SoftBank Surpasses Toyota to Become Japan's Most Valuable Company

SoftBank Surpasses Toyota as Japan's Most Valuable Company

In a significant milestone, SoftBank Group Corp. overtook Toyota Motor Corp. as Japan's most valuable company on Monday, marking a turning point in the global artificial intelligence boom and a dramatic reshuffling of the country's corporate hierarchy.

Shares of the Masayoshi Son-led technology group surged 14% in Tokyo trading, pushing its market capitalization past Toyota's for the first time in more than two decades. The feat was last achieved briefly during the peak of Japan's internet bubble in 2000, based on market value including treasury shares. SoftBank's market value has now exceeded ¥48 trillion, surpassing Toyota's around ¥46 trillion.

The rally has propelled SoftBank shares up more than 90% this year, while Toyota shares have fallen more than 10% this year. This dramatic shift underscores how rapidly investor tastes have shifted toward companies that are benefiting from the AI buildout. It also reflects how the fortunes of two Japanese corporate titans have diverged, as macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical tensions weigh on the auto sector while AI euphoria takes hold.

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Japan's memory-chip maker Kioxia Holdings Corp.'s market cap is also hovering around ¥40 trillion, making it Japan's third-most valuable company, surpassing Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. The supplier of NAND flash chips expects to earn more in the current quarter than it did in the 12 months ended March due to AI data centers' voracious appetite for data storage.

SoftBank climbed on Monday as AI-related companies gained across the region, making it the biggest boost to the Topix index, while Toyota was the benchmark's largest drag. SoftBank stock has been gaining since news broke last month that two high-profile portfolio companies - OpenAI and SB Energy Corp. - were preparing for potential US listings. SoftBank has committed close to $65 billion to the ChatGPT developer, which will give it a stake of around 13% by October.

Investor sentiment toward SoftBank has experienced a turnaround, brushing aside earlier concerns that intensifying competition from rivals including Anthoropic PBC, Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Elon Musk's xAI Corp. might erode OpenAI's dominance. The company's valuation has been further supported by gains in chip-design unit Arm Holdings Plc following Nvidia Corp.'s earnings results and growing conviction that AI demand will continue spreading across industries.

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Excluding treasury shares, SoftBank's market cap has already surpassed Toyota's last month. Unlike in the US, it's customary in Japan for market capitalization to include treasury shares, although analysts often exclude them for global comparisons.

In contrast, Toyota shares have fallen this year and retreated against a worsening macroeconomic backdrop. Hostilities tied to the Iran conflict have sent oil prices higher, raising fuel costs and dampening demand for automobiles. The automotive sector's growth also remains heavily pressured as the industry navigates a grueling and capital-intensive structure transition toward electric vehicles amid software integration.

Long-term Outlook Favoring Tech

SoftBank has concentrated its management resources on AI-related businesses and has successfully ridden the broader global tech rally, said Tomo Kinoshita, a global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management Japan Ltd. Toyota, meanwhile, has been hit by rising oil prices stemming from the Iran war, which raises the cost of operating vehicles and weighs on global auto demand.

While Kinoshita said that the valuation gap could reverse later this year if crude prices decline and support automotive demand, the long-term trajectory favors tech. "Over the longer term, AI-related companies are likely to command higher valuations," said Kinoshita. "Their presence in Japan's equity market will only continue to grow stronger."