SoftBank loses billions after over-ordering AI energy equipment
Japanese investor SoftBank reported $3.7 billion hit to its earnings on Tuesday, after cancelling a glut of orders for gas-producing equipment to power the AI hardware buildout that it couldn’t use.
Key points
- Nvidia founder Jensen Huang’s resignation has also made investors nervous that the world’s largest chipmaker could back away from its strategy of bankrolling AI hardware under a new leader.
- The news intensified fears that the AI frenzy that saw hyperscalers take on huge amounts of debt to build the infrastructure needed to power data centres could be losing steam.
- “Some of the growth rates for data centers were unrealistic, it’s just that nobody wanted to hear it,” said its CEO.
Siemens Energy expects to triple its dividend in 2027 as the US data center boom boosts demand for its gas turbines and grid equipment.
Gas turbine customers are facing multiyear waiting times, with developers increasingly hunting for second-hand equipment.
Additional details
- “I think the fear is that the music might stop,” a fund manager told Reuters.
- Chinese gas-turbine manufacturers hope to capitalize on high demand.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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