Reviewing SoftBank Group (SFTBF) and The Competition

SoftBank Group (OTCMKTS:SFTBF) is one of 156 publicly-traded companies in the “Telecom Services” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare SoftBank Group to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for SoftBank Group and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SoftBank Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
SoftBank Group Competitors	943	2894	5107	164	2.49

As a group, “Telecom Services” companies have a potential upside of 65.58%. Given SoftBank Group’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SoftBank Group has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares SoftBank Group and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SoftBank Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
SoftBank Group Competitors	-12.02%	-13.36%	0.79%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

25.0% of SoftBank Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.3% of shares of all “Telecom Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 30.6% of shares of all “Telecom Services” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

SoftBank Group pays an annual dividend of $31.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 70.0%. SoftBank Group pays out 5.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Telecom Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 16.4% and pay out 43.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. SoftBank Group is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SoftBank Group and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
SoftBank Group	N/A	N/A	0.08
SoftBank Group Competitors	$791.15 billion	$821.75 million	-151.72

SoftBank Group’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than SoftBank Group. SoftBank Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

About SoftBank Group

SoftBank Group Corp. provides telecommunication services in Japan and internationally. It operates through Investment Business of Holding Companies, SoftBank Vision Funds, SoftBank, Arm, and Other segments. The company offers mobile communications and solutions to enterprise customers, and broadband services to retail customers; and sells mobile devices and software tools, as well as related services. It also provides internet advertising and e-commerce services; payment and financial services; ICT services products to enterprise customers; and communication device-related products and IoT equipment to retail customers. In addition, the company engages in design of microprocessor intellectual property and related technology; alternative investment management; ownership of professional baseball team; operation of baseball games; management and maintenance of baseball stadium and other sports facilities; distribution of video, voice, and data content via media businesses. Further, it engages in the certification services, security solutions, and Linux / OSS businesses; operation of comprehensive IT information site ITmedia; sale of indirect materials such as consumable supplies; facility management; planning and operation of fashion e-commerce website; operational support of brands' own e-commerce website; operation of fashion coordination app; management of few funds; generation of electricity from renewable energy sources; and supply and sale of electricity. The company was formerly known as SoftBank Corp. and changed its name to SoftBank Group Corp. in July 2015. SoftBank Group Corp. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.