SoftBank's Son Sees Profit Surge Amid Scrutiny Over Saudi Ties

Profit beat estimates on valution gains at technology fund
Masayoshi Son voiced concerns over Saudi killing of journalist

Bloomberg’s Peter Elstrom reports on Softbank’s huge beat in the operating profit.(Source: Bloomberg)

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Pavel Alpeyev

November 5, 2018 at 6:07 AM UTC

Updated on

November 6, 2018 at 12:15 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son is starting to see the benefits of his enormous technology investments -- along with the scrutiny that comes from taking money from Saudi Arabia.

SoftBank reported second-quarter profit of 706 billion yen ($6.2 billion), far exceeding analyst estimates, thanks to multi-billion dollar gains from his many deals. SoftBank shares rose as much as 4 percent in Tokyo on Tuesday. Yet Son also faced repeated questions during a post-earnings briefing in Tokyo about his relationship with Saudi Arabia, the biggest investor in his $100 billion Vision Fund.