Oracle's stock closes out best week since 2001 on cloud momentum

Oracle Corporation has marked an extraordinary week, with its stock experiencing the most significant rise since 2001, driven by an impressive earnings report and optimistic projections about its cloud computing ventures. Over the course of the week, shares soared nearly 24%, with the majority of the increase occurring in just two days following the release of quarterly earnings. The last time Oracle enjoyed such a remarkable week was in April 2001, a period marked by the dot-com crash and notable market fluctuations. In stark contrast to the previous quarter, where Oracle's shares plummeted by nearly 50%, the company has evolved considerably. Once perceived as a latecomer to the cloud infrastructure sector, Oracle has successfully carved out a niche for itself, experiencing rapid growth as it assists clients in managing artificial intelligence models. Joseph Bonner, an analyst from Argus Research, highlighted Oracle's current position, stating, "Oracle is in the enviable position of having more demand than it can fulfill." Bonner has advised clients to invest in Oracle shares and has raised his price target from $200 to $235. The stock reached a record high on Friday, closing at $215.22. In its recent earnings report, Oracle surpassed revenue and earnings expectations. CEO Safra Catz projected that sales for the upcoming fiscal year would exceed $67 billion, outpacing the consensus estimate of $65.18 billion from LSEG. Larry Ellison, Oracle's chairman, noted the "astronomical" demand during the earnings call, emphasizing the need for a methodical approach to scaling operations. He explained, "The reason demand continues to outstrip supply is we can only build these data centers, build these computers, so fast." As Oracle strives to catch up with its cloud competitors like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, its capital expenditures have surged. In the fiscal year 2025 alone, Oracle invested over $21 billion, surpassing the total spending from 2019 to 2024. This figure is projected to reach $25 billion in fiscal 2026, according to Catz. For comparison, Google estimates its capital spending at $75 billion this year, while Microsoft aims for $80 billion. Notably, Oracle's clientele includes major players such as Meta, OpenAI, and Elon Musk's xAI, all of which require substantial Nvidia graphics processing units for training advanced generative AI models. Additionally, startups like Baseten, Physical Intelligence, and Vast Data have also been welcomed as cloud clients this week. Ellison confidently stated, "We will build and operate more cloud infrastructure data centers than all of our cloud infrastructure competitors combined." As of now, Oracle's shares have surged by 29% in 2025, significantly outpacing the Nasdaq's less than 1% increase. Among top U.S. tech companies, only Meta has performed better this year, with a 17% rise.