Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) shares fell over 1% in pre-market trading Tuesday after the software company posted fiscal third-quarter results that missed Wall Street estimates. Despite the miss, the executives expressed optimism, pointing to surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) solutions as a catalyst for growth in the next fiscal year.
The tech giant reported quarterly revenue of $14.1 billion, representing a 6% increase compared to the previous year, but it fell just shy of the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings reached $4.2 billion, or $1.47 per share, up from $3.98 billion, or $1.41 per share, a year ago. However, the figures missed estimates.
The company also announced a 25% hike in its quarterly dividend, lifting it from 40 cents to 50 cents per share.
Executives Bet on AI Boom
CEO Safra Catz expects a robust 15% revenue growth in fiscal 2026, which begins in June. She highlighted major cloud deals with AI heavyweights like Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Meta (NASDAQ: META), OpenAI, and xAI as a cornerstone of that growth.
Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison echoed her confidence, noting that Oracle is set to double its data center capacity by the end of this calendar year. “Customer demand is at record levels,” Ellison said. He added that the company is integrating high-profile AI models—such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, xAI’s Grok, and Meta’s Llama—into the latest version of the Oracle Database.
The company’s AI push extends beyond its own operations. In January, Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) teamed up with OpenAI and SoftBank to launch Stargate, a joint venture focused on building AI infrastructure in the U.S. The partners pledged an initial $100 billion, with plans to invest up to $500 billion over the next four years.
