By Kosaku Narioka

SoftBank Group shares rose to a record intraday high after a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, mainly due to a recovery in its tech funds business.

Shares were last up 13% at 14,135 yen, a record intraday high, on Friday in Tokyo.

The Japanese technology investment company said after Thursday's market close that it booked a net profit of Y421.82 billion yen, equivalent to $2.87 billion, for the three months ended June.

That compared with a net loss of Y174.28 billion in the year-earlier period and exceeded the estimated net profit of Y100.06 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Quick.

The bottom line was boosted by gains from its stakes in Nvidia, e-commerce company Coupang, robotic warehouse automation company Symbotic and others.

Its Vision Funds business posted a profit of Y451.39 billion, compared with a Y204.30 billion loss a year earlier.

Shares of SoftBank Group had risen 37% so far this year through Thursday's close, fueled by hopes that the companies it has invested in, including U.K. chip-design unit Arm Holdings, will benefit from growing demand for artificial intelligence.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 07, 2025 21:12 ET (01:12 GMT)

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