Operator
Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the ASML 2021 Second Quarter Financial Results Conference Call on July 21, 2021. Throughout the call throughout today s introduction, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. After ASML s introduction, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. I d like to now to open the I ll now hand the floor to our speakers. [Operator Instructions]
I d like to now turn the conference call over to Mr. Skip Miller. Please begin your meeting.
Skip Miller
Vice President of Investor Relations
All right. Thank you, operator. Welcome, everyone. This is Skip Miller, Vice President of Investor Relations at ASML. Joining me today on the call is ASML s CEO, Peter Wennink; and our CFO, Roger Dassen.
As the world’s biggest tech investor was ravaged by the pandemic, its founder saw opportunities. A year on. Masayoshi Son looks to have been vindicated.
Masayoshi Son rises again as SoftBank vision delivers winning streak
Will the investor’s success inspire others to throw even greater sums at tech start-ups?
10 April 2021 • 12:00pm
Winning formula: Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp has a reputation for investing heavily in wilder tech bets
Credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
Masayoshi Son had been here before. As the early months of the coronavirus pandemic pummelled global stock markets, the multibillion-dollar bets that SoftBank had placed had gone south.
The numbers were staggering. In May, the Japanese conglomerate, the world’s biggest tech investor, posted its deepest ever loss, the first time it had failed to make an annual profit in 15 years. The Vision Fund, Son’s $99bn (£72bn) vehicle for much of SoftBank’s riskier ventures, lost $17.7bn alone.