SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son is used to praise and encouragement from shareholders. But the company¡¯s loss of ?4.6 trillion ($34 billion) in market value over the last year is a test for even his most faithful admirers when they gather for the annual shareholders¡¯ meeting on Friday.
Investors stuck by Son when SoftBank announced a holding company strategy in 2015 to hive out its staid but profitable domestic telecom business to become the world¡¯s largest investor in volatile tech startups. When the Vision Fund booked a ?2.4 trillion loss on investments like WeWork and Uber Technologies Inc. in 2020, they pointed to Son¡¯s ability to win thousandsfold returns on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. When Son preached patience as the stock began a downward trajectory from a March peak last year, they listened and hung on.
But five years of deploying ?19.2 trillion has now resulted in a record ?2.1 trillion loss for the company in the quarter ended in March. Much of that can be pinned on the recent global selloff in tech and a crackdown on China¡¯s biggest technology companies, but much can also be attributed to SoftBank¡¯s pressure on companies to make big, aggressive bets.
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