Oracle Shares Surge 36% on Record Cloud Backlog, Adding $244 Billion in Market Value

Oracle Stock Rockets on Historic Cloud Backlog and AI Demand

Oracle’s shares surged 35.95% on Wednesday, delivering the company’s strongest single-day performance since 1992 and adding $244 billion to its market valuation, which now stands at $922 billion. The stock rally followed the company’s announcement of a staggering $455 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), representing a 359% increase compared to the previous year.

This record backlog significantly exceeded Wall Street expectations, with analysts anticipating approximately $180 billion in RPO. Ben Reitzes, head of technology research at Melius Research, described the figure as “a very historic kind of print,” underscoring the magnitude of the cloud demand.

AI Infrastructure and Nvidia Partnership Propel Growth

Oracle’s robust cloud infrastructure business has been a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom. The company’s access to Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs), essential for running large-scale AI workloads, has positioned Oracle as a key player in the competitive cloud market alongside Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

Founder Larry Ellison’s net worth increased by $100 billion following the stock surge, with Bloomberg briefly naming him the world’s richest person, surpassing Tesla CEO Elon Musk. However, Forbes’s rankings, last updated before the market close, still listed Musk as the wealthiest individual.

Ambitious Cloud Revenue Projections

Oracle projects its cloud infrastructure revenue to reach $18 billion in fiscal 2026, with forecasts anticipating growth to $32 billion, $73 billion, $114 billion, and $144 billion over the subsequent four years. These ambitious targets reflect the company’s confidence in its expanding role as an AI infrastructure provider.

Strong Analyst Endorsements

Market analysts expressed astonishment at Oracle’s results. Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson described the numbers as “absolutely staggering,” while Wells Fargo analysts called the report a “momentous confirmation” of the AI investment thesis.

Deutsche Bank analysts praised the results as “truly awesome,” reaffirming their buy rating and raising the price target from $240 to $335. They noted that few quarterly reports in nearly two decades match Oracle’s current performance in both scale and strategic clarity.

Bank of America upgraded Oracle’s stock from neutral to buy, highlighting the company’s “exceptional backlog” as evidence of its critical role as an AI enabler. The bank acknowledged ongoing debates over AI workload profitability but affirmed Oracle’s ability to capture share in the rapidly growing AI infrastructure market.

Mixed Q1 Financial Results

Despite the cloud backlog and optimistic forecasts, Oracle’s fiscal first-quarter results were somewhat underwhelming. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.47 per share, narrowly missing the $1.48 consensus estimate. Revenue totaled $14.93 billion, slightly below the expected $15.04 billion.

Nevertheless, the cloud infrastructure outlook and AI-driven demand have overshadowed these short-term misses, fueling investor enthusiasm and a significant re-rating of Oracle’s stock.

— Reporting by CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this article.