Softbank share prices on the stock exchange, quotation and live price

Softbank is a Japanese telecommunications company that has grown to become a holding company with investments in business sectors that include technology, energy, finance, stock market and semiconductor manufacturing.

Its assets are listed on the TOPIX 100 index. The Forbes 2000 list ranks it as the 36th largest public company in the world and the second largest publicly traded company in Japan after Toyota.

History of Softbank

Softbank was founded in 1981. At that time, it was known as Softbank Corp. Its founder, Masayoshi Son, was 24 years old when he created the company. The company started as a software distributor, then moved into publishing in 1982 with Oh! PC for NEC and Oh! MZ magazines for Sharp. It soon became the largest Japanese publisher of computer and technology magazines.

Today, Softbank generates revenue from business lines that can be divided into the following four segments : 

• Fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Japan (78.3% of revenue), including distribution of online games for smartphones and other devices, provision of protection services for cell phones, insurance and financial services, sale of mobile devices (iPhones, iPads, etc.).
• International mobile telecommunications equipment sales, including mobile and landline voice and data communications services to individuals, businesses, government subscribers and resellers in the Americas.
• Online services, including operation of Yahoo and Japan Portal, Internet ad sales, operation of e-commerce sites, online automotive news, and data marketing.
• Other services, which include electricity from renewable energy, payment processing, invoice collection and calculation services for businesses and news sites including ITmedia.

Introduction and listing of Softbank shares

Softbank was listed on the stock exchange in 1994. At that time, it was valued at $3 billion. Since then, the conglomerate's cash position has grown steadily to 6,181 billion yen or $57.42 billion in the first half of 2020.

As a reminder, cash flow is defined as "all credit balances in bank accounts held by a company as well as its liquid assets in the form of liquid financial investments". The fact that a company has a large cash position is a sign of good financial health. Of course, the importance of cash flow is not everything. Other criteria must be taken into account before investing in a company's assets. These include expected margins, performance over the short, medium and long term and market share among others.

Advantages and disadvantages of Softbank shares

The Softbank of today is diametrically different from what it was in the beginning. Over the years, the company has moved away from its core business as a PC software company. Today, it is positioned in very diversified sectors.

The company’s current success is mainly due to a forward-looking vision and risk-taking. For example, it acquired considerable market share in the cell phone sector due to early positioning on the smartphone market and a policy of buying up secondary operators.

2019/2020 was certainly a period in which the group suffered. In 2018/19, the company had generated a net profit of 1,412 billion yen. And in 2019/20, it posted a loss of 1,364.6 billion yen. The company, like many others, was negatively affected by the Covid-19 crisis. 

The situation has improved considerably in the last half of 2020 due to an external growth strategy and the spin-offs of the investments it has made in robotics and online services. Softbank stock is therefore an asset to watch!