NEW YORK, Feb 23, 2026, 11:08 ET — Regular session in progress.
Oracle Corp dropped roughly 5% Monday, slipping to $140.67. Shares moved between $140.43 and $147.23 during the session. The pullback came after The Information said OpenAI’s massive $500 billion “Stargate” computing project hit a snag, citing disagreements over the project’s buildout. (The Information)
Timing is crucial here. Oracle has staked its reputation on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) as a major player in “AI infrastructure” — the underlying data centers and servers needed to train hefty models — and markets haven’t hesitated to penalize the stock over potential holdups. On Feb. 1, Oracle outlined plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in gross cash proceeds in calendar 2026 to fuel OCI expansion, splitting the total about equally between equity and equity-linked securities and a one-off bond offering. The company also cleared a new at-the-market program for up to $20 billion, allowing it to gradually sell shares directly into the market at going prices. (Oracle)
Oracle shares slid in a market already shifting into risk-off mode. U.S. equities pulled back, with pressure building on big tech and growth stocks after President Donald Trump’s fresh 15% tariff triggered renewed trade jitters. The move came on the heels of a Supreme Court decision that rolled back most of his previous tariffs. “The relief rally from Friday may be premature,” warned Thomas Hayes, who chairs Great Hill Capital LLC. Morning trading saw the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all in the red. (Reuters)
Stargate has played a central role in linking Oracle to the AI infrastructure story. Back in September, OpenAI called Stargate its main U.S. data-center initiative with Oracle and SoftBank, outlining a $500 billion, 10-gigawatt plan. “AI can only fulfill its promise if we build the compute,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said then. Oracle’s Clay Magouyrk, in the same update, talked about moves to “expand OCI’s footprint” as demand ticks up. (OpenAI)
Across the board, traders face a murky tariff picture, lacking any firm schedule or exemptions. “The tariff landscape is now more uncertain than before,” National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril told Reuters, a setup that usually knocks pricey software shares off balance first. (Reuters)
Oracle knows this pattern. Massive data-center investments drain cash upfront, but the corresponding contract income drips in over time. That mismatch tends to make shares twitchy—sometimes all it takes is a slim set of numbers.
Oracle faces stiff competition in the cloud space, where giants like Amazon and Microsoft dominate. If OpenAI-related spending shows any signs of slowing, that could easily shake broader cloud demand expectations, even when today’s spark comes from just one company.
The downside isn’t straightforward. The Information’s report isn’t a regulatory filing, and big infrastructure projects often stall, restart, or swap out partners—without necessarily shifting near-term customer usage in a linear way.
Investors are waiting to hear from Oracle or its partners, and are looking for clues on how soon Oracle moves on its planned funding options. Tariff headlines? Still the big swing factor, driving much of the recent price action.
Nvidia reports on Wednesday, Feb. 25, setting up the next major test for AI stocks. Wall Street looks to the chipmaker’s numbers for signals on data-center budgets and the speed of AI infrastructure growth. Nvidia’s stock swings tend to jolt other cloud-adjacent players, with Oracle frequently tracking those moves. (investor.nvidia.com)
