The Economic Times·2025-11-11 07:59Core Viewpoint - The recent surge in AI-related stock prices has led to significant profits for SoftBank, but also raised concerns about a potential market bubble reminiscent of the dot-com era [2][6][7] Financial Performance - SoftBank reported a net profit of 2.5 trillion yen ($16.2 billion) for the second quarter, more than doubling from 1.2 trillion yen in the same period last year [6][7] - The company sold $5.8 billion worth of shares in Nvidia, reflecting its active management of investments in volatile tech stocks [6][7] Market Trends - The tech-rich Nasdaq index has surged 25% since May, driven by optimism surrounding AI technology and multi-billion-dollar deals [6][7] - Nvidia briefly became the world's first company valued above $5 trillion, although its market cap has since decreased to approximately $4.8 trillion [2][7] Strategic Moves - SoftBank's founder, Masayoshi Son, is positioning the company for future advancements in AI, believing that "artificial superintelligence" will lead to a technological revolution [3][7] - The company plans to acquire ABB Robotics for nearly $5.4 billion to enhance its capabilities in physical AI [5][7] Competitive Landscape - Despite OpenAI's strong consumer visibility, its enterprise market share is minimal, and its transition from non-profit to for-profit remains unresolved [5][7] - The competitive environment is intense, with significant investments from companies like Google, Anthropic, and Grok [5][7]