Wednesday, February 6th 2019

Softbank Dumps its Entire NVIDIA Stock Worth $3.6 Billion

Japan's Softbank is known for far-sighted strategic investments in the technology industry. It shook Silicon Valley this morning by announcing a sale of its entire NVIDIA shareholding, valued on December 31 at JPY 39.8 billion, or USD $3.6 billion. It's the worst possible time to be NVIDIA's CFO, with the company having shed over 50 percent in value in the wake of the crypto-currency fall, mediocre demand for RTX 20-series graphics cards, and "deteriorating economic conditions in China" for the company. NVIDIA recently trimmed its outlook for revenues from gaming hardware sales by $500 million, eroding more share value. Softbank's tech portfolio now includes ARM Holdings, Uber, WeWork, Slack, among dozens of other tech startups.
Source: Tom's Hardware
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82 Comments on Softbank Dumps its Entire NVIDIA Stock Worth $3.6 Billion

#1
narayan
it seems that the Japanese are also sick and tired of that "original ceo" bull"sheet"

next week: softbank buys AMD stock :))
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#2
Unregistered
I normally would've said this is the WORST time to sell when price is low (and obviously institutional bank investors know this!) and best time to buy but... but it seems the worst might be yet to come for nvidia?
#3
HossHuge
And yet it's up so far today.
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#4
Argyr
Uber, WeWork, Slack, among dozens of other tech startups.
Sounds like a serious tech-savvy company, with excessive knowledge in tech.

Or... maybe just a bunch of meme investors who try to ride cheap meme trends and occasionally invest in serious companies.

USD $3.6 billion seriously WTF. Sounds like they bought into the mining craze and now woke up that they were stupid.
narayanit seems that the Japanese are also sick and tired of that "original ceo" bull"sheet"

next week: softbank buys AMD stock :))
sure sweetie, it's all about Nvidia and not the mining craze. But AMD will save investors, it's such an unstoppable force even pakistani villagers are buying AMD stock
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#5
the54thvoid
Intoxicated Moderator
Rock and a hard place.

RTX cards priced too high for performance gains. That initial pricing makes them look great to the uninformed investor but it doesn't actually merit the products worth. Those prices, I dare say, are hindering sales potential - there are a lot of folk like me, whose price ceiling, for financial, or principled reasons was £/$700, give or take. As much as I can afford a £1200 gfx card, I voted with my wallet and said - screw that shit.
So, if you want to increase sales to the previous 'ti' generation, you drop prices. Yes, I'd buy a 2080ti for £/$700-800 - but, as soon as you lower prices, it spooks investors.

Nvidia saw a rock and a hard place and jumped right in. I've defended them a lot in the past (hey - they're a business, it's their prerogative to make money) but I really think JSH over-estimated the market demand and the fanbase for the RTX cards, at that hideous, arrogant pricing.

Well, at risk of sounding like an AMD fanboy - I say f*** 'em.
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#6
64K
the54thvoidRock and a hard place.

RTX cards priced too high for performance gains. That initial pricing makes them look great to the uninformed investor but it doesn't actually merit the products worth. Those prices, I dare say, are hindering sales potential - there are a lot of folk like me, whose price ceiling, for financial, or principled reasons was £/$700, give or take. As much as I can afford a £1200 gfx card, I voted with my wallet and said - screw that shit.
So, if you want to increase sales to the previous 'ti' generation, you drop prices. Yes, I'd buy a 2080ti for £/$700-800 - but, as soon as you lower prices, it spooks investors.

Nvidia saw a rock and a hard place and jumped right in. I've defended them a lot in the past (hey - they're a business, it's their prerogative to make money) but I really think JSH over-estimated the market demand and the fanbase for the RTX cards, at that hideous, arrogant pricing.

Well, at risk of sounding like an AMD fanboy - I say f*** 'em.
I'm in the same position. I can afford the $1,200 for the 2080 Ti but I believe it to be a rip off. I'm waiting to see what AMD will bring later this year and maybe what Intel will bring next year.

imo if Nvidia did lower the price of the 2080 Ti by a lot then it would be the same as admitting that they were drastically overcharging customers to begin with.
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#7
Robcostyle
the54thvoidRock and a hard place.

RTX cards priced too high for performance gains.
I don't get it.
Let's guess - if huang made a decent GPU for 2080 Ti with, lets say, 400% gain, giving out over 150 FPS in any title in 4K (for example) - but asked 7000$ for it - it would've been fine??
Or lets stay landed - 75% increase over current 30%, but for 2000$?
WTF folks?
Posted on Reply
#8
Unregistered
RobcostyleI don't get it.
Let's guess - if huang made a decent GPU for 2080 Ti with, lets say, 400% gain, giving out over 150 FPS in any title in 4K (for example) - but asked 7000$ for it - it would've been fine??
Or lets stay landed - 75% increase over current 30%, but for 2000$?
WTF folks?
Read again,
the54thvoidRTX cards priced too high for performance gains.
At the price it is currently, It's not worthwhile over a used 1080ti, presuming you don't own one already it's over twice the cost for 25-35% at the absolute max which is a joke 60~%+ price increase for just 25-35%~+ performance increase, if it was priced lower like a 1080ti it'd be worthwhile or it'd need a good 60-70%+~ faster to justify it at that price which many people would've done.
#9
notb
64Kimo if Nvidia did lower the price of the 2080 Ti by a lot then it would be the same as admitting that they were drastically overcharging customers to begin with.
Why would they lower the price? It sells well on current level. They most likely have enormous margins on this.
NxodusUber, WeWork, Slack, among dozens of other tech startups.
Sounds like a serious tech-savvy company, with excessive knowledge in tech.

Or... maybe just a bunch of meme investors who try to ride cheap meme trends and occasionally invest in serious companies.
You're trying hard to sound smart in a tech investing topic, but you don't know who Softbank is... :)
USD $3.6 billion seriously WTF. Sounds like they bought into the mining craze and now woke up that they were stupid.
We don't know why they sold it. It could be as simple as change in portfolio profile or structure. Sometimes investment funds have to sell a stock even when they think keeping it would be profitable (and sometimes they have to buy something despite expecting a loss).

The important thing here is that they held NVDA for a long time and earned a lot. :)
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#10
Kaotik
NxodusUber, WeWork, Slack, among dozens of other tech startups.
Sounds like a serious tech-savvy company, with excessive knowledge in tech.

Or... maybe just a bunch of meme investors who try to ride cheap meme trends and occasionally invest in serious companies.

USD $3.6 billion seriously WTF. Sounds like they bought into the mining craze and now woke up that they were stupid.

sure sweetie, it's all about Nvidia and not the mining craze. But AMD will save investors, it's such an unstoppable force even pakistani villagers are buying AMD stock
Err, no. You apparently have no idea on the size, wealth, knowledge and influence SoftBank has.
They own completely things like ARM Holding (this includes ARM itself, you know, the one that designs architecture and cores used in most mobile devices) and that neverheard inventor work shop called Boston Dynamics - yes, that's the one that has made all those incredible robot dogs and similar which can run in any terrain etc. and have majority shares in countless big companies including carriers like Sprint. And no, they're no just one of the faceless investor companies, they actually started out as a electronics shop
Posted on Reply
#11
the54thvoid
Intoxicated Moderator
@notb - Nvidias own quarterly said sales of RTX were not as they had hoped. So, no, they're not selling well.
Posted on Reply
#12
Argyr
notbYou're trying hard to sound smart in a tech investing topic, but you don't know who Softbank is... :)
Aw, thank you! I'm very smart, I know, thanks for noticing it. Softbank invests in tech startups. So Softbank basically rides the meme train. And their tech-knowledge is apparently so bad, that they decided to sell at the worst possible moment. Hell, even a few months ago they would have done better. Real insiders knew the mining craze was over 12 months ago.
Posted on Reply
#13
Recus
64Kimo if Nvidia did lower the price of the 2080 Ti by a lot then it would be the same as admitting that they were drastically overcharging customers to begin with.
AMD dropped 1920X price from $800 to $250. What it means?
Posted on Reply
#14
ArbitraryAffection
I'm surprised by how many people defend 20 series pricing, it's like they want to pay more for their hobbies?

Seems the Nvidia defence force already showed up to control the damage. :3
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#15
Argyr
ArbitraryAffectionI'm surprised by how many people defend 20 series pricing, it's like they want to pay more for their hobbies?

Seems the Nvidia defence force already showed up to control the damage. :3
I'm not defending 20 series pricing, although I got a pretty nice deal on my 2060 and its a beast of a card for that price. Anyway, people who expect the world to offer better and better products at exponentially declining prices are in for a cold shower. High-end tech thats getting cheaper with every generation is an utopian concept.

Just look at the Radeon 7 AMD card for 699. Have you seen the butthurt in the comment section of the TPU article? People really expected AMD to offer 2080 Ti tech for chump change. Stationary or increasing prices are natural and understandable in my opinion. I've been gaming on a 750 Ti for 4 years because I couldn't afford anything better. I still gamed and had lots of fun. Every manufacturer has cheaper cards
Posted on Reply
#16
Totally
ArbitraryAffectionI'm surprised by how many people defend 20 series pricing, it's like they want to pay more for their hobbies?

Seems the Nvidia defence force already showed up to control the damage. :3
To me it seems as if they have some inferiority complex and they percieve the high prices are a boundary of exclusivity in order to feel better than others. For example that twat, who wrote an open letter to nvidia when they felt that their Titan was devalued bc nvidia slashed that price on it.
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#17
ArbitraryAffection
NxodusI'm not defending 20 series pricing, although I got a pretty nice deal on my 2060 and its a beast of a card for that price. Anyway, people who expect the world to offer better and better products at exponentially declining prices are in for a cold shower. High-end tech thats getting cheaper with every generation is an utopian concept.

Just look at the Radeon 7 AMD card for 699. Have you seen the butthurt in the comment section of the TPU article? People really expected AMD to offer 2080 Ti tech for chump change. Stationary or increasing prices are natural and understandable in my opinion. I've been gaming on a 750 Ti for 4 years because I couldn't afford anything better. I still gamed and had lots of fun. Every manufacturer has cheaper cards
Huh, I guess you've made a good point. I'm going to give you a like for that :O Gonna stick with my RX 570 till Navi then I guess. *can hope*
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#19
Robcostyle
Xx Tek Tip xXor it'd need a good 60-70%+~ faster to justify it at that price which many people would've done.
THIS is what I don't get and what I've complained about - I've read your previous post carefully.
So, again - would you buy 2080 Ti for 2000$ if it proposed 100% gain over 1080 Ti?

The whole thing about pricing cards with 4 digits is ridiculous - it's not about price/perfomance. And then again, remember that for 1500$ they only propose lower tier gpu - 2500$ for "full" one (Titan rtx).
the54thvoid@notb - Nvidias own quarterly said sales of RTX were not as they had hoped. So, no, they're not selling well.
I think thye do. It's just huang whining because he hoped for brilliant sales, so he can earn another billion with those margins - but somehting went wrong, and he earns "only" couple hundreds of $M, so he should wait additional two months to purchase that villa.
NxodusHigh-end tech thats getting cheaper with every generation is an utopian concept.
My salary doesn't grow up at that rate they're increasing prices.
Posted on Reply
#20
Unregistered
RobcostyleSo, again - would you buy 2080 Ti for 2000$ if it proposed 100% gain over 1080 Ti?
In £ I presume you mean around £1,540~ and I wouldn't because I wouldn't spend any more than £1,000 on a graphics card myself, I've spent total £830~ for my 1080ti ftw3 new + a waterblock (bought the 1080ti during mining craze all new) and I would only look to the £900~ range max, however if the 2080ti was 2000$/£1540~ without a doubt it'd sell well to people who are willing to spend that amount of money since it'd be 70%~ more for 100% more power, whereas RTX offered poorer value at over twice the cost of a used 1080ti + only 25-35% when the 1080ti pulled a good 25% over the 980ti without hiking the price like mad, face it nvidia will only increase prices, back when I had owned my x58 platform you could score a high end GPU for around £200 and around £150~ on the AMD side, but in those 8-9~ years a lot has changed.
RobcostyleMy salary doesn't grow up at that rate they're increasing prices.
All that tells us is you don't want to pay the price, RTX is clearly a premium product, much like all high end products, you're paying for the absolute best with value out of the equation most of the time. People will and have bought the 2080ti, and for what they pay it's some puny gains and the pricing can't be justified as being better value than the 1080ti was, but 2080ti owners probably upgrade every generation anyways since why not if you have disposable income?
#21
FYFI13
Cool, because 400€ for low-mid tier card as RTX 2060 is a rip off. Review your strategy, green ones.
BTW, Apple did the same mistake and now can't sell new iPhones.
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#22
mtcn77
*Reality distortion field at full force*
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#23
MrGenius
Nxodussure sweetie, it's all about Nvidia and not the mining craze.
The end of the mining craze didn't kill Nvidia. Nvidia killed itself by overinvesting in the mining craze.
NxodusAw, thank you! I'm very smart...
I beg to differ.
NxodusAnd their tech-knowledge is apparently so bad, that they decided to sell at the worst possible moment. Hell, even a few months ago they would have done better. Real insiders knew the mining craze was over 12 months ago.
Like I said. Not the mining craze. How the company handled it. The end of the mining craze is not necessarily a reason you should sell your Nvidia stock. The fact the they totally screwed themselves due to it, showing their massive incompetence, is a very good reason to sell your Nvidia stock. Among other things. But in general, they've made themselves look like fools, in many and various ways recently. And people aren't turning a blind eye to it. They're wisely withdrawing their investments.
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#24
trparky
the54thvoidthere are a lot of folk like me, whose price ceiling, for financial, or principled reasons was £/$700
My price ceiling is around $400 to $500 USD. Any more than that and I won't buy it. I don't care if it comes with a lap dance, I won't buy it if it costs more than $500. I have other things that I have no other choice but to spend my money on.
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#25
Argyr
RobcostyleMy salary doesn't grow up at that rate they're increasing prices.
I feel you... but it's called inflation. Every country has a certain degree of inflation. Declining resources, new taxes, new regulations, increasing salaries in developing countries etc. deny any sort of price drops in tech. Even the National Post in my country raises prices every January despite being extremely profitable.
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