Oracle's AI investment and job cuts push shares down 3% amid $638 bn backlog growth

Oracle Corp. reported a market capitalization of under $500 billion after its stock fell about 3% to $152 during Thursday trading, with volume 31% above its average. The company highlighted a $638 billion backlog, up 363% year‑over‑year, driven largely by a multi‑year OpenAI cloud‑computing contract worth roughly $300 billion.

In its fiscal fourth quarter, Oracle posted 21% revenue growth year‑over‑year, with cloud infrastructure sales soaring 93% and accounting for about 30% of total revenue. The firm plans to spend $70 billion on AI‑related capital expenditures this fiscal year, while cutting roughly 13% of its workforce—about 21,000 jobs—over the past year.

Analyst sentiment was mixed: some raised price targets and maintained buy ratings, citing the strong backlog and AI demand, while others warned about heavy spending, restructuring pressure, and potential dilution. Oracle also announced new defense‑related AI partnerships and a collaboration extending AI into surgical workflows.