After more than 20 years at the top, Toyota has been dethroned as Japan's largest company in terms of market value. In its place is Softbank , which has established itself as the primary vehicle for exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) in the Japanese market.
The exchange took place on Monday, June 1st, after shares of Masayoshi Son 's company closed at an all-time high, rising 14.02% to 8,541 yen (US$53.63).
Investors reacted positively to the company's announcement on Saturday, May 30, that it will invest up to €75 billion ($87.6 billion) in a vast network of AI computing clusters in France. This is Softbank's largest investment in AI outside the United States .
With its shares rising more than 85% since the beginning of the year, Softbank's market cap reached 48.8 trillion yen (US$306.4 billion).
Toyota's shares closed the day down 4.49%, at 2,906 yen (US$18.24), bringing the automaker's market value to 45.9 trillion yen (US$288 billion). The company reached the top spot in the ranking of Japan's most valuable companies in 2003, replacing NTT Docomo.
Softbank has been on the rise in the Japanese stock market, driven by its major bet on OpenAI and a series of investments in AI. But this ascent has not been linear.
After peaking in October, Softbank's shares entered a downturn, with investors reconsidering the OpenAI thesis.
The direction changed after Sam Altman 's company began signaling its intention to go public in the United States, and chipmaker Arm predicted increased revenue thanks to its future semiconductor factory.
The AI thesis has gained traction in Japan. Analysts at Nomura Bank, quoted in a Financial Times (FT) report, estimate that the Nikkei 225, the main index of the Japanese stock exchange, should close the year at 67,000 points and reach 70,000 in 2027, due to the positive outlook for the results of AI and microprocessor companies. Year-to-date, the Nikkei 225 has accumulated a 29.1% increase.
Softbank may be the preferred choice, but it's not the only name in the Japanese market valued for its AI potential. Chipmaker Kioxia also saw its value skyrocket, rising 538.77% to 39.6 trillion yen (US$248.7 billion), due to expectations of massive demand for memory chips needed to build data centers.
The company became the third largest on the Japanese stock exchange, surpassing MUFG, Japan 's largest bank, whose market cap totals 35.9 trillion yen (US$225.3 billion).
The AI thesis in Japan has also attracted the attention of foreigners, after a long period in which they stayed away. According to the Financial Times , in the week ending May 23, the flow of foreign investors was positive at 1.1 trillion yen, representing the eighth consecutive week of purchases.
