SoftBank’s Arm IPO Highlights the Cost of Not Sitting Still

The firm paid $32 billion to take Arm private back in 2016
S&P 500 returned 137% and Nvidia 3,600% over past seven years

WATCH: Arm Holdings Ltd. is planning to raise as much as $4.87 billion in the long-anticipated initial public offering. Amy Or reports.Source: Bloomberg

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By Bailey Lipschultz

September 5, 2023 at 6:44 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

SoftBank Group Corp. looks set to turn a tidy profit when it takes Arm Holdings Plc public sometime next week. While that’s nice, reality is the firm could’ve made more if it had just stashed its cash in an index fund and walked away.

The math is as follows. Masayoshi Son’s firm paid $32 billion to take Arm private back in 2016. Seven years later, the chip designer is set for a valuation of as much as almost $55 billion, good for a 70% gain over that period.