Shares of SoftBank Group Corp. fell sharply on Thursday, moving in step with a sell-off in Arm Holdings after the British chip designer posted disappointing December-quarter licensing revenue.
SoftBank dropped as much as 7% to 3,909.0 yen and was among the largest downward contributors to the Nikkei 225 index, which lost about 1% on the session. The sell-off in SoftBank followed an approximately 8% aftermarket decline in Arm's share price.
Arm reported licensing receipts for the December quarter that fell short of expectations. The company earns revenue by licensing its chip designs to major technology firms and by collecting royalties on chips that incorporate its intellectual property. The article referenced two prominent licensees by name: NVIDIA Corporation and Apple Inc.
Adding to the caution around the chip supply chain, chip supplier Qualcomm put forward a weak outlook for 2026. Qualcomm said a surge in global memory prices associated with the artificial intelligence industry is expected to weigh on smartphone sales. Analysts and market participants view weaker smartphone demand and higher memory costs as negative for companies whose designs are widely used in mobile devices, a group that includes Arm.
SoftBank owns an 87.1% stake in Arm following Arm's return to the public markets in 2023. Arm remains one of SoftBank's largest holdings and is closely linked to the conglomerate's ambitions in artificial intelligence and chip-related investment strategies.
Market context
- SoftBank's share decline tracked Arm's weaker-than-expected licensing revenue for the December quarter.
- Broader technology-sector selling, amid uncertainty about the effects of AI on software and hardware markets, contributed to the move.
- Higher global memory prices and a cautious outlook from Qualcomm were cited as additional headwinds for smartphone demand, which has implications for firms linked to mobile chip design and licensing.
Implications and positioning
The combined pressures on Arm and SoftBank reflect intersecting concerns: company-specific earnings shortfalls, supply-chain cost pressures tied to memory markets, and a wider reappraisal of technology valuations as investors weigh AI-driven demand assumptions.