Oracle Has Turned Into a Net Debt Heavy, Free Cash Flow Burning Enterprise

Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA On December 10, Oracle (ORCL) reported second quarter fiscal 2026 results that were mixed, with revenue missing the consensus forecast, but non-GAAP earnings per share exceeding expectations. Total quarterly revenues were up 14% in USD, and up 13% in constant currency. Second quarter remaining performance obligations (RPO) were $523 billion, up 438% in USD. Cloud revenue (IaaS plus SaaS) was up 34% in USD and 33% in constant currency. Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS) revenue was up 68% in USD and 66% in constant currency, while Cloud Application (SaaS) revenue was up 11% in both USD and constant currency. Non-GAAP earnings per share was up 54%, to $2.26. Management had the following to say about the … Read more

Thinking Slow: 3 Research Blind Spots That Changed the Investment World

Dear members: — Daniel Kahneman in his text Thinking, Fast and Slow (1) divided the human psyche into two systems. The first system is instinctive and emotional, often set on autopilot, while the second system is slower and more logical, requiring a calculating conscious. Many of the maxims the investment world takes for granted today suffer from conclusions that are made rapidly, almost without thinking, driven by our first system, creating what I call research blind spots. — In World War II, Allied bombing raids were suffering from very high casualty rates. It was estimated that for those pilots that were flying at the beginning of the war, only about 10% survived, a terrible loss rate. Bombing was crucial to the Allied … Read more

Shares of Dividend Growth Idea Oracle Surge!

Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA On September 9, Oracle (ORCL) reported fiscal first quarter 2026 results that came in below expectations, but the firm’s remaining performance obligations surged 359% year-over-year in both USD and constant currency, to $455 billion. Total revenue in the quarter was up 12% in USD and 11% in constant currency. Cloud revenues (IaaS plus SaaS) were up 27% in constant currency, to $7.2 billion, in the quarter. Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS) revenue increased 54% in constant currency, while Cloud Application (SaaS) revenue increased 10% in constant currency. Sales of Fusion Cloud ERP (SaaS) were up 16% in constant currency in the quarter, while sales of NetSuite Cloud ERP (SaaS) were up 15% in constant currency. … Read more

Oracle Expects Accelerated Growth in Fiscal 2026

Image: Oracle’s shares have broken out to new all-time highs. By Brian Nelson, CFA On June 11, Oracle (ORCL) reported better than expected fourth quarter fiscal 2025 results with revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share exceeding the consensus forecasts. Total revenue was up 11% in the quarter, while the company posted non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.70, up from $1.63 in last year’s quarter and better than the consensus forecast of $1.64. Non-GAAP operating income was $7.0 billion, up 5% in USD and up 4% in constant currency. Fourth quarter remaining performance obligations jumped 41%, to $138 billion. Operating cash flow was $20.8 billion during fiscal year 2025, up 12% in USD. Management had the following to say about the … Read more

3 Undervalued Stocks to Consider Buying Now

Dear readers:   With the markets retracing most of their recent drawdown, we’re taking a victory lap as we didn’t panic, nor should have you. We highlighted our wait-and-see approach amidst the worst of the pullback, and we expect the Magnificent 7 (large cap growth and big cap tech) to continue to propel the markets higher, as they have done.   We’ve been busy rolling valuation models as we finetune our assumptions for a great number of companies under coverage. While doing so, we came across three undervalued stocks that are also included in the simulated newsletter portfolios. We think they’re prime for highlight.   The three stocks are UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOG). We spend a lot of time on discounted cash-flow valuation, … Read more

Magnificent 7 Earnings Reports Not Bad Thus Far

By Brian Nelson, CFA   Shortly after Trump’s Liberation Day, where the President unveiled lofty tariffs on numerous countries, we released our wait-and-see outlook for the equity markets, which thus far has proven to be the right move, with the markets largely recovering from the depths reached in April. The S&P 500 (SPY), for example, is down just 3.3% year-to-date, excluding dividends.   A lot has happened since Liberation Day, including easing of tariffs to a 10% baseline for most, if not all, countries, with the key exception of China, where tariffs remain extremely elevated and prohibitive. Many countries are now reportedly negotiating trade agreements with the White House, and we expect China to be added to that list soon, even if … Read more

Trump Tariffs Higher than Expected; What We’re Doing

By Brian Nelson, CFA The Trump tariff increases came in larger than what we were expecting, and it remains to be seen how they will flow through the global economy, as we monitor potential retaliatory tariffs from other countries. As it relates to the equity markets, we’re taking a wait and see approach at the moment as we monitor new policy changes related to trade, immigration, fiscal (tax), and regulations. In short, we’re not overreacting to the sell off as we won’t have a great handle on the tariff impact to companies for a few quarters when they report results post-tariff increases. That said, we’re expecting continued market volatility, with meaningful risk to the downside, before trade uncertainty alleviates in … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of March 14

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending March 14. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week                          Acer (ACEYY): now NT 1.70 per share annual dividend, was NT 1.60. Afya (AFYA): now R$1.348923 pare share dividend. Aker Carbon Capture (AKRCY): now NOK 4.82 per share dividend. Altius Minerals Corporation (ALS:CA): now CAD 0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.08. Annaly Capital Management (NLY): now $0.70 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.65. Applied Materials (AMAT): now $0.46 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

Oracle Raises Dividend 25%

Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA Oracle (ORCL) reported third quarter fiscal 2025 results March 10 that missed the consensus estimates, but a strong Remaining Performance Obligation number and a dividend raise were enough for investors. Total revenue increased 6% in USD and 8% in constant currency for the fiscal third quarter. GAAP earnings per share advanced 20% year-over-year, while non-GAAP earnings per share increased 4%, to $1.47. Total Remaining Performance Obligations jumped 62% in USD (up 63% in constant currency), to $130 billion. Management was upbeat about its outlook: Oracle signed sales contracts for more than $48 billion in Q3. This record sales number pushed our Remaining Performance Obligations, or RPO, up 63% to over $130 billion. We … Read more

Oracle’s Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) Growth Speaks to Accelerated Expansion

Image Source: Oracle By Brian Nelson, CFA On December 9, Oracle (ORCL) reported lower than expected second quarter fiscal 2025 results with revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share coming in lower than the consensus forecasts. Total revenue was up 9% year-over-year in both USD and constant currency, while GAAP earnings per share increased 24% and non-GAAP earnings per share advanced 10%, to $1.47. Cloud services and license support revenues increased 12% year-over-year in both USD and constant currency, while cloud license and on-premise license revenue nudged up 1% in USD and 3% in constant currency. Management’s commentary was upbeat in the press release: Record level AI demand drove Oracle Cloud Infrastructure revenue up 52% in Q2, a much higher growth … Read more