New York, February 12, 2026, 11:01 EST — Regular session
- Oracle shares slipped early, despite the company highlighting new U.S. federal cloud contracts.
- OCI is back in the spotlight, after snagging a new Air Force Cloud One task order and being tapped for a CMS migration.
- Friday’s U.S. inflation data is on traders’ radar, as is Oracle’s approach to financing its cloud expansion.
Oracle stock edged down 0.5% to $156.36 Thursday, even as the company announced a fresh cloud deal with the U.S. Air Force. The win adds to Oracle’s recent string of high-profile contracts, but hasn’t sparked sustained gains for the shares. During the session, the price moved between $154.92 and $159.10.
Investors are watching Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) for evidence the company can translate hefty contracts into steady revenue—without letting margins take a hit. Government deals tend to stick around, but the pace can drag.
Thursday saw markets still glued to interest rates and funding costs, with all eyes turning to Friday’s U.S. consumer price index release. One analyst pointed out that if inflation comes in softer, hopes for rate cuts could hang on.
Oracle has landed an $88 million firm-fixed-price task order from the Department of the Air Force for OCI services tied to the Cloud One program, locking in the price at the start. “Defense customers can confidently advance their most critical missions,” said Kim Lynch, executive vice president for Government, Defense & Intelligence at Oracle. PR Newswire
Oracle announced a day ago that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services picked OCI to help shift certain on-premises workloads in a broader modernization effort. According to the company, the agency plans to deploy Oracle’s FedRAMP High-authorized cloud, which meets U.S. government security benchmarks for sensitive data. No financial details were provided.
There was new insider action too. Oracle CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk disclosed the sale of 10,000 shares, with a weighted average price landing at $155.2318, according to a filing.
The decline extended beyond just the stock. Microsoft slipped roughly 0.6%, same as Salesforce, while Amazon lost over 2% during the morning session.
Despite the big contract news, Oracle still faces the issue of how it’ll fund expansion. Management is aiming to bring in $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026, tapping both debt and equity to build out more cloud infrastructure. Part of that is an at-the-market stock plan that could reach as high as $20 billion.
Still, there are risks on the other side. Fixed-price deals can squeeze margins if expenses rise, and it often takes a while for federal cloud contracts to boost revenue. There’s also a legal cloud: Levi & Korsinsky announced this week it’s alerting Oracle shareholders to a securities class action, with a lead plaintiff deadline set for April.
Traders now turn to Friday’s CPI report for cues on rates. Oracle is also on their radar for possible updates: financing details, cloud build-out plans, or fresh news on big customer contracts.
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