FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Oracle's Core Database Business Poised For Solid Quarterly Performance, BofA Says

By
Oracle's Core Database Business Poised For Solid Quarterly Performance, BofA Says

Oracle's (ORCL) core database business is expected to show strong performance in its fiscal fourth quarter, while the company's capital expenditures are likely to stay elevated amid the ongoing data center buildout, BofA Securities said Tuesday.

The cloud computing company is scheduled to report results after the closing bell Wednesday. BofA expects non-GAAP earnings of $1.98 a share on revenue of $19.07 billion for the quarter. Wall Street is looking for $1.97 and $19.09 billion, respectively, according to the brokerage.

"We continue to expect solid performance from Oracle's core database business, which grew 35% (year over year) and multi-cloud database revenue up 531% (year over year) in (the third quarter), as it provides a stable foundation for free cash flow generation, supported in part by strategic partnerships announced during the quarter with Amazon (AMZN) and [Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL)] Google," BofA analyst Tal Liani said in a note to clients Tuesday.

Oracle's results will likely show a sequential acceleration in cloud revenue growth as additional data center capacity becomes available, converting some of the company's backlog -- or remaining performance obligations -- into additional revenue, according to the brokerage.

BofA raised its price target on the Oracle stock to $240 from $200, while reiterating its buy rating.

The company's shares were down 6.3% in Tuesday afternoon trade. The stock has increased 1.6% so far in 2026.

Oracle's capital expenditures are expected to remain elevated, with the metric seen growing 21% to $11 billion in the fourth quarter and 36% to $68.3 billion in 2027, as the company continues to invest aggressively in data center capacity to meet its backlog commitments and overall demand for compute, according to BofA.

"While these trends reinforce underlying demand and ecosystem expansion, we do not expect core strength alone to offset the near-term impact of elevated capex on free cash flow," Liani said.

BofA said it's focused on Oracle's potential remarks around its $20 billion at-the-market equity program announced earlier this year. The brokerage expects the company to need to raise an additional $35 billion over the next few years "given the cost intensity nature of the (data center) buildout," Liani said.

Price: $198.12, Change: $-13.70, Percent Change: -6.47%

Related Articles

Australian Consumer Sentiment 'Deeply Pessimistic' as Cost-of-Living Pressures Mount
US Markets

Australian Consumer Sentiment 'Deeply Pessimistic' as Cost-of-Living Pressures Mount

Australian consumers continued to show deep pessimism in June, beaten by cost-of-living pressures, while the recent fuel excise tax cut gave little relief to struggling consumers.The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell 2.9% to 80.6, among the weakest figures in the 50-year history of the survey, with pessimists beating optimists by 20% in numbers."Australian consumers are clearly bracing for more bad news on the financial front," said Matthew Hassan, Westpac's head of Australian macro-forecasting.Recent data seems to be in line with the comment, as Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in April, up from 4.3% in March, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed recently.Also, the gross domestic product rise of 0.3% in the March quarter shows that growth over the course of the year will be at a soft pace, ANZ said last week, adding that it expects a further weakening in real income growth over the year.The Reserve Bank of Australia also expects gross domestic product growth to slow this year under the weight of higher interest rates and the Middle East conflict, with unemployment forecast to rise over the coming year but remain below pre-pandemic levels.Hassan said the central bank is likely to hold interest rates at its meeting next week after three consecutive rate hikes, though further increases are still expected in future meetings.

$^AXJO
South Korea's First-Quarter GDP Rises 3.8% Year Over Year on Chip Surge
US Markets

South Korea's First-Quarter GDP Rises 3.8% Year Over Year on Chip Surge

South Korea's economy expanded 3.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the Bank of Korea.The latest print accelerated from 1.6% growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, beating the consensus forecast of 3.6% tracked by Investing.com.On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the Bank of Korea revised its advance estimate upward by 0.1 percentage point to 1.8%, rebounding from a 0.1% contraction in the previous quarter. The quarterly figure also topped the consensus forecast of 1.7%.The latest data confirmed a semiconductor-led surge that the Bank of Korea reported in its advance estimate in April. Major players in the semiconductor field include Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) and SK Hynix (KRX:000660).Exports of goods and services rose 11.8% year over year in the first quarter, significantly faster than the 4.6% jump in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the latest data.Imports of goods and services likewise jumped 8.5% from a year earlier in Q1, also accelerating from the 3.9% increase in Q4 2025.Elsewhere, manufacturing output climbed 7.2% year over year, versus the 2.4% increase in Q4 2025. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector rose 3.5% in Q1 from a year earlier, reversing the 0.5% dip in Q4 2025.Output from the electricity, gas and water supply sector contracted for the fourth straight quarter in Q1, dropping 5% after the 4.4% slide in Q4 2025.On the expenditure side, private consumption rose 2.7% year over year in Q1 after growing 2.4% in Q4 2025, while government spending jumped 3.1%, slowing from the 3.6% expansion previously.ING Think Senior Economist for South Korea, Min Joo Kang, wrote in an April 23 note that growth is expected to slow in the second quarter."We expect strong chip momentum to continue, but also a slowdown in 2Q26 growth as energy disruptions affect activity across petrochemicals and other manufacturing sectors.""The Korean government implemented a temporary export ban on Naphtha, and Korean companies increased oil and gas imports from outside the Middle East. Despite these measures, manufacturing activity still cannot be sustained at full capacity," Min added.Meanwhile, Stephen Lee, an economist at Meritz Securities in Seoul, expects stronger export momentum in the third quarter and export growth of around 50% for the full year."It is truly an unprecedented pace, raising market expectations again and again and ​exceeding them again and again," Lee was quoted by Reuters as saying last week.The Bank of Korea recently raised its economic growth forecast for the country to 2.6% this year from its previous 2% growth outlook, citing the semiconductor boom.BOK Governor Shin Hyun-song expects strong exports to contribute 0.7 percentage points to the country's GDP growth in 2026, Yonhap reported May 28, citing a press conference.

$^KOSDAQ$^KS11$KRX:000660$KRX:005930
Tech-Heavy Nasdaq Snaps 3-Day Losing Streak
US Markets

Tech-Heavy Nasdaq Snaps 3-Day Losing Streak

The Nasdaq Composite rose Monday following a three-day slump, buoyed by the technology sector's rebound.The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 25,929.7, while the S&P 500 added 0.3% to 7,405.5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% to 50,786.01, closing lower for a second consecutive session. Most sectors were in the red, led by utilities, while tech paced the gainers with a 1.5% rise.Chipmaker Intel (INTC) climbed 11%, the top performer on the S&P 500, followed by Micron Technology (MU), which jumped 9.9%. Cisco Systems (CSCO) rose 2.1%, the best performer on the Dow. Nvidia gained 1.7%.The tech sector shed 5.8% on Friday."In our view, volatility in technology stocks is likely to continue, although the (artificial intelligence) investment boom appears robust," D.A. Davidson said in a report on Monday. "We continue to expect a broadening of gains supporting sector diversification in portfolios."Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google and Nvidia (NVDA) have turned to Intel as a backup manufacturer for their most advanced processors as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) struggles to meet overwhelming demand, The Information reported, citing unnamed sources.Taiwan Semiconductor shares were up 2.8%.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.8% at $91.22 a barrel in Monday late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 1.2% to $94.22, but both benchmarks were off session highs.Iran and Israel suspended strikes against each other. However, Tehran vowed to resume attacks if Israel continues to target Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to a CNBC report.Israel and Iran were looking for an "immediate" ceasefire, US President Donald Trump said Monday."Overall, the situation remains fragile, and for the oil market, the status quo holds: global inventories continue to draw, with analysts increasingly convinced that inventories will reach dangerously low levels by the end of June (if not sooner)," Tudor Pickering Holt Analyst Matt Portillo said in a note.US Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate last up four basis points at 4.56%, and the two-year rate rising 1.9 basis points to 4.17%.In economic news, US consumers' short-term inflation expectations decreased in May, while the labor market outlook "deteriorated somewhat," a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed Monday.Gold was down 0.2% at $4,358.50 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 0.9% to $68.50 per ounce.

$^DJI$^IXIC$^SPX$CSCO$GOOG$GOOGL$INTC$MU$NVDA$TSM