SoftBank Group posted a smaller-than-expected 18% drop in first-quarter profit on Thursday, buoyed by a gain on its stake in chipmaker Intel, even as it recorded no valuation gain from its holdings in ChatGPT developer OpenAI.
The investment and technology conglomerate booked record net income of more than ¥5tn yen ($31.70bn) last year, boosted by the rising value of its ChatGPT holdings.
With corporate exposure to the AI boom in focus around the world, investors are focusing their attention on the finances of Masayoshi Son's SoftBank as he bets big on AI.
"There's clear demand and an overwhelming shortage of supply", chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto said at a press conference in Tokyo when asked about fears of a bubble in the buildout of AI data centres.
"I think we're in a very healthy state", he added.
Net income in the April to June period was ¥347.3bn. SoftBank booked an investment gain of ¥1.86tn in the quarter, with the biggest contributor its shareholding in Intel, whose shares have rallied. Intel is run by Son ally Lip-Bu Tan and SoftBank made an investment in the chipmaker last year as it underwent restructuring. SoftBank also booked a gain on its stake in TikTok parent, ByteDance.
SoftBank's fortunes have become closely tied to OpenAI, which is preparing for an initial public offering that may be held off until next year.
SoftBank's cumulative investment in OpenAI is set to reach $64.6bn by October for a stake of around 13%. The total investment gain stands at $45bn.
CFO Goto declined to comment on OpenAI's IPO plans at a press briefing in Tokyo on Thursday.
SoftBank said it agreed a $10bn loan in August with financial institutions using its OpenAI stake as collateral. Talks for a loan had earlier stalled over difficulty in valuing OpenAI, as it is a private company, Reuters reported last month.
SoftBank has already arranged margin loans on its holdings in Arm and SoftBank Corp worth $20bn and $7.4bn, respectively.
Son has sold off assets, including holdings in Nvidia and T-Mobile, as he bets on AI-related companies.
While SoftBank secured a $40bn bridging loan to cover its investment commitments in 2026, the facility will expire in March 2027, at which point SoftBank will have to pay it back or refinance.
In the second half of 2026, SoftBank has committed to investing a further $20bn in OpenAI as well as $5.4bn to acquire ABB's robotics business and $3.1bn to acquire digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge.
SoftBank's net asset value hit a record high in June but had fallen back to 58.3tn yen as of August 5.
Commerzbank
Germany's Commerzbank said on Thursday that its net profit nearly doubled in the second quarter, as its Italian rival UniCredit nears the possible completion of its hostile takeover.
Net profit came in at €898mn ($1.03bn) in the three months through the end of June, up from €462mn a year earlier.
For the first half of the year, profit reached a record €1.8bn.
Commission income — fees from providing services like accounts or brokerage — rose, Commerzbank said, while income from interest was stable.
The results come as the battle for control of the Frankfurt-based Commerzbank heats up.
UniCredit has pursued Commerzbank for the past two years, causing alarm in Germany where the bank is dear to many thanks to its reputation for financing small and midsize industrial companies.
Commerzbank has cut thousands of jobs in a bid to boost its profit and hence share price, making any potential takeover more expensive.
UniCredit has nevertheless continued to build up its stake and now holds almost 48% of Germany's second-largest lender.
Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp told reporters that the two companies were in close communication but that minority shareholders also had to be listened to.
"We've got a situation where UniCredit has a little under 50 % and hence de facto control, we have to address that," Orlopp said during a conference call.
"Still, there's other shareholders with over 50% who also want to see their interests recognised," she said.
The German government holds a 12% stake in Commerzbank and has fiercely opposed any takeover. Unions have also come out against the move, fearing it will mean job cuts.
Asked if the latest earnings could be Commerzbank's last ever as an independent entity, Orlopp said she would be back.
"We have a controlling shareholder with de facto control, as soon as the approvals are there, but that does not, for example, mean that structural measures or delisting are quite so easy," she said.
"You can therefore look forward to speaking with me and Carsten Schmitt in the next quarters," she said, referring to the bank's chief financial officer.
Merck KGaA
Germany's Merck KGaA raised its 2026 core profit guidance and beat quarterly expectations on Thursday, helped by continued strong demand for semiconductor materials and drug production supplies.
The diversified family-controlled group said it expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between €5.9bn and €6.3bn ($6.8bn -$7.3bn) in 2026, up from previous guidance of between €5.7bn and €6.1bn.
Quarterly adjusted EBITDA rose 9.4% to €1.60bn, above analysts' average estimate of €1.53bn, according to a company-provided poll.
CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters that growing AI-related spending is a driver of the company's semiconductor business.
As a supplier to the semiconductor industry, Merck manufactures specialty materials and chemical solutions used to produce advanced microchips that underpin AI applications and data centres.
Beckmann said demand remained strong, with customers continuing to report capacity bottlenecks for AI-related technologies.
He added that Merck raised its 2026 guidance based on robust operating performance and easing foreign exchange headwinds.
Analysts at Jefferies said Merck delivered a strong quarterly report and added that they expect investors to welcome the guidance hike.
"Given the strong set of results and FY guidance upgrade, we expect the shares to outperform by a couple of percentage points," analysts at JP Morgan said.
In June, Merck boosted its Life Science unit, which makes drug research and manufacturing tools, by striking an $11.3bn deal to buy Bio-Techne, its biggest transaction in more than a decade.
"The proposed acquisition of Bio-Techne would add additional differentiated capabilities across research, bioprocessing and advanced therapeutics," Merck said on Thursday.
Nintendo
Nintendo said on Thursday net profit jumped more than 50% year-on-year in the first quarter, helped by increased video game sales and a windfall connected to US tariff refunds.
The success of "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" was also a bright point for the Japanese gaming giant, although unit sales for its current console, the Switch 2, are slowing.
Nintendo highlighted the strong performance of two new games for the Switch 2, a gadget that became the world's fastest-selling games console on its 2025 release.
Both titles, "Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream" — which sold nearly 8mn copies — and "Pokemon Pokopia", are life-simulation titles whose cosy gameplay has been described as a balm to the stressful modern world.
In April-June, net profit came to ¥147.4bn ($930mn) in April-June, up 53.5% from the same period a year earlier, Nintendo said — far surpassing estimates of ¥77.8bn in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
The company maintained its annual profit forecast of ¥310bn.
"Despite an increase in software unit sales and the depreciation of the yen, overall sales for our dedicated video game platform business declined by 13.1%," mainly due to falling Switch 2 sales, Nintendo said.
The company expects to sell 16.5mn Switch 2 units in the 2026-27 financial year, down around 17 % from 2025-26. It said in May it would hike the price of the console, as the artificial intelligence boom causes memory chip prices to soar.
"Nintendo Switch 2 is now in its second year since launch... and sales continue to be strong. We aim to maintain the momentum for the hardware and see it delivered together with software into the hands of a wide range of consumers," Nintendo said Thursday.
The net profit jump reflects factors including "solid software sales" and "refunds of US tariffs", it added.
The firm said in June it would remake the beloved 1998 action-adventure classic "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" for the Switch 2.
Swiss Re
The reinsurance giant Swiss Re said on Thursday that its profits jumped in the first half of the year, beating expectations, while adding that it would "remain vigilant" as hurricane season nears its peak.
The Swiss group, which provides insurance to insurance firms, registered $2.8bn in net profit in the January-June period, it said in a statement.
The figure was a 9% jump on the same period last year.
"Strong earnings delivery in the first half of the year puts us well on track towards our 2026 financial targets, while we remain vigilant as we approach the peak of the hurricane season," said Chief Executive Officer Andreas Berger.
MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre has reported a third consecutive quarterly decline in profit, as heavier spending on free shipping and credit-card expansion weighed on margins, overshadowing record revenue and sending its shares lower in after-hours trading. Shares of the Uruguay-based e-commerce and fintech company fell about 4.5% to roughly $1,835, after initially dropping as much as 9%. MercadoLibre, which runs Latin America's largest online marketplace and the Mercado Pago payments platform, posted net income of $466mn for the April-to-June quarter. That was down about 11% from a year earlier, but still ahead of the $433mn analysts had expected, according to an LSEG poll. "Similar to last quarter, the market is focusing on the year-over-year decrease in net income," Morningstar analyst Michael Miller said in a report. The profit slide was driven in part by higher free-shipping costs in Brazil, introduced from mid-2025, as well as provisions tied to the expansion of its credit-card business, Leandro Cuccioli, MercadoLibre's senior vice president of investor relations, told Reuters.
Revenue jumped 50% to a record $10.2bn, its fastest growth rate in four years and well above analysts' estimate of $9.7bn. Gross merchandise volume, a key measure of e-commerce sales, rose 36% on a foreign-exchange-neutral basis.
Operating income, or EBIT, fell about 17% to $683mn, though it still topped analysts' average forecast of $658mn. EBIT margin narrowed to 6.7%, from 12.2% a year earlier and 6.9% in the first quarter.
Banco BPM
Italian bank Banco BPM on Wednesday reported a net second-quarter profit of €581mn ($670mn), down 17.5% year-on-year but above forecasts, which had predicted €533mn.
At the same time the bank revised its overall net profit forecast for 2026 upwards. It now estimated that it would exceed a previously anticipated €1.95bn thanks to "higher revenues, improved operational efficiency and a lower risk cost".
Its performance would see higher returns for shareholders with a dividend forecast for 2026 expected to exceed one euro per share, the bank added.
"The new forecasts for 2026 net profit put the group ahead of schedule on its path towards the 2027 target of €2.15bn," the bank stated.
Last Friday, the group said its board had decided to end discussions a merger with Banca Monte dei Paschi (MPS), Italy's third-largest bank after having opened talks two months earlier.
Sales of Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Mounjaro injectable weight-loss and diabetes drugs soared during the second quarter, easily beating Wall Street estimates and widening the gap with Danish rival Novo Nordisk.
The trillion-dollar company also posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year revenue forecast, and its shares jumped over 5% in early trading.
The strong results are likely to reassure investors that demand for Lilly's GLP-1 treatments remains resilient despite pricing pressure and intensifying competition from Novo, which launched an oral version of its Wegovy weight-loss drug in the US earlier this year.
Sales of diabetes drug Mounjaro rose 91% to $9.94bn, beating analysts' estimates, while obesity drug Zepbound brought in $4.93bn, compared with expectations of $4.73bn. The two drugs accounted for 64.7% of Lilly's revenue in the latest reported quarter.
Strong demand lifted sales volumes across global markets, with Mounjaro driving growth outside the US and both Mounjaro and Zepbound boosting US sales, although lower realized prices partly offset those gains, Lilly said. Mounjaro is the brand name used for both weight loss and diabetes outside the US
By comparison, Novo's diabetes and obesity portfolio generated nearly 59.3bn Danish crowns ($9.16bn) in quarterly sales, led by Ozempic and Wegovy injections. The US government last month launched a pilot program allowing Americans to access obesity medicines through the Medicare program for people aged 65 and older or with disabilities that will offer the medications for a monthly co-pay of $50.
Lilly and Novo dominate the lucrative obesity market. Lilly surpassed a $1tn valuation last year, while Novo's newly launched Wegovy pill is quickly gaining traction in its US rollout.
Lilly now expects revenue of $85bn to $87bn, up from its previous forecast of $82bn to $85bn.
It now expects 2026 adjusted earnings of $35.50 to $36.50, from its prior view of $35.50 to $37. Analysts are estimating a profit of $34.20 per share.
Adjusted earnings came in at $8.38 per share for the second quarter, sailing past analysts' average estimate of $6.01, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Siemens
German industrial giant Siemens on Thursday raised its profit outlook for the second time this year after a quarter boosted by AI spending, but its shares plunged after the forecast fell short of investors' hopes.
Along with other industrial firms such as France's Schneider Electric and Switzerland's ABB, Siemens has benefitted from demand for data centres that provide the computing power for AI.
The provider of electrical equipment now expects earnings per share, a measure of underlying profitability, of €11.20 to €11.50 for the year ($12.93 to $13.28), up from a range of €10.70 to €11.10 given in February.
"The data centre business is especially dynamic," chief executive Roland Busch told reporters on a call. "The rapid build-out of cloud and AI infrastructure is continuing to drive demand high."
But Siemens shares dropped 6% in early Frankfurt trading, with analysts pointing to expectations of higher full-year profits, as well as fears that new AI tools will disrupt Siemens's own software business.
The earnings "uplift appears less pronounced than peers", RBC bank analysts wrote in a note.
"Uncertainty around factors such as the macro demand backdrop and AI software risks may still limit investor enthusiasm," they added.
Net profit for the three months to end-June rose 15% to €2.6bn, Siemens said, while sales rose 8% to €20.8bn.
Earnings growth was concentrated at Siemens' Smart Infrastructure business, which supplies electrical equipment for data centres and other industrial customers, as well as the Digital Industries division, which focuses on software to automate processes.
Order intake — an indicator of future sales — reached a record of €27.9bn, up 14% from period last year, leaving Siemens with a backlog of €132bn worth of work.
For the Smart Infrastructure division alone, orders jumped 42%.
Busch said he expected AI would also increasingly drive demand for Siemens' software products.
"The more AI functionality you see on the shop floor, the more compute you need," he said. "This is part of our core portfolio."
