SoftBank's AI funding plans to face reckoning at earnings

SoftBank Group is set to report first-quarter earnings on Thursday, with analysts closely examining how the technology investor will fund its ongoing investment in OpenAI and the implications of increasing leverage on its balance sheet. The company has committed over $60 billion to OpenAI and related AI infrastructure projects, with $30 billion of obligations due in the second half of 2026.

While SoftBank reported a record net profit of 148.4 billion yen ($941.2 million) for the year ended March 2026, its share price has dropped by nearly half since the beginning of June, and the cost to insure its debt against default has surged. Investors are questioning SoftBank's ability to fund its commitments, as the company has a $40 billion bridging loan that matures in March 2027 and has arranged a $20 billion margin loan on its stake in chip designer Arm.

However, lenders have become more cautious about extending credit backed by private companies like OpenAI, which faces significant AI innovation risk and competition.

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