SoftBank Group’s equity investors are increasingly focused on the potential returns from its artificial intelligence bets, helping the stock rebound even as the Japanese company faces higher borrowing costs. SoftBank shares posted their first monthly gain in four months in September, after OpenAI’s new GPT-6 Astra model rekindled optimism around Masayoshi Son’s $65 billion commitment to the ChatGPT creator. The stock rose 24% in four weeks, helped by OpenAI’s latest plan to raise $30 billion at a valuation of $1.4 trillion.
A recovery in chip unit Arm Holdings shares also bolstered confidence about the tech investor’s ability to finance growing debt. SoftBank shares were headed for a weekly gain of about 4% in Tokyo on Friday. That’s as SoftBank’s credit default swaps jumped to the highest level since 2023 on persistent questions around AI safety and soaring costs and competition.
The divergence between SoftBank’s CDS and equities contrasts with a selloff in shares of Oracle, which has cited force majeure to shield itself from surging data center expenses.
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