For more than 20 years, Toyota Motor sat atop Japan’s corporate hierarchy like an immovable object. That era ended on June 1, when SoftBank Group’s market capitalization hit approximately ¥47.2 trillion, or roughly $296 billion, leapfrogging Toyota’s ¥45.7 trillion valuation in a single trading session.
The last time SoftBank held this title was the year 2000. Back then, the dotcom bubble was doing the inflating. This time, the catalyst has a different name: artificial intelligence.
An 80% rally meets a 10% slide
The crossover wasn’t a close call. SoftBank shares surged as much as 14% during trading on June 1, capping a run that had already pushed the stock up more than 80% year-to-date. Toyota, meanwhile, has been moving in the opposite direction, shedding more than 10% on the year and dropping roughly 4.8% on the day SoftBank passed it.
SoftBank’s momentum pulled the broader market along with it. The Nikkei 225 index briefly crossed the 67,000 mark, a milestone driven in large part by the conglomerate’s performance.
