SoftBank overtakes Toyota as Japan’s most valuable company
SoftBank Group’s market value surged past Toyota’s after a 14 per cent share rally, fuelled by enthusiasm for AI, Arm and OpenAI.
- SoftBank Group has become Japan's most valuable company, displacing Toyota Motor Corp. after the automaker held the top spot for 22 years.
- The shift was caused by a 14% climb in SoftBank's shares, pushing its market capitalization past Toyota's.
- SoftBank's value has been driven by a market focus on technology and AI, boosted by its stake in OpenAI, strong earnings from its chip unit Arm, and large investments in AI data centers.
- In contrast, Toyota and other automobile stocks have been negatively affected by factors such as rising crude oil prices.
SoftBank Group Corp. on Monday (June 1) displaced Toyota Motor Corp. as Japan’s most valuable company, bringing an end to the automaker’s 22-year run at the top.
The shift came after SoftBank Group shares climbed around 14 per cent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, pushing its market capitalisation to 48,784.8 billion yen.
Toyota’s market value stood at 45,892.3 billion yen.
The milestone reflects a stock market recently driven by SoftBank Group and other technology issues, especially those connected to artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
By contrast, automobile stocks have been pressured by rising crude oil prices.
SoftBank Group’s share price has also gained from news that OpenAI, the US developer of ChatGPT in which the Japanese technology investor holds a stake, is preparing an initial public offering.
Investor sentiment was further supported by a rosy earnings report from Arm Holdings PLC, the group’s British chip designer unit.
The positive momentum was reinforced on Sunday, when SoftBank Group announced that it would invest up to 75 billion euros to build AI data centres in France.
In May, the group reported a consolidated net profit of 5,002.2 billion yen for fiscal 2025, marking a record high for a Japanese company.
The record profit was seen as “a factor justifying the AI boom,” said an official at a Japanese brokerage firm.
SoftBank Group has been stepping up AI-related investments in recent years, including plans to increase its investment in OpenAI to 64.6 billion dollars.
In the United States, the Japanese company is also promoting Stargate, a project to build AI data centres for OpenAI.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
