TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology investor Softbank Group Corp. reported Wednesday that profits for the fiscal year through March zoomed by nearly five-fold from the previous year as its AI investments paid off.
The Tokyo-based company recorded an annual profit of 5 trillion yen ($32 billion), far greater than the 1.15 trillion yen profit racked up the previous year.
Sales climbed nearly 8% on-year to nearly 7.8 trillion yen ($50 billion) from 7.2 trillion yen, the company said in a statement.
Among its most lucrative investments was OpenAI, in which Softbank has invested $34.6 billion, recording gains of $45 billion.
SoftBank also invests in U.S. AI company Nvidia, German mobile and internet provider Deutsche Telekom and British semiconductor manufacturer Arm. It also is behind the humanoid robot Pepper.
SoftBank said it got an additional lift from the initial public offering of PayPay, a popular mobile-payment application in Japan, which allows users to make quick, cashless payments using QR codes.
Gains from holdings in Intel Corp. offset the minus from those in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Such mixed picture results are typical for SoftBank, which began early in investing in technology for a Japanese company and now oversees a sprawling scope of businesses through what it calls Vision Funds.
SoftBank was founded more than four decades ago by Masayoshi Son, the company's chief executive and chairman, who is a University of California graduate and now a billionaire widely considered a pioneer in Japan's technology sector.
Softbank recently started a battery business in Japan to build next-generation electric power infrastructure in anticipation of growing electricity demand driven by AI use.
The company also is working with Toppan, a Japanese printing, communications, security and packaging company, to develop lightweight, durable “skin” material for aircraft wings that is set to be used for commercial services in about three years.
SoftBank Group does not provide earnings forecasts.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
FILE -SoftBank Chief Masayoshi Son talks with OpenAI Chief Sam Altman, not in photo, during an event for enterprises in Tokyo, in Tokyo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
For Cristiano Ronaldo, winning a first league title in Saudi Arabia isn't coming easy.
The Portugal superstar was a matter of seconds away from securing the victory needed to clinch the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr on Tuesday, with his team leading fierce rival Al-Hilal 1-0 in the eighth and final minute of stoppage time.
With Ronaldo looking nervous on the bench — the 41-year-old striker had been substituted by that point — and some Al-Nassr fans hardly able to watch, Al-Hilal sent a long throw-in into the area and Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento, in an attempt to catch the ball, fumbled it backward and into his own net.
The match finished 1-1, the title race was still alive and Ronaldo looked distraught as he sat in the dugout, consoled by teammates.
“The dream is close,” Ronaldo wrote in a post to his more than 100 million followers on X after the match. “Heads up, we have one more step to take!”
Al-Nassr hasn't won the Saudi league since 2019, more than three years before Ronaldo joined the club in a game-changing signing for the country as it looked to become a major player in world soccer.
That drought is still likely to end, despite the derby drama on Tuesday.
Al-Nassr leads Al-Hilal by five points and will guarantee winning the league by beating relegation-threatened Damac at home in the final round on May 21.
Al-Hilal has two games remaining, the first against Neom on Saturday. Win that and the second-place team will be two points behind Al-Nassr heading into the final round.
By then, Ronaldo — the five-time world player of the year — might have won his first major trophy with Al-Nassr, which faces Japan’s Gamba Osaka in the Champions League Two final in Riyadh on Sunday.
After the club season finishes, Ronaldo will head to a sixth World Cup with Portugal — and is free to play in the team's first game after FIFA, in a rare move, deferred two games of a three-match ban for his red card in a qualifying game. He has said this will definitely be his last attempt at winning the biggest prize in soccer, but it remains unclear for how long he will continue playing.
Ronaldo still has one more year remaining on his deal with Al-Nassr and is closing in on 1,000 career goals.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring at the King Saud University Stadium, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, file)
