SoftBank Shares Fall 3.9% as OpenAI Revenue Report Dents AI Hype

SoftBank Group shares declined on Friday after reports indicated that OpenAI's annualized revenue trailed previous estimates, intensifying investor anxiety over high artificial intelligence valuations and heavy infrastructure spending across the technology sector.

"SoftBank shares slid following reports that OpenAI's annualized revenue trailed previous estimates, highlighting investor anxiety over AI valuations and infrastructure spending," according to market coverage from Yahoo Finance.

Market Reaction in Tokyo and Wall Street

During Friday's session in Tokyo, SoftBank shares fell as much as 7.3% to a low of 5,600.0 yen before paring some losses to close 3.9% lower at 5,803.0 yen. The downward pressure followed a broader tech sell-off on U.S. markets on Thursday, where the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3% and the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 3.4%.

Discrepancies in OpenAI Revenue Projections

The market reaction was triggered by conflicting reports regarding the financial trajectory of OpenAI. According to a Financial Times report cited by Yahoo Finance, OpenAI's annualized revenue stood at approximately $50 billion at the end of September, coming in roughly $20 billion below the $70 billion figure previously circulated in market estimates. However, a separate Bloomberg report noted that accelerating enterprise growth could potentially push the figure back toward the $70 billion threshold by December.

SoftBank's Deepening Exposure to OpenAI

The revenue recalibration carries heightened significance for SoftBank given its substantial financial commitment to the artificial intelligence developer. SoftBank completed a further $10 billion investment in OpenAI on Oct. 1, bringing its cumulative investment to $64.6 billion and securing an ownership interest of approximately 13%.

What Is at Stake for AI Valuations

The sensitivity of major global investors to fluctuations in foundational AI revenue metrics underscores broader market vulnerability. As venture capital and corporate balance sheets pour hundreds of billions of dollars into compute infrastructure, data centers, and model training, any sign of slowing commercial monetization directly ripples through publicly traded proxies like SoftBank and major U.S. index components.