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Son opens the deck by unpacking SoftBank’s cash flows: ¥2.4 trn in operating income last year despite a ¥1.7 trn loss on Vision Fund write-downs. He highlights a 20 percent internal rate of return on core holdings—Alibaba, Arm and T-Mobile US—then shifts to the $100 bn Vision Fund. There, he points to 30 unicorns and a handful of household names: DoorDash, Cruise, and Cohesity. He admits some misses—WeWork and Oyo dragged returns—but backs the portfolio’s unrealized gains at roughly $45 bn.
One slide pulls up four charts: unrealized valuation gains rising steadily since 2021; cash burn falling; exit proceeds accelerating; and unrealized gains as a share of net asset value now at 70 percent. Another pairs two tables: Vision Fund I’s 11 percent gross IRR versus Fund II’s 15 percent target. He makes it personal—promising he’ll stay on the job for at least ten more years, floating a 2036 retirement date.
Then comes the goose slide. A V-formation of Canada geese symbolizes network effects: “When one goose gets tired, another takes the lead,” he quips. It’s a nod to management turnover, board diversity and the handoff between SoftBank’s top-tier teams. The image plays well with shareholders—softening questions about whether Son’s long tenure might stunt fresh thinking.
Finally, he lays out a plan to boost free cash flow by ¥1.2 trn over three years, mainly through asset sales and dividend hikes from listed stakes. There’s a roadmap to cut net debt from ¥9 trn to ¥5 trn, and a promise to return ¥500 bn in buybacks by 2025. No hype—just numbers that underline Son’s pitch: SoftBank can reset, recover and generate real cash.
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