SoftBank Group's stock rebounded on Wednesday, rising 5.65% amid ongoing sharp fluctuations, aligning with gains in other tech and financial stocks. The Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.85%. This follows a challenging month for SoftBank—after soaring 45% in October, its shares have fallen roughly 40% so far in November.
Earlier in the day, the company announced plans to issue seven-year bonds worth ¥500 billion (approximately $3.2 billion) with a coupon rate of 3.98%. Proceeds will be used for debt repayment. The bonds, rated "A" by Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR), will primarily target individual investors in Japan.
SoftBank's extreme stock volatility may reflect shifting investor sentiment toward artificial intelligence (AI) and its bets in the sector. Earlier this month, the company sold $5.8 billion worth of NVIDIA shares to double down on OpenAI. It also agreed to invest $30 billion in the ChatGPT developer by year-end.
Concerns over inflated valuations and AI monetization prospects have fueled market anxiety about an AI bubble, driving turbulence in key stocks. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote Bank, noted a new twist: Google—once seen as vulnerable to AI disruption—is "suddenly staging a strong comeback, pushing NVIDIA toward a dangerous cliff edge."
She highlighted that if major AI players switch to Google’s in-house chips, which offer lower operational costs and comparable performance, it would pose a real risk to NVIDIA. Nearly half of NVIDIA’s client base consists of such tech giants.
Charu Chanana, Chief Investment Strategist at Saxo Bank Singapore, said SoftBank’s recent decline reflects a "divergence" in AI trades. "Investors are no longer viewing the sector as one macro bet but differentiating between ecosystems," Chanana noted. Stocks tied to the "NVIDIA-dependent camp," including SoftBank due to its heavy exposure to Arm and NVIDIA, are under pressure.