SoftBank Reports Record $23 Billion Quarterly Loss as Tech Downturn Hits

The weak results reflect the fall in technology shares around the globe recently, sparked by interest-rate increases and China’s crackdown on tech companies.

Shares of

Uber

Technologies Inc. and

DoorDash Inc.,

two U.S. companies in which SoftBank has invested, fell more than 40% during the April-June quarter.

SoftBank rushed to plow its money into tech startups last year, seeing new opportunities in businesses such as finance and health that were changing in the pandemic era. Chief Executive

Masayoshi Son

and his team invested $38 billion from SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 into 183 companies last year, according to SoftBank’s filings.

In May, as the losses from those investments began to emerge, Mr. Son said he was switching to a defensive policy and taking more care in investing new money.

On Monday, the company reiterated that strategy, saying it has shown “heightened investment discipline” and turned some of its older investments into cash to shore up its financial strength.

The company said it raised $10.49 billion using its shares in Chinese e-commerce company

Alibaba

Group Holding Ltd. SoftBank used what it calls prepaid forward contracts, in which it gets cash upfront from its lenders and promises to settle the contract later either with cash or with Alibaba shares.

SoftBank reports its results in yen. The net loss in the April-June quarter was ¥3.16 trillion, equivalent to $23.4 billion at the current exchange rate. That compares with a net loss of ¥2.1 trillion in the January-March quarter. For SoftBank’s full fiscal year ended March 31, it reported a loss of ¥1.71 trillion, a record annual figure, equivalent to $12.7 billion at the current rate.

SoftBank’s shares have been steady recently and rose 0.7% on Monday in Tokyo trading, which ended before the release of the results.

Write to Megumi Fujikawa at [email protected]