NEW YORK, Feb 2, 2026, 06:17 EST — Premarket
Oracle shares dropped 2.6% in premarket Monday after the company revealed plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion this year to boost cloud infrastructure for AI workloads. The software giant, led by billionaire Larry Ellison, intends to fund this with roughly equal parts debt and equity, including a new $20 billion at-the-market program that allows gradual share sales. This move aims to support demand from clients like AMD, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, TikTok, and xAI. The company has been under pressure following a bondholder lawsuit filed in January and a rise in its credit-default swap costs, a default insurance measure. Russ Mould of AJ Bell noted that Oracle’s fortunes now seem “tied to OpenAI,” while Jefferies analysts cautioned the plan “buys time” but may hurt margins and keep free cash flow in the red until fiscal 2029. (Reuters)
The AI trade has taken a new turn: it’s increasingly a financing story. Investors are pushing back hard whenever spending outpaces clear signs of returns.
Broader markets wobbled as well. Nasdaq 100 futures dipped roughly 0.9% earlier, pressured by CME Group’s hike in margin requirements on precious-metal contracts. A steep selloff in gold and silver spilled over into stocks, while jitters rose after Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve. Investors are bracing for a packed week of tech earnings and key U.S. data, including Monday’s manufacturing PMI and Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report. (Reuters)
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Nvidia’s effort to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI has hit a snag, with some insiders at the chipmaker raising doubts. The original deal was non-binding, the report added. Nvidia responded in an emailed statement, saying it has been OpenAI’s “preferred partner” for the past decade and looks forward to ongoing collaboration. (Reuters)
In Taipei on Saturday, Jensen Huang dismissed claims that Nvidia is growing cold on OpenAI. “We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI,” he told reporters, also commending OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. (Reuters)
Other AI-focused megacaps mostly dipped before the open: Nvidia dropped 0.7%, Microsoft lost 0.8%, and Meta slid 2.9%. Alphabet barely moved, Amazon dipped roughly 1%, and AMD took a sharper hit, down 6.1%.
Oracle’s client roster is a who’s who of the AI surge, spanning chip makers to model developers. The real issue now isn’t demand this quarter but just how much financial strain their balance sheets can handle.
That said, the situation works both ways. Should OpenAI’s fundraising stall, or if the data-center expansion loses steam, the stocks might take a quick hit. Rising borrowing costs could also trigger a swift repricing, given how much spending is front-loaded.
Traders eyeing the week ahead will focus on tech earnings for insights into cloud expansion and AI investment, while Friday’s U.S. jobs report on Feb. 6 could shed light on interest rates and risk appetite.
