New York, February 10, 2026, 16:25 EST — After-hours
Oracle climbed 2.1% to $159.87 after hours on Tuesday, trading in the lighter post-4 p.m. session. Shares hit $165.32 at their intraday peak.
Investors are scrambling to stabilize U.S. software shares after a swift pullback, with concerns swirling that generative AI might sap the pricing muscle of legacy software names. “The market is pricing in worst-case AI disruption scenarios,” according to JPMorgan strategists led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, who said such outcomes are unlikely in the coming three to six months. Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty, for her part, described the gap in valuations as “sentiment-driven, not fundamental.” 1
Oracle’s been right in the thick of that move—traders have been using it as a barometer for AI data-center demand and those heavyweight cloud deals. Shares surged 9.6% on Monday after D.A. Davidson put out an upgrade. Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services, said the software sector looked oversold, comparing it to “a stretched rubber band.” CNBC, for its part, cited comments from OpenAI’s Sam Altman suggesting fresh momentum at ChatGPT; Reuters said it couldn’t independently confirm those statements. 2
On Tuesday, Oracle rolled out new AI “agents” for its Fusion Cloud business suite, pitching them as a way to ramp up automation across supply chain operations. “As supply chains grow more complex and disruptions become more frequent, organizations need faster, more automated ways to keep operations moving,” said Chris Leone, executive vice president for applications development at Oracle. 3
Oracle rolled out fresh features for its Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing suite, targeting process manufacturing clients in regulated sectors, during an event held in Mumbai. “The latest innovations in Oracle Cloud SCM help customers adapt production in real time,” said Derek Gittoes, group vice president for SCM product management. 4
But the focus keeps snapping back to Oracle’s finances—and the eye-watering tab for expansion. Back in early February, Oracle revealed plans to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion in 2026, targeting more cloud infrastructure. The company expects about half of that haul will come through equity and equity-linked deals, including an at-the-market program that could see up to $20 billion in stock sold gradually. Management says the extra muscle is needed to fulfill existing contracts with heavyweight Oracle Cloud Infrastructure clients—think AMD, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, TikTok, and xAI. 5
Analysts can’t seem to agree. On Monday, Melius Research cut Oracle to “hold” from “buy,” holding the price target steady at $160. The firm criticized Oracle’s lack of cash generation and pointed to mounting competition from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. 6
Bulls face a clear risk here: building out those data centers could drag on, cost more, and outlast the market’s patience—or its appetite for footing the bill. Should appetite for rented compute pull back or clients hesitate before locking in, Oracle might have to ramp up borrowing or tap equity markets more than investors bargained for.
Oracle finds itself up against cloud giants—Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Alphabet’s Google Cloud—as it works to persuade clients that Oracle Cloud Infrastructure can actually handle demanding AI workloads. The heavyweight competitors? They’ve got deeper pockets and more patience to wait for returns.
Regular trading wrapped up, so attention shifted to the delayed U.S. payrolls report scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11, followed by Friday, Feb. 13’s consumer price index reading—both seen as potential triggers for interest-rate moves that could jolt pricey tech names. As for Oracle, the focus now lands squarely on whether this two-day rebound sticks. Investors want more than signed contracts; they’re watching for proof that demand for AI-driven cloud actually translates to real revenue.
