SoftBank Group overtook Toyota Motor as Japan’s most valuable company on Monday, marking a milestone for the global artificial intelligence boom and a dramatic reshuffling of the country’s corporate hierarchy.
Shares of the Masayoshi Son-led technology group climbed 14% in Tokyo trading, pushing its market capitalization past Toyota’s for the first time in more than two decades. The feat was last achieved only briefly during the peak of Japan’s internet bubble in 2000, based on market value including treasury shares.
The rally has propelled SoftBank shares up more than 90% this year, pushing the company’s market value above ¥48 trillion, higher than Toyota’s around ¥46 trillion. Toyota shares, by contrast, have fallen more than 10% this year.
