SoftBank Earnings Set to Show Worsening of Masayoshi Son’s Blizzard
- Tech giant to report Feb. 8 as value of big investments tanks
- Likely collapse of Arm sale, departure of Claure also hit firm
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When Masayoshi Son last spoke to SoftBank Group Corp. investors three months ago, he said his tech conglomerate was in the middle of a “blizzard.” Conditions for the firm have only deteriorated since.
Some of its most high-profile investment bets have had a disastrous few months as an approaching tightening of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy turns investors sour on the type of tech startup bets his Vision Funds specialize in. To make matters worse, a long-awaited sale of chip designer Arm Ltd. to Nvidia Corp. looks set to collapse, while less than two weeks ago, Son lost another trusted lieutenant when operations guru Marcelo Claure stepped down due to a clash over pay.