OracleORCLBUYMar 11, 2026Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Sep 15, 2026. Market Open.
They just reported: 30% topline revenue growth, free cash flow a lot better than expected, though still negative because they're investing in the business. They did not announce new capex plans. Their current default swaps are starting to make a difference, from 215 bps a few weeks ago, and now at 181 bps. Lots to like, but shares are down because interest rates are up in recent days. You can buy on weakness now. Their capex spend will remain an overhang, though.
Hyperscaler. Ran into issues with a series of announcements that amounted to running up a bill of $80B. So then they had to get financing and raise $20B in stock issuance. Reports next week. Price target of $258, and you won't find a much longer runway. Yield is 1.35%.
(Analysts’ price target is $245.49)Generated $32B of operating cashflow last year. FCF is negative because they spent roughly $56B building AI data centres. Investors are willing to tolerate that spending because of extraordinary demand. Wouldn't expect a FCF reversal while the buildout continues, but those new data centres will produce revenue.
Rebound potential. Wait and see, earnings next week. She has only a 1/2 position now, and will see what the earnings report says.
They delivered a strong quarter yesterday. When Oracle issued debt to pay for its big data centre build-out, investors became concerned over its credit, starting last fall. However, their Q3 had many highlights: top and bottom line beat and every division except their smallest posted better than expected sales. Also, their operating margin rose over the last quarter. EPS also grew. Q4 guidance: 19-21% revenue growth, higher than expected. Meanwhile, OpenAI completed its fundraising so it can pay its bills for the short/medium term; Oracle doesn't have to worry about this in their partnership with OpenAI.