Oracle plans fresh job cuts and borrows billions for data centres at the same time

Oracle is preparing a fresh round of job cuts this month, according to reports by Business Insider. At the same time the group is raising sums in the tens of billions on the capital market to finance the build out of its data centres.

Individual divisions could see cuts in the double digit percentage range. Managers have been asked to name the staff affected. The aim is a reduction in personnel costs before 1 September, when the second quarter of the financial year begins. Oracle declined to comment.

The planned cuts follow a reduction that was already considerable. In the financial year that ended on 31 May the workforce shrank by 21,000 people or 13 percent to around 141,000 employees.

The short version

• Oracle is preparing a fresh round of job cuts this month, according to reports by Business Insider.
• Revenue rose 17 percent in financial year 2026 and cloud infrastructure grew 77 percent, yet the share lost almost 26 percent.
• Remaining performance obligations rose 359 percent to 455 billion dollars.

Growth and a falling share at once

The figures of the group speak for themselves. In financial year 2026 revenue rose 17 percent and the cloud infrastructure business grew 77 percent.

The share has nevertheless lost almost 26 percent this year. It last traded at 150.52 dollars after a daily loss of 3.7 percent.

There are two explanations for the decline. One is the general scepticism towards the high investment of the sector in data centres. The other is the worry that applications of artificial intelligence could reduce demand for conventional software.

Chairman Larry Ellison already pushed back against that second point at an analyst conference in March. He sees that danger for other companies but not for Oracle.

Ambitious multi year targets

What makes the company hard to value are its own targets. Management has named a path for cloud infrastructure that runs from 18 billion dollars through 32, 73 and 114 billion to 144 billion dollars in financial year 2030.

Remaining performance obligations rose 359 percent to 455 billion dollars. That figure describes the value of services already promised but not yet delivered.

Numbers like that explain why the group is investing despite the job cuts. They also explain why investors react nervously. Between a promise and a billed revenue lie capacity, power and construction time.

A new partnership with Amazon

On the business side there has been positive news lately. Oracle has widened its cloud partnership with Amazon Web Services and presented a new database offering.

In addition Oracle will, according to a joint announcement with AMD, be the first large provider to run a publicly available cluster based on the next generation of AMD graphics processors. The build out starts in the third quarter of this year with an initial 50,000 units, and further stages are planned for 2027 and beyond.

Figures expected on 8 September

The next important date is the quarterly report, which according to estimates is due on 8 September. Oracle reports on a financial year that ends in May and is therefore one quarter behind the other large cloud providers.

Analyst views are far apart. The consensus is a buy at an average price target of 260.04 dollars. Bernstein named 325 dollars in June, RBC Capital 190 dollars, and CLSA started coverage in July with a hold rating and 145 dollars.

Ahead of the quarterly figures investors have recently reduced positions. Alongside Oracle this affected several providers of security software that report in the same week.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the share fall despite strong growth

There are two explanations for the decline. One is the general scepticism towards the high investment of the sector in data centres. The other is the worry that applications of artificial intelligence could reduce demand for conventional software.

What do the remaining performance obligations tell us

They describe the value of services already promised but not yet delivered and rose 359 percent to 455 billion dollars. Between a promise and a billed revenue lie capacity, power and construction time.

When does Oracle report next

The quarterly report is expected on 8 September according to estimates. Oracle reports on a financial year that ends in May and is therefore one quarter behind the other large cloud providers.

This analysis is for information only and is not investment advice.