This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
SoftBank Group ( SOBKY ), the Japanese AI investment conglomerate, was priced at $15.29 on Sept. 4 as SB Energy filed for a U.S. initial public offering. The energy and data-center subsidiary plans to trade on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas, although the share count and expected price range remain undecided. SoftBank is bringing one of its boldest AI-infrastructure bets directly to public investors. In the Japanese market, SoftBank closed Friday 11.8% higher at 5,590.
SB Energys growth is accelerating, but its cash burn is impossible to ignore. First-half revenue surged 66.4% to $138.7 million, while the company posted a massive $3.21 billion net loss, according to Reuters . Its contracted backlog has reached roughly $439 billion, backed by 8.8 gigawatts of capacity that is contracted or under construction. Yet none of its data centers is operational.
The $439 billion backlog is roughly 3,165 times first-half revenue, but investors should not mistake future contracts for cash in the bank. Those agreements stretch across years, construction risk remains high and customer exposure is concentrated around SoftBank and OpenAI. The valuation picture adds pressure: at $15.29, SoftBank trades 6.4% above its $14.37 GF Value, meaning investors are already paying a premium while much of SB Energys promised growth remains on paper.
