SoftBank Group, a major technology investor, is set to report its first-quarter earnings, with analysts focusing on how it will fund its ongoing investment in OpenAI and the impact of rising leverage on its balance sheet.

AI Investment Boom

SoftBank has become one of the biggest backers of OpenAI, and its ability to keep funding its ambitions in artificial intelligence has become a key test for the broader AI investment boom. The finances of AI firms are facing heightened investor scrutiny as financing needs grow and the use of debt increases.

SoftBank announced record net profit in the year ended March 2026, but its share price has dropped by almost half since the start of June, and the cost to insure its debt against default has soared. The company is expected to post net profit of 148.4 billion yen ($941.2 million) over the April-June quarter, according to the average of four analysts polled by LSEG.

Balancing AI Ambitions and Debt

Under founder Masayoshi Son’s push to make the Japanese conglomerate a dominant investor in AI, SoftBank has committed more than $60 billion to OpenAI and related AI infrastructure projects. However, investors are questioning how SoftBank will fund its commitments, with $30 billion of obligations due in the second half of 2026 and growing reliance on loans secured against its holdings.

SoftBank has a $40 billion bridging loan, but this matures in March 2027. It has arranged a $20 billion margin loan on its stake in chip designer Arm, but its attempt to use its OpenAI holding as collateral for another loan has been held up as lenders have become more cautious about extending credit backed by private companies.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.