SoftBank Group shares surge 13% to a record high after earnings beat

Shares of SoftBank Group surged 13% Friday to hit a fresh record, following the company’s higher-than-expected fiscal first-quarter profit, putting the stock on course to clock its best day in five years.

SoftBank shares have extended gains to a fourth straight session, and closed at a record high on Thursday, before the company released its earnings.

SoftBank’s profits for the April to June quarter came in at 421.8 billion yen ($2.87 billion), substantially overshooting LSEG consensus estimates of127.6 billion yen.

This the group’s second consecutive quarter of profit and a sharp reversal from the 174.28 billion yen loss it posted in the same period a year ago.

The Japanese giant announced on Thursday that the value of its Vision Funds rose $4.8 billion, its largest gain since the June quarter of 2021.

Profit for the Vision Funds segment, which also captures factors such as expenses, hit 451.4 billion yen in the fiscal-first quarter ended June, a reversal from losses in the same period last year.

The Japanese giant attributed this to gains from private investments as well as listed companies such as the Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing firm Grab Holdings, and Indian food delivery firm Swiggy.

Companies that have received investments through SoftBank’s Vision Funds include chip designer Arm Holdings, game software player Animoca Brands and internet technology giant ByteDance.

A few of the investment firm’s portfolio companies are expected to go public this year. Among them is Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart which filed for an initial public offering on July 29, which includes the issue of fresh shares worth 21.5 billion rupees ($247.58 million).

Other companies set to list soon include Japanese mobile payment service operator PayPay, Swedish financial services player Klarna and travel app Klook.

— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.