TOKYO—Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. announced a $5.5 billion share buyback on Feb. 6 as it reported a 60 percent increase in quarterly operating profit buoyed by rising valuations for its technology investments.
Funded by proceeds from the bumper IPO of its domestic telco, founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said the buyback—its largest ever—was driven by what he sees as a chronic undervaluation of SoftBank’s shares.
