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SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son was “crying” over selling Nvidia, says “I wish to have unlimited money”

SoftBank’s CFO made it clear a few weeks ago that the Japanese investment firm’s sale of its $5.8 billion Nvidia position in October had “nothing to do” with the chip designer.

Speaking at the FII Priority Asia forum on Monday, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son underlined that sentiment, telling the world how much that move was one he had to make, but not one he wanted to make:

“I wish to have unlimited money. I respect Jensen, I respect Nvidia so much; I don’t want to sell a single share. I just had more need for money to invest into OpenAI, invest into our opportunities, so I was crying to sell Nvidia shares. If I had more money, of course, I wanted to keep Nvidia shares, all the time, any time.”

The plunge in SoftBank shares as of late — the company’s ADR is down 39% since peaking at the end of October — is due in part to its exposure to OpenAI, something that also might inspire tears.

SoftBank owes OpenAI $22.5 billion by year-end to finance its increased stake in the ChatGPT maker. Its AI initiatives include its substantial investment in OpenAI, as well as data center sites that are part of Project Stargate.

Son also took the time to clap back at critics who deem the massive tide of money pouring into AI to be a bubble, calling them “not smart enough” and outlining his vision for return on investment.

In 10 years, he believes AI will be much, much smarter than humans, and that “at least 10%” of global GDP will be substituted by superintelligence and physical AI robots. If it takes $10 trillion in investment to get to that point, he says the cumulative capital expenditure would be recouped in just six months.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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