Oracle has emerged as a standout performer among large-cap tech stocks this year, trailing only Nvidia in gains, as Larry Ellison’s cloud-centric strategy has propelled the company forward. Following a strong earnings report last week, Oracle’s stock surged 11% and reached a record high of $157.10, marking a 49% increase year-to-date. This puts it ahead of Meta and behind only Nvidia, which has skyrocketed by 136% on the back of the AI boom.
While other legacy tech firms like Intel and Cisco struggle, Oracle’s cloud business, particularly in infrastructure and databases, has driven double-digit gains in each quarterly report this year. Oracle’s revenue for the latest quarter grew 8% year-over-year to $13.31 billion, and CEO Safra Catz projects growth between 8% and 10% for the current period. This marks a significant shift for the company, which has typically seen single-digit growth in recent years, except for a standout 18% rise in fiscal 2023.
Larry Ellison, who recently turned 80, remains the biggest beneficiary of Oracle’s stock surge. With a net worth of $192 billion, Ellison is now the third-richest person in the world, closing in on Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Ellison owns over 40% of Oracle’s stock and has continued to emphasize the importance of AI and cloud partnerships as growth drivers. Oracle has been forging closer ties with competitors like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and Google, including recent partnerships to integrate Oracle’s database software into AWS infrastructure.
Despite its cloud infrastructure business still lagging behind AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud in market share, Oracle’s 45% year-over-year growth in the segment has fueled optimism among investors. The company’s ongoing CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas has further showcased its plans to strengthen cloud offerings and position itself as a significant player in the AI and cloud markets.
Ellison also hinted at future innovations, notably his intention to eliminate passwords, calling them “utterly ridiculous” and insecure. His vision involves more secure biometric log-ins, reflecting Oracle’s broader push into AI-driven technologies.
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