Main Q&A at Earnings Results Briefing
for Q1 FY2025
| Date | Tuesday, August 5, 2025 4:00 pm - 5:03 pm |
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| Speakers | SoftBank Corp.: Junichi Miyakawa (President & CEO) Kazuhiko Fujihara (Board Director, Executive Vice President & CFO) |
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SoftBank Corp. has maintained its mobile service price plans (hereinafter, "Price Plans"). What is the intent behind this? Is there a possibility of revising the Price Plans in the future?
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We believe that revising Price Plans is necessary for the sound development of the industry, and we are currently considering various options. While monitoring customer reactions and market trends, we plan to appropriately revise Price Plans at the appropriate time. We intend to make careful decisions with an emphasis on ensuring customer acceptance.
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Conditions are said to be favorable for customer acquisition at SoftBank Corp. because other companies have revised their Price Plans. Has there been any change in your willingness to revise your Price Plans?
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Our willingness to revise them has not changed at all.
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KDDI Corporation has reportedly discontinued some of its low-priced plans because some users cancelled soon after signing up. What is the situation regarding cancellations for the Y!mobile and LINEMO brands?
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We believe that the Y!mobile and LINEMO brands face similar issues with a certain number of users cancelling SIM-only contracts after a short period. Although the situation has improved thanks to countermeasures, the two brands' churn rates remain roughly at the same level as other companies.
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What is your view on the future of low-priced plans?
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We have no plans to dramatically change our policy of providing plans that are easy for customers to sign-up. Our process of acquiring many users through the Y!mobile brand and promoting conversion (upselling) to the SoftBank brand has been effective. In fact, the balance of brand conversion from the Y!mobile and LINEMO brands to the SoftBank brand was positive in Q1 FY2025.
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What impact did the revisions of Price Plans by other companies have? Has Y!mobile become the primary beneficiary?
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Customer acquisition for Y!mobile has been steady. Y!mobile has traditionally been strong in acquiring customers through Mobile Number Portability (MNP). We do not believe that the revisions of other companies' Price Plans is the sole reason for its success.
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What have customer trends at SoftBank Corp. been like following the revisions of Price Plans by other companies?
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MNP performance has remained favorable. Since Price Plans are a key factor in customer acquisition, we will carefully review any revisions to our Price Plans to ensure customer acceptance.
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SoftBank Corp. has not yet revised its Price Plans. What concerns are influencing that decision?
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We are carefully considering various options, including whether customers will truly accept the revised Price Plans. We need to make our decision while monitoring trends not only at NTT DOCOMO, Inc. and KDDI Corporation, but also at Rakuten Mobile, Inc. At this time, we would like to refrain from commenting on the details of the Price Plans.
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What led to your decision to start charging a mobile service administrative fee (for online procedures)?
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We revised the fee in response to increased costs related to security measures, identity verification, payment systems, and other related expenses. We will strive to provide clear and courteous explanations so that customers can understand this change.
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In an external survey on 5G standalone (SA) network quality, the au brand surpassed the SoftBank brand. How do you view this result, and what is your future network strategy?
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We take the survey results seriously, but welcome healthy competition that drives mutual improvement. SoftBank Corp. has so far built its network with an emphasis on reliability, so we are pleased to have received a high evaluation in that area. Although a full transition to standalone (SA) will take some time, we will steadily move forward with these efforts.
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What are your perspectives on the future of carrier stores and their roles?
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We believe that carrier stores are important because they serve as customer touchpoints, and we do not plan any significant reductions. Carrier stores hold smartphone classes and are working to realize a digital society that leaves no one behind, including the elderly. Going forward, we plan to offer a variety of courses tailored to diverse needs, including the use of AI.
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What are your thoughts on the decrease in the Consumer segment's operating income in Q1 FY2025?
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In Q1 FY2025, although operating income decreased due to the impact of a provision for device purchase support programs, mobile revenue grew steadily, and the Consumer segment performed well. (The progress rate in Q1 FY2025 against the full-year forecast was 28%.)
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When do you expect the service partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. to start?
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The introduction of the AI call center solution to the contact center of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Limited is planned within the current fiscal year. We would like to start additional services once preparations are complete.
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What is your reaction to the significant drop in LY Corporation's share price, after its announcement of financial results on August 4, 2025?
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We believe the decline may have been due to lower adjusted EBITDA in the media field, which is LY Corporation's core business. However, we understand that LY Corporation is working to turn things around, so we are not concerned. The era of AI agents is approaching, and society is on the verge of major changes in the nature of search engines and advertising. In this environment, we recognize that LY Corporation is closely studying what its future direction should be. We will continue to monitor its progress and collaborate where our strengths are complementary.
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Could you please discuss the timing of PayPay Corporation's listing?
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We have nothing to disclose at this time, but we have learned that steady progress is being made. We will provide an update when there is material progress to disclose.
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What is PayPay Corporation's future growth strategy?
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As PayPay Corporation has begun listing preparations, we will refrain from commenting. One factor behind PayPay Corporation's growth is the increase in revenue in step with the expansion of gross merchandise value (GMV). We aim to support the growth of its financial services, including banking and securities.
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What is your approach to growth strategies from FY2026 onward?
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Next year will mark five years since I was appointed President & CEO, and we will be entering the second Medium-term Management Plan of my presidency. I have devised a 10-year plan and have taken a variety of strategic measures up to now. I believe that the next Medium-term Management Plan cannot exist without AI, and I want AI-related businesses centered on AI computing infrastructure and AI-RAN to be its core pillars. For the expansion of AI computing infrastructure, investments will be made while monitoring the supply-demand balance. We have been developing AI-RAN with U.S.-based NVIDIA, and this initiative is starting to yield results. We aspire to create products and services that telecommunication carriers have not offered before.
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Which services will utilize AI computing infrastructure built with GPUs of U.S.-based NVIDIA?
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The AI computing infrastructure will be utilized across various AI services. This year, we plan to roll out "Sarashina mini," and the necessary GPUs for this service have already been secured. Furthermore, we believe AI agents will play a central role going forward. We have also prepared "Cristal intelligence" for the orchestration (automation of complex processes and workflows) of these AI agents. Including its operation, I feel the current number of GPUs may be insufficient. At present, we have secured approximately 10,000 GPUs and are building AI data centers. We will proceed with GPU expansion plans based on what we have planned so far and also considering the expected future amount of data traffic in society.
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Could you please explain how you plan to use the GPUs you have invested in for internal use and external sales?
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Currently, SB Intuitions Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corp., is using the GPUs to develop "Sarashina," a large language model (LLM) specializing in the Japanese language. A model with 460.0 billion parameters has already been completed, and the GPUs are also being used to update the model. "Sarashina mini," a 70.0 billion parameter model distilled from "Sarashina," has also been completed. We are currently conducting internal trials aimed at commercialization. Preparations are underway to offer GPUs for external sale. However, demand for GPUs within the company is so high that there is significant internal competition for these resources.
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When providing GPU as a Service, what are your expectations regarding customer inquiries and the customer base? Also, considering the demand for GPUs within the company, which will you prioritize or place higher value on: sales to external customers or internal use?
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We are currently advancing software development and trial operations for GPU as a Service. To meet the demand for renting GPUs for each bandwidth in a cloud environment, we are developing the service with plans to launch it next spring. At present, we provide very little simple lending of GPUs.
When considering GPU demand, our next initiative is "Cristal intelligence." Depending on how it evolves, the supply-demand balance for GPUs could change dramatically. Looking ahead, we intend to consider our GPU-related investment plans while monitoring the degree of market penetration of "Cristal intelligence."
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Do you expect "Cristal intelligence" to become the largest source of demand for the use of GPUs in the future?
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Currently, "Cristal intelligence" and AI agents for enterprise call centers are the main demand drivers we foresee. If demand for these two products increases, we believe it will be necessary to step up GPU investment.
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Other (R&D, etc.) recorded a loss of ¥12.6 billion for Q1 FY2025. I have the impression that this loss was smaller than expected. What is your outlook?
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As of Q1 FY2025, we have used only 13% of the ¥100.0 billion budget for Other (R&D, etc.). This budget is strictly a framework for experimental research, and it is preferable if we can avoid using it. We have communicated to our researchers and engineers that they may spend up to this limit, but that they are expected to deliver solid results. If this budget remains unused, it will be a factor contributing to profits exceeding our forecast. Should profits exceed the forecast, we are also considering allocating the surplus to shareholder returns.
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In HAPS, Lighter-Than-Air (LTA)-type vehicles will come before the originally planned airplane-type vehicles. Is this because you did not want NTT Corporation to overtake you?
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We have long been considering both airplane-type and LTA-type vehicles. The reason we are launching pre-commercial service with LTA-type vehicles first is that we were able to obtain flight permits from the relevant authorities for them earlier. We aspire to improve performance using solar panels, motors, payloads (communication devices), and other components developed by SoftBank Corp. We will continue to pursue both types of vehicles for HAPS.
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What is the strategic positioning of Rapidus Corporation for SoftBank Corp.?
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We view Rapidus Corporation as a key part of Japan's semiconductor supply system. We have invested in Rapidus Corporation, although our investment is small. We expect that it may be able to build an ecosystem unique to Japan, and look forward to its future.
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What are your current plans for additional investment in Rapidus Corporation?
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To date, we have invested ¥1.0 billion and have been invited to participate in the next funding round. We would like to continue to support the company and will make a decision after thorough discussions at meetings of the Board of Directors and other relevant forums.
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- [Note]
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- *"Cristal intelligence" is a provisional name and not the official product name.
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This presentation is intended to disclose the Company's financial results for FY2025 Q1, and does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase any securities in Japan or any other jurisdiction. This presentation does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offers, solicitations of offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Securities Act"). The information on this presentation is being presented in accordance with Rule 135 under the Securities Act.