New York, January 30, 2026, 10:55 (EST) — Regular session
- Oracle shares dipped 0.5% to $168.16 in morning trading, marking a roughly 8% drop since the close on Monday
- Oracle attributed recent TikTok disruptions in the U.S. to a weather-induced power outage at one of its data centers
- The company launched a life-sciences AI data platform and confirmed that IHG has approved Oracle’s OPERA Cloud system
Oracle Corp shares dropped 0.5% to $168.16 on Friday morning, marking a continuation of their week-long decline. This came despite U.S. stock indexes showing only slight losses. The Invesco QQQ, tracking the Nasdaq-100, slipped roughly 0.4%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF edged down around 0.2%. 1
This matters because Oracle is pushing cloud capacity and fresh software into sectors where reliability is non-negotiable. That’s a hard sell when investors are skittish about the expenses tied to building and operating massive data centers.
Thursday’s market mood weighed on U.S. software stocks, which dropped amid investor doubts over whether ballooning AI budgets will deliver returns quickly. Microsoft’s earnings sparked fresh concerns about cloud growth and cost control. 2
Oracle is turning heads not only for its cloud offerings but also for where its cloud is deployed. The company plays a key role in the infrastructure behind consumer-level traffic and tightly regulated industries like health care—sectors where damage to reputation can have long-lasting effects.
Oracle confirmed earlier this week that a weather-related power outage at one of its data centers caused issues for U.S. TikTok users. “Over the weekend, an Oracle data center experienced a temporary weather-related power outage which impacted TikTok,” spokesperson Michael Egbert said in an email. TikTok’s U.S. joint venture added that while progress has been made in restoring services, some users may still encounter problems. 3
Oracle unveiled its Life Sciences AI Data Platform Thursday, touting a blend of customer and third-party data alongside over 129 million de-identified electronic health records. The platform leverages generative AI — software capable of creating text and more — plus “agentic” reasoning, which allows systems to act within workflows. “Fragmented, inconsistent data is a major barrier to progress,” said Seema Verma, an executive at Oracle Health and Life Sciences. The company plans to showcase the product at the SCOPE meeting in Orlando from Feb. 2-5. 4
The company added that IHG Hotels & Resorts has greenlit Oracle’s OPERA Cloud as its property management system throughout the Americas and EMEAA. “We are proud to deepen our longstanding collaboration with IHG,” said Alex Alt, who heads Oracle’s commercial cloud applications. 5
Traders held back despite the Friday headlines, leaving the stock in the red after dipping to an intraday low earlier on.
Oracle is targeting cloud workloads where Amazon and Microsoft currently lead, positioning itself as a database-focused option for large enterprise clients. But a brief outage involving a major customer can really test the “trust us” element of its sales message.
Oracle’s biggest worry for investors remains its spending. In December, the company warned that fiscal 2026 expenses could exceed its September forecast by $15 billion. This raised doubts about the pace at which AI-fueled demand will translate into profits. 6
Traders will be on the lookout for new developments around TikTok’s U.S. infrastructure throughout the session. Attention will also focus on Oracle’s latest moves in health care and hospitality as the SCOPE conference approaches, scheduled for Feb. 2-5.
