Pro Research: Wall Street’s in-depth look at Oracle’s Cloud Surge By Investing.com

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As Oracle Corporation (NYSE:) navigates through a transformative phase, its aggressive push into cloud services has caught Wall Street’s attention. Analysts collectively acknowledge the company’s significant strides in the cloud sector, particularly in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), and its potential to reshape Oracle’s growth trajectory. This deep-dive analysis will explore Oracle’s performance across different markets, product segments, and competitive landscape, offering insights into the company’s strategy and future outlook.

Company Profile and Financial Health

Oracle, a technology behemoth founded in 1977 and headquartered in Redwood (NYSE:) City, California, has been a cornerstone in the software industry. With a market capitalization now standing at approximately $322.249 billion, the company’s financial health remains robust. Oracle’s diverse portfolio includes databases, cloud-engineered systems, and enterprise software products, with its services offered through both cloud-based and on-premise deployments.

The company’s stock, currently at USD 115.13, has demonstrated resilience, with a lower-than-average price movement, and it sustains a dividend yield of 1.4%. Analysts note that Oracle’s P/E ratios are expected to contract from 21.9x in 2023 to 17.5x in 2025, indicating a favorable earnings outlook. However, recent revenue headwinds have led to a slight decrease in EPS estimates for FY2024 from $5.63 to $5.55 and a reduction in cash flow per share (CFPS) estimates from $3.96 to $3.50. The integration of Cerner (NASDAQ:) is anticipated to further bolster earnings growth, with Oracle’s dividend outlook projected to rise, despite recent revenue headwinds at Cerner due to renegotiated contracts with the Veterans Affairs (VA).

Cloud Business and Market Position

Oracle’s cloud business is a focal point of its growth strategy. Despite a notable slowdown in both IaaS and PaaS revenues, analysts predict strong cloud sales growth potential over the next several years, driven by high demand for cloud infrastructure services, particularly for AI model training. Oracle’s OCI is competitive against industry giants like Azure, Google (NASDAQ:) Cloud Platform (GCP), and Amazon (NASDAQ:) Web Services (AWS), offering potential savings of 20% to 40% over three years. The company regularly signs deals over $1 billion, with a recent infrastructure company proposing a $1.5 billion contract for AI training due to Oracle’s competitive pricing.

Despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment and challenges such as tough comparisons with previous license sales, Oracle’s financial guidance anticipates non-GAAP EPS growth from $5.55 in FY24 to $6.73 in FY26, on the back of consistent revenue growth. The company’s valuation metrics, including a CY24E EV/revenue multiple of 6.7x, are in line with its large-cap technology peers.

Competitive Landscape and Market Trends

Oracle competes with industry leaders such as SAP, Amazon, Microsoft (NASDAQ:), Snowflake (NYSE:), and MongoDB (NASDAQ:). The company’s transition from licensing products to offering them on a subscription basis in the cloud is expected to improve profitability. Oracle’s international revenues account for 45% of total revenues, and it maintains solid ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s (NYSE:).

The competitive landscape is evolving with the rise of generative AI, where Oracle has established partnerships with key players like Tesla (NASDAQ:), Nvidia (NASDAQ:), Meta (NASDAQ:), and Google. The company’s focus on AI is reshaping its growth trajectory, with partnerships with digital natives and AI innovators positioning Oracle as a significant player in this space.

Regulatory Environment and Customer Base

Oracle’s customer base spans various sectors, with the company’s products being integral to enterprise software solutions. The regulatory environment has been conducive to Oracle’s growth, with no major impediments noted by analysts. The company’s ability to navigate complex regulatory landscapes, particularly in international markets, contributes to its stable customer base.

Management and Strategy

Oracle’s management has set ambitious targets, aiming for $65 billion in revenue by FY26, with operating margins of 45% and over 10% annualized EPS growth. The company’s strategy includes interoperability and minimizing integration costs, a shift from its previous approach that is seen as partner-friendly. Oracle’s aggressive assumptions, particularly from net new customers, suggest a total addressable market (TAM) of over $250 billion for IaaS opportunities.

Potential Impacts of External Factors

External factors such as economic uncertainty and supply constraints in AI chips and data center construction could impact Oracle’s growth. The company’s valuation concerns based on EV/free cash flow metrics compared to peers and the potential failure of cloud products to offset on-premise decline are risks highlighted by analysts.

Upcoming Product Launches and Stock Performance

Oracle’s upcoming product launches, particularly in cloud services, are expected to drive revenue growth. The company’s stock performance has outpaced the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000, indicating strong investor confidence in Oracle’s growth prospects.

Bear Case

Is Oracle’s cloud growth sustainable?

Analysts express concerns regarding the sustainability of Oracle’s cloud growth. Risks include the potential failure of cloud products to offset the decline in on-premise sales, loss of market share to competitors, and a reduction in overall IT spending. Economic uncertainty may impact business operations, and revenue recognition could lag behind order signings in new ventures like AI and Health sectors. Valuation concerns based on EV/free cash flow metrics compared to peers also pose a challenge. The deceleration in cloud revenue growth and weaker non-strategic back-office SaaS revenues are additional concerns.

Can Oracle maintain its competitive edge?

While Oracle has shown strong AI momentum with over $4 billion in signed contracts related to its Gen2 Cloud, there are uncertainties about maintaining high growth rates due to supply constraints. The aggressive TAM, particularly from net new customers, may be overly optimistic. Questions about the ability to accelerate revenue growth and the darker days of the economic downturn yet to come could also affect Oracle’s competitive edge. The long lead time between bookings and revenue generation in IaaS could impact short-term performance.

Bull Case

Will Oracle’s strategic partnerships drive growth?

Oracle’s expansion of its partnership with Microsoft and other tech giants emphasizes the importance of its technology being widely available. The company’s strategy to become more partner-friendly and its interoperability approach may attract new customers seeking multi-cloud services. Large-scale contracts and customer engagements indicate robust business growth, with bullish projections on cloud revenue and the large TAM from Oracle’s support base conversion and new infrastructure cloud customers. Oracle’s leading market position in ERP is expected to be durable, and the infrastructure business, particularly IaaS excluding legacy hosting, and OCI Consumption showed strong year-over-year growth.

Is Oracle’s AI focus a game-changer?

Oracle’s positioning to be a significant player in AI could reshape its growth trajectory over the next 3-5 years. The company’s broadening investor appetite for its role in AI, strong partnerships with leading digital and AI companies, and positive adjustments in revenue estimates due to underlying AI momentum suggest a bullish outlook. Oracle’s AI-driven growth strategy and robust partnerships, despite a weaker Q2 outlook, indicate long-term revenue targets that reflect optimism about the company’s trajectory.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

– Leader in enterprise software with a wide array of products.

– Strong cloud sales growth potential.

– Aggressive push into AI and cloud services.

– Solid partnerships with tech entities like Nvidia and Microsoft.

Weaknesses:

– Risks associated with the transition to cloud services.

– Potential decline in on-premise sales.

– Valuation concerns based on EV/free cash flow metrics.

– Deceleration in cloud revenue growth.

Opportunities:

– Significant TAM for IaaS opportunities.

– Growth drivers from database or Oracle apps migration to OCI.

– Potential for increased profit margins following full Cerner integration.

Threats:

– Economic uncertainty impacting business operations.

– Competition from other cloud database vendors.

– Supply constraints in AI chips and data center construction.

– Long lead times between bookings and revenue generation in IaaS.

Analysts Targets

– BMO Capital Markets Corp.: Market Perform rating with a price target of $126.00 (December 12, 2023).

– Piper Sandler: Overweight rating with a price target of $130.00 (September 22, 2023).

– Barclays Capital Inc.: Overweight rating with a price target of $147.00 (December 05, 2023).

– Evercore ISI: In Line rating with a price target of $131.00 (September 22, 2023).

– Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.: Buy rating with a price target of $135.00 (September 18, 2023).

– J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.: Neutral rating with a price target of $100.00 (September 13, 2023).

– Stifel: Hold rating with a price target of $100.00 (December 12, 2023).

– D.A. Davidson & Co.: Neutral rating with a price target of $105.00 (December 12, 2023).

This analysis is based on reports from September to December 2023.

InvestingPro Insights

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) has been a consistent performer in the technology sector, and as investors consider the company’s future, several InvestingPro Tips and real-time metrics offer a clearer picture of its investment potential. Notably, Oracle has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years, signaling a commitment to returning value to shareholders. Additionally, Oracle has maintained dividend payments for 15 consecutive years, which is a testament to its financial stability and investor-friendly approach.

From a valuation standpoint, Oracle is trading at a high P/E ratio relative to near-term earnings growth, with a current P/E ratio of 28.49. This could suggest that the stock is priced optimistically in terms of its earnings potential. Moreover, the company’s high Price / Book multiple of 75.51 as of the last twelve months leading up to Q2 2024, indicates that investors are willing to pay a premium for its assets relative to the book value.

In terms of performance, Oracle’s revenue growth has been slowing down recently, with a quarterly growth rate of just 5.43% in Q2 2024. This could be a point of concern for investors looking for rapid top-line expansion. However, the company’s gross profit margin remains strong at 71.88%, underscoring its ability to maintain profitability.

For those seeking additional insights, there are 11 InvestingPro Tips available for Oracle, which can be accessed by subscribers. With the InvestingPro subscription now on a special Cyber Monday sale, investors can take advantage of up to 60% off, plus an additional 10% off a 2-year subscription with the coupon code research23. This offer provides an excellent opportunity for investors to deepen their research and make more informed decisions.

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