Core Viewpoint - Concerns about an AI valuation bubble are negatively impacting SoftBank Group's stock performance, with traders increasingly viewing SoftBank as a "shadow stock" of the unlisted company OpenAI [1][3]. Group 1: Stock Performance and Market Concerns - SoftBank's stock has dropped approximately 40% since late October, resulting in a market value loss of over 16 trillion yen (approximately 726.06 billion RMB) [3]. - The company is facing a global AI asset sell-off, exacerbated by fears of increased competition for OpenAI following Alphabet's launch of Gemini 3.0 [3]. Group 2: Financial Performance and Investments - Despite the stock decline, SoftBank recorded a surprising net profit of 2.5 trillion yen (approximately 113.45 billion RMB) in Q2 of FY2024, aided by a 14.6 billion USD paper gain from its exposure to OpenAI [5]. - SoftBank has a payment obligation of up to 22.5 billion USD due in December, part of a total commitment of 32 billion USD to OpenAI [6]. Group 3: Strategic Moves and Industry Positioning - SoftBank aims to position itself as a core player in the AI ecosystem, believing that OpenAI will lead this space, and has sold shares in Nvidia and Oracle to fund investments in AI chip design companies [6]. - The company holds nearly 90% of Arm, which supports a wide range of modern technology products, and has acquired Ampere Computing, a key customer of Arm [6]. Group 4: Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape - Analysts express skepticism about SoftBank's aggressive entry into chip manufacturing, highlighting the rising penetration of RISC-V architecture in AI chip design, which poses a competitive threat to Arm [7]. - Meta's plan to use Google's Gemini AI chips raises concerns for Nvidia's business outlook, impacting suppliers like Ibiden Co., while Toppan Holdings Inc. saw an 11% stock increase due to expected benefits from collaboration with Google [7]. - The era of indiscriminate buying of AI concept stocks is ending, with future market selection criteria expected to become more stringent [7].
软银股价较峰值暴跌40%,对OpenAI巨额投资引市场担忧