rene Haas said during Wednesday’s earnings call: “Our data center licensing revenue grew more than 100% year-on-year, and we expect that in a few years, the data center business will become our largest segment, surpassing the mobile business.”
The company also plans to supply half of the central processors for the world’s largest cloud computing companies (i.e., hyperscale cloud service providers) by the end of the year.
Although Arm’s licensing revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations, driven by demand for artificial intelligence, the company achieved record quarterly revenue of $1.242 billion in the last three months of 2025. This figure exceeded the precise forecast from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), which relies more on analysts with higher long-term accuracy.
Editor: Li Zhaofu
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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