Oracle stock jumps 5% as cloud provider joins investor group to run TikTok's U.S. business

Oracle's stock experienced a notable surge of approximately 5% on Friday, following the announcement that the cloud computing giant has joined a consortium of investors to oversee TikTok's operations in the United States. In a message to employees on Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew revealed that the U.S. segment of the popular social media platform will be managed through a joint venture that includes Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi-based MGX. The transaction is anticipated to be finalized by January 22, marking a significant milestone for both Oracle and TikTok. This strategic agreement is crucial in preventing a ban on TikTok, especially after President Joe Biden enacted legislation mandating the divestiture of the company's U.S. operations due to national security issues. Former President Donald Trump had previously extended the deadline for a resolution multiple times and issued an executive order in September, which laid the groundwork for a divestment plan involving ByteDance, TikTok's parent company based in China. As part of this arrangement, Oracle will take on the responsibility of auditing and ensuring that TikTok adheres to the established National Security Terms. Furthermore, Oracle's cloud infrastructure will store sensitive data pertinent to U.S. users. For Oracle, this partnership comes amid a tumultuous 2025, which saw its shares decline earlier this week due to stalled negotiations over a $10 billion data center deal with Blue Owl Capital. This development has intensified concerns surrounding the ambitious and potentially precarious funding strategies tied to the artificial intelligence data center expansion. Despite recent fluctuations, Oracle's shares have risen by 8% this year, though they have retracted over 20% in the past month.