SoftBank Shares Down 2.8% Amid Weak Quarterly Earnings; Sprint Merger in Focus

By Alex Ho

Investing.com – Softbank Group Corp. (T:)’s shares in Japan dropped 2.8% on Thursday in Asia after the company said its quarterly profit dropped 99%.

In a statement, SoftBank said its quarterly profit fell to 2.59 billion yen following steep losses related to its Vision Fund, which lost 225.1 billion yen for the quarter.

Overall, SoftBank reported a profit of about $501 million for the quarter, missing analysts’ expectations. Its profit was less than one-tenth of last year’s earnings.

Despite the results, founder and CEO of the company Masayoshi Son said the company was already turning the corner.

“At the last earnings briefing, I used the words ‘I regret’ 20 times. But after a difficult winter always comes spring. The tide is turning,” Son told a briefing following the release of SoftBank earnings. He added that the Vision Fund is on track to return to profit in the current quarter.

The news came one day after the Japanese conglomerate said a US court approved the $26 billion merger between T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint (S), the carrier SoftBank acquired nearly a decade ago.

SoftBank’s shares surged as much as 14% on Wednesday following the merger news, before trading 2.8% lower today.

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