SoftBank Group shares soar 20% as Nvidia earnings signal strong AI momentum

Published Wed, May 20 2026 8:40 PM EDT Updated 3 Min Ago

Shares of SoftBank Group experienced significant gains on Thursday, rising sharply following impressive earnings announcements from Nvidia, which indicated robust growth in the artificial intelligence sector.

After a sequence of five consecutive declines, SoftBank Group shares surged by 19.8%, resulting in an increase of approximately $35 billion in its market capitalization.

The performance of SoftBank is intricately linked to the AI boom, particularly through its ownership stake in Arm Holdings, whose chip designs are utilized in AI servers and data centers that leverage Nvidia systems, in addition to its substantial investments in OpenAI.

SoftBank has committed over $30 billion to OpenAI, with total investment returns amounting to $45 billion for the fiscal year ending in March.

The company's recent rally has been fueled by renewed optimism regarding a potential initial public offering (IPO) for OpenAI, which has also contributed to a significant rise in Arm Holdings shares, according to Andrew Jackson, head of Japanese equity strategy at Ortus Advisors.

Despite the trends being largely expected by financial markets, Jackson highlighted to CNBC that the scale of the move was noteworthy, given SoftBank's extensive exposure to AI-related investments. In U.S. trading sessions, Arm Holdings shares closed more than 15% higher.

Last week, SoftBank Group reported an annual gain of $46 billion in its Vision Fund, primarily driven by the rising valuation of OpenAI, as founder Masayoshi Son intensifies focus on artificial intelligence investments. The firm indicated that the gains attributable to OpenAI amounted to about $45 billion for the fiscal year concluded in March.

Analysts from Fitch Ratings’ CreditSights reaffirmed an "outperform" rating for SoftBank Group debt last week, noting that the recent surge in Arm Holdings shares has significantly bolstered the conglomerate's financial standing despite its aggressive investments in artificial intelligence.

The rally extended to Asian semiconductor stocks affiliated with Nvidia's supply chain, as well as the broader technology sector on Thursday.

Specifically, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) rose by over 2%, reflecting Nvidia’s reliance on TSMC for the manufacturing of its advanced AI processors. Renesas Electronics, a key supplier to Nvidia, saw its shares climb more than 7%.

Tokyo Electron, a Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturer that supplies essential chipmaking tools to foundries producing Nvidia’s chips, experienced a rise of 5.44%. Similarly, SK Hynix, a significant supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips utilized by Nvidia, surged over 8%. Samsung Electronics’ shares increased by 6.7%, buoyed by news of a tentative pay agreement with its South Korean labor union, alleviating concerns over potential strike actions.

Additionally, shares of Advantest, a Japanese semiconductor testing equipment manufacturer, rose by 2.8%.

Nvidia reported exceptional quarterly results, with revenue surging 85% to $81.62 billion, up from $44.06 billion the previous year. The technology giant also announced an $80 billion share repurchase program and increased its dividend.

However, it is worth noting that Nvidia's shares declined in after-market trading after CEO Jensen Huang informed CNBC that the company has "largely conceded" the artificial intelligence chip market in China to Huawei.