Oracle Shares Slide as OpenAI Data Center Delays Extend Timeline to 2028
Oracle's stock declined following reports of delays in its data center projects for OpenAI, now expected to extend into 2028. The $300 billion contract, signed this summer, mandates Oracle to supply computing power for training and running OpenAI's AI models. Despite the setback, Oracle executives remain optimistic, with the Abilene, Texas site on schedule and over 96,000 Nvidia chips already delivered.
The delay has sparked market concerns, reversing Oracle's earlier momentum. Shares had surged this year amid multibillion-dollar data center deals, briefly propelling Larry Ellison past Elon Musk as the world's richest person. However, the latest earnings report fell short of analyst expectations, raising questions about Oracle's AI infrastructure capabilities.
Oracle's cloud business continues to show robust growth, with fiscal second-quarter cloud revenue rising 34% to $7.98 billion. The company's infrastructure segment also posted gains, underscoring its dominant position in the sector. Once completed, the US data centers are poised to rank among the largest globally, reinforcing Oracle's role in powering next-generation AI.