New York, Jan 28, 2026, 18:37 (EST) — After-hours
- Oracle slipped 1.2% during regular trading but ticked up slightly after the bell
- The company pointed to a weather-related power outage at an Oracle data center as the cause of U.S. TikTok disruptions
- Investors are now focused on whether service stability holds and when the next earnings report will drop
Oracle shares dropped 1.2% to close at $172.80 on Wednesday, then recovered slightly in after-hours trading, rising about 0.2% to $173.19. The company attributed the hiccup to a weather-induced power outage at one of its data centers, which caused technical problems for U.S. TikTok users.
The stakes are high since Oracle’s cloud computing pitch hinges on uptime. A single outage affecting a major consumer platform could spark wider concerns over reliability, especially as investors grow wary of the expenses tied to expanding capacity for AI workloads.
Macro factors played a role too. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate steady between 3.50% and 3.75%. Chair Jerome Powell noted the economy had once again “surprised” with its resilience, while the Fed maintained a wait-and-see stance. “We expect the Federal Reserve to remain on an extended pause,” said Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, following the announcement. Reuters
Oracle attributed the TikTok disruptions to a “temporary weather-related power outage” at one of its data centers over the weekend, spokesperson Michael Egbert said in an email. He added that Oracle and TikTok are collaborating to fix the “technical issues” that arose after a winter storm swept through parts of the U.S. Reuters
The TikTok USDS joint venture reported “significant progress” in restoring its U.S. infrastructure alongside its data center partner, though users might still experience glitches, including problems posting new content, according to Reuters. The joint venture also confirmed Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX each own 15% stakes, with other investors holding the remainder and ByteDance maintaining a minority share. Reuters
Oracle’s shares slipped behind some of its big-cap tech rivals on Wednesday, even as trading volume picked up. The stock finished at $172.80, with about 35.4 million shares changing hands—well above its 50-day average of roughly 27.2 million, per MarketWatch data. Still, the stock remains about 50% off its 52-week peak of $345.72, reached on Sept. 10.
Oracle has been viewed as a high-beta play tied to corporate cloud investment and the AI rollout, with investors reacting sharply to news on costs and delivery schedules. Its December quarterly forecast fell short of Wall Street expectations, while the company raised its fiscal 2026 capital spending plan by $15 billion. That increase sparked fresh concerns over margins and how it plans to fund the expansion.
There’s a downside risk that doesn’t need much to ignite it. If outages keep happening or customers grow wary of Oracle’s service reliability, the company could stumble against cloud giants like Microsoft and Amazon, who boast scale and stability. The stock has also reacted sharply to legal and financing news linked to its AI expansion, including a bondholder lawsuit revealed earlier this month.
Traders are gearing up for more updates on TikTok’s service normalization and whether the outage triggers additional scrutiny. The market is also weighing the Fed’s latest signals alongside a busy slate of tech earnings. Oracle plans to release its fiscal third-quarter results in mid-March, with estimates pointing to around March 9, though the company hasn’t officially confirmed the date.
