SoftBank’s Soaring Shares Driven by AI Bets on Arm and OpenAI

Last updated: May 22, 2026 7:10 am

2 weeks ago

1 Min Read

SoftBank Group shares experienced a significant rally, extending gains for a second straight session and surging 11.9% on Friday. This impressive performance is largely driven by the sharp overnight rise in Arm Holdings’ stock, in which SoftBank holds a majority stake, and anticipation surrounding a potential OpenAI IPO.

The surge in AI-linked stocks, boosted by Nvidia’s strong earnings, has added over $61 billion to SoftBank’s market valuation in two days, offering investors exposure to the booming AI semiconductor market.

SoftBank's Soaring Shares Driven by AI Bets on Arm and OpenAI

Key Points:

SoftBank Group shares continued their impressive rally for a second consecutive session on Friday.
The surge is closely tied to a significant overnight increase in Arm Holdings' stock value.
The company's shares had previously closed with a 20% gain on Thursday.

The logo of Japanese company SoftBank Group is seen outside the company's headquarters in Tokyo. (Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images)

SoftBank Group shares extended their scorching rally for a second day, climbing 11.9% on Friday. This impressive upward trend builds on the momentum generated by Nvidia's blockbuster earnings report, which has significantly boosted stocks linked to artificial intelligence.

The Japanese investment giant, whose shares closed 20% higher on Thursday, has seen its market valuation surge by over $61 billion in the past two days alone.

SoftBank's rally is further fueled by a remarkable surge in Arm Holdings, a semiconductor company in which SoftBank holds a majority stake. Arm shares advanced over 16% overnight, following a more than 15% gain in the preceding session.

"SoftBank Group's share price is simply reflecting the moves of some of its stake holdings, including Arm, whose share price has been surging, and OpenAI which may file for an IPO in the coming weeks," Vey Sern Ling, senior equity advisor at UBP, told CNBC.

However, Ling cautioned that investors often apply a discount to holding companies like SoftBank, as shareholders may not always fully realize the value of the underlying assets. "Net asset value (NAV) or sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuations usually warrant a significant discount or cautiousness as shareholders of the holding company rarely receive the full value of the underlying assets," he explained.

SoftBank has made substantial investments in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. An anticipated IPO for OpenAI is poised to unlock significant value for SoftBank, even if analysts suggest the gains might be capped. SoftBank has emerged as one of OpenAI's largest backers, injecting over $30 billion into the AI company and recording approximately $45 billion in related gains during the fiscal year ending in March.

Nvidia's recent financial results have bolstered optimism regarding sustained investment in AI infrastructure and data centers. Critically, Arm Holdings' chip designs are integral to AI servers and data centers that are powered by Nvidia's systems.

"For investors, SoftBank is a compelling way to gain exposure to the data center CPU boom, which is the fastest growing segment in AI semis, and early exposure to the OpenAI IPO," commented Rolf Bulk, head of semiconductor and infrastructure at Futurum Group.