SoftBank Group, the Japanese investment conglomerate run by Masayoshi Son and best known for its massive bets on AI companies including OpenAI and Arm Holdings, saw its shares fall 11.28% in Tokyo on Thursday, leading losses across Asian markets as weakness in US technology stocks spread overnight into the June 4 session. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.36% at 67,470 points, and South Korea's KOSPI index dropped 1.84%.
This comes just 72 hours after SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son stood in Paris and told CNBC that the AI revolution is "probably 50x bigger than dot-com" and "the biggest revolution of technology and realization that mankind ever experienced." Son also said on June 1 that "there may be some correction, but that will be the best investment opportunity for me."
Son was in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the Choose France investment summit, the day after SoftBank announced an initial €45 billion commitment, part of a total program of up to €75 billion, to build 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France.
The full €75 billion is conditional on the success of the first phase. Son told CNBC that Arm Holdings and OpenAI remained the company's core positions, that he did not consider SoftBank overexposed to OpenAI, and that humanoid and industrial robotics represented the next trillion-dollar opportunity. SoftBank's stock was still up roughly 85% year to date when Tokyo opened on Thursday morning.
Damilare Odedina
What triggered the June 4 sell-off
Two events hit SoftBank in quick succession. On June 2, Deutsche Bank downgraded SoftBank from Buy to Hold, raising its price target only slightly to 8,700 yen. Analyst Peter Milliken wrote that the market had become "fixated on short-term momentum, and less interested, or unable, to map out the long-term trajectory with detailed assumptions" following SoftBank's run to become Japan's most valuable listed company, overtaking Toyota.
Then, on June 3, Broadcom reported quarterly earnings, and its Q3 AI chip revenue guidance of $16 billion came in below analyst estimates of approximately $17.2 billion, and the company did not raise its full-year AI semiconductor sales forecast. That combination triggered a sharp sell-off across the sector. Broadcom shares fell roughly 14% in after-hours trading. Bloomberg reported that Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6% before Thursday's US open.
Renewed Middle East tensions, including exchanges of fire between US and Iranian forces, rattled global markets overnight, pushing Brent crude toward $97 per barrel and adding broader market pressure on top of the tech-specific sell-off. SoftBank, with its concentrated stakes in Arm Holdings and OpenAI, absorbed the full force of both.
Where SoftBank and Masayoshi Son stand now
SoftBank's US-listed shares, ticker SFTBY, were down around 4.31% during Thursday afternoon US trading, reflecting the earlier Tokyo close. Even after today's drop, SFTBY remains up roughly 85% year to date.
Son has not commented publicly since the Paris interview. His next scheduled appearance is SoftBank's shareholder meeting on June 24, 2026, where the company's AI investment strategy, its OpenAI stake, and the up-to-€75 billion France infrastructure commitment are all on the agenda.
Oluwajeminipe Fasheun-Motesho
