SoftBank shares slide after SB Energy IPO filing reveals $3.2B loss

SB Energy, SoftBank Group's AI infrastructure subsidiary, filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC on September 1, seeking to go public on the Nasdaq under the ticker "SBE" in what could be one of the largest IPOs of 2026. The filing laid bare a business that has yet to generate any data center revenue and depends almost entirely on OpenAI as its anchor tenant — a disclosure that sent SoftBank Group shares down 5.9% in Tokyo trading on Wednesday.investing

According to press reports, SB Energy is targeting a raise of $5 billion to $7 billion at a valuation exceeding $50 billion, though the S-1 itself left share count and price range undetermined. J.P. Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. ↘ 0.94%, Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ↗ 0.07%, Morgan Stanley ↗ 0.26%, Citigroup ↘ 0.30%, and Mizuho ↘ 0.80% are acting as joint lead book-running managers.w+4

Nvidia Invests, OpenAI Anchors

The prospectus revealed that Nvidia ↗ 0.84% has committed $3 billion in transactions tied to the offering — $1.5 billion through a private placement of non-voting Class N shares at the IPO price, and $1.5 billion via a prepaid forward contract. Nvidia is also the exclusive chip supplier to SB Energy's flagship PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Ohio, where it has guaranteed up to $105 billion of lease payment obligations.fourweekmba+3

OpenAI, which signed a 20-year lease for 8 GW of IT capacity at the Ohio campus, holds warrants valued at roughly $5.5 billion as of June 30, 2026. The warrants, granted as part of an anchor-tenant arrangement, will partially vest upon IPO pricing. SoftBank Group will remain the controlling shareholder after the listing.securities+2

A $3.2 Billion Loss With No Data Center Revenue

The filing's financials drew immediate scrutiny. SB Energy reported a net loss of $3.2 billion on revenue of just $138.7 million for the first half of 2026, compared with a $216 million loss in the year-earlier period. The loss was driven largely by a $2.6 billion non-cash expense tied to the change in fair value of its OpenAI warrant liability. Revenue came entirely from legacy solar and battery storage operations — the company has zero operational data center capacity.securities+2

Its first AI data center phase, at the Cosmos Technology Campus in Texas, is not expected to begin generating lease revenue until the fourth quarter of 2026, while the Ohio campus will not come online until 2028. The prospectus warned that SB Energy is "substantially dependent" on OpenAI's continued performance, describing the concentration as a risk factor.fourweekmba+2

SoftBank Shares Feel the Weight

The disclosure compounded broader market pressures. SoftBank Group stock fell in Wednesday's session as investors weighed the scale of losses embedded in the company's AI investment strategy, which includes a $40 billion bridge loan tied to OpenAI. The Nikkei 225 also declined amid a global selloff driven by weak U.S. economic data and rising Japanese bond yields. SB Energy's reported backlog stands at approximately $439 billion, but that figure rests on decades-long commitments from a narrow set of counterparties whose own financial futures remain uncertain.investing+2