SoftBank: SoftBank Corp lifts its profit forecast by ¥50bn, as much as the after-tax gain on an internal sale

SoftBank Corp has raised its annual profit forecast by ¥50bn to ¥610bn, as much as the after-tax gain on a sale: units bought for $1.0bn and sold for $1.5bn on 10 July to a group company. The subsidiary was 3.4% of SoftBank Group's adjusted holdings at 30 June. For SoftBank Group, this profit comes from an asset moving from one subsidiary to another.

Why it matters for SoftBank Group shareholders: at 30 June 2026, SoftBank Corp accounted for ¥2,790bn of ¥83,110bn of SoftBank Group's adjusted holdings, or 3.4% (Opulion calculation), net of the loan backed by its shares. It is the same denominator as for Arm, at 60.1% (our brief of 5 November). SoftBank Group indirectly held 40.06% of SoftBank Corp's voting rights at 31 March 2026, according to a SoftBank Corp release of 29 June. The buyer of the units, SVF II Energy (DE) LLC, is listed in the report among the subsidiaries of the parent company, and the price was set by mutual agreement based on a valuation. For SoftBank Group shareholders, the rise in the subsidiary's forecast profit comes from an asset moving from one group company to another.

The units are preferred equity interests in Energy Global, LP, a class normally paid out ahead of ordinary interests in distributions. Their price went from $1.0bn to $1.5bn, or +50%, between a purchase in the April to June quarter and the sale on 10 July. The sums reconcile: the breakdown of half-year investing cash flows shows ¥160.0bn paid out and ¥240.0bn received, or ¥80.0bn, the amount of the gain (presentation, slide 26, and report p. 47). On Opulion's reading, the whole gap between the two prices therefore went through the income statement on the day of the sale within the group, and the accounts do not say when the value arose.

Operations are a separate reading. Operating income for the half-year went from ¥628.9bn to ¥642.1bn, or +2.1% (report p. 8). The 2025 half-year included ¥58.9bn of remeasurement gains (presentation, slide 6), booked in the media and e-commerce segment when control was taken of LINE Bank Taiwan and LINE MAN, already partly owned: the existing stake is then remeasured at fair value, and the difference goes through the income statement. Without them, the rise is ¥72.1bn, or +12.7%, according to the company, and the calculation confirms it: 642.1 − (628.9 − 58.9) = 72.1. The operating income forecast also rises, from ¥1,100bn to ¥1,160bn, or +¥60bn, including ¥30bn for the financial segment, driven by growth in QR code and credit card payment volumes (report p. 19).

For SoftBank Group shareholders, the group's results on 10 November should bring two proofs: the value of holdings at 30 September, where SoftBank Corp counts at its share price, and perhaps the value at which the buyer now carries these units. The third will come with SoftBank Corp's annual accounts to 31 March 2027: they will show what SoftBank Group's listed subsidiary earns outside this internal sale.