SoftBank’s Vision Fund, which oversees the world’s biggest tech-focused investment funds, admitted nearly $10 billion in investment losses last quarter, after being burned by tear-inducing stock dips from the likes of DoorDash, Chinese AI firm SenseTime, and Indonesian e-commerce company GoTo. But SoftBank had an ace up its sleeve: the firm auctioned off a big chunk of its stake in Alibaba, which brought in enough cash to turn a $20-billion profit – that’s a pretty nifty cheat code, and it prompted a quick turnaround from its record loss the quarter before.

The bigger picture: 
SoftBank’s been using some of that sweet Alibaba cash to fund share buybacks, which have helped push its share price up 40% since the start of this quarter. In fact, the speed of the buybacks has sparked rumors that the founder might be leading a management buyout of the firm. That could be a savvy move too: taking the firm private would let SoftBank sidestep the limelight and focus all its energies on boosting performance.