Skip to content
Wealth

SoftBank’s Next Pain Point Is Recognizing Private Asset Meltdown

The Japanese giant’s private investments have increasingly come under scrutiny, and some analysts expect they’ll lead to billions of dollars in losses.

SoftBank is expected to post a net loss of 413.9 billion yen ($3.1 billion) for the three months ended June 30 when it reports results Aug. 8.

SoftBank is expected to post a net loss of 413.9 billion yen ($3.1 billion) for the three months ended June 30 when it reports results Aug. 8.

Photographer: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

By

and

Even as investors are warming to technology stocks again, Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. just can’t win.

Shares of the Japanese giant have nearly halved since last year’s peak, pummeled by a selloff in its publicly traded investments. While those have recently bounced back, its holdings in private companies — whose valuations are more opaque — are now expected to drag down returns after helping soften a record annual loss in the last fiscal year.