[U: Now Down 12%] Better At Bottom Line -- But Long-Term Lower Top Line Growth: Oracle Q4 2026 Results Call... Will Need Added $20 Billion To Finance AI Biz...

The good news is that the other business lines are generating healthy free cash flow -- but the amount of cap ex needed, to build out the AI centers. . . is daunting -- to say the least.

And it comes at a moment of higher than 4% inflation, and very uncertain economic conditions, given the insanity playing out daily, in Iran -- and in Israel. Thus, the stock is off almost 9% after hours. Here's the latest, from CNBC:

. . .Oracle reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday while also raising its profit forecast for the year. The stock dropped 6% in extended trading as the company plans to raise more money to finance its AI buildout.

Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:

Earnings per share: $2.11 adjusted vs. $1.96 expected

Revenue: $19.18 billion vs. $19.10 billion expected

Revenue increased 21% year over year in the quarter. . . .

Oracle said it foresees raising $40 billion through debt and equity financing, including a $20 billion share sale it announced earlier. That’s after raising $43 billion in debt and $5 billion in equity in fiscal 2026, a move that concerned investors due to uncertainty about whether demand for artificial intelligence can justify that much new capital. . . .

We shall -- as ever. . . have to wait and see. Yikes -- still a good historical quarter -- but stocks trade on the future prospects. And the daunting cap ex needed is spooking Wall & Broad.

To be certain, this is no longer a stodgy, slow go hardware/server company. Wow -- and that's both the good-, AND bad-. . . news.

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