New York, February 18, 2026, 11:38 (EST) — Regular session
- Oracle clawed back from an early dip, with shares up roughly 1.2% late in the morning session.
- DTE pointed to a 1.4-gigawatt long-term power deal linked to Oracle’s Michigan data center project.
- Investors are eyeing the Fed minutes due out later Wednesday for any rate signals, while Oracle’s spending and funding get attention too.
Oracle Corp climbed $1.89, or 1.2%, to $155.86 late Wednesday morning, recovering from an earlier slip to $151.55. Tech names bounced, helping U.S. indexes inch up. “The market was waiting for some sort of a bullish or bearish catalyst,” CFRA’s Sam Stovall said, with eyes on the Federal Reserve minutes set for 2 p.m. ET. (Reuters)
Oracle’s daily trading action increasingly resembles a live vote on AI spending. Investors keep an eye on incoming cloud demand, weighing if it’s rolling in quickly enough to warrant the expansion—and if costs remain in check.
That’s what makes power and permits crucial right now. Data centers aren’t fueled by announcements—they need electricity, acreage, and deadlines that have a way of shifting.
DTE Energy has lined up a long-term deal to provide 1.4 gigawatts of electricity to Oracle’s upcoming data center in Saline Township, Michigan. The agreement stretches to February 2045, with an option to tack on extra years after that. Oracle will foot the entire power bill—no cost spillover to DTE’s existing customer base, according to the utility. Jefferies analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith pointed out, “the quality of the offtaker matters,” as Oracle faces scrutiny over the financial demands of its data-center expansion. (Barron’s)
Investor law firm Levi & Korsinsky said it’s pushing a securities class action to recover losses for Oracle shareholders who picked up the stock from June 12, 2025 through Dec. 16, 2025. The lead-plaintiff filing deadline is April 6, 2026. According to the complaint, Oracle’s push into AI infrastructure is set to ramp up capital spending well ahead of any equivalent revenue boost, piling on risks around debt, free cash flow, and credit health, the firm said. (PR Newswire)
Oracle is moving early on the funding front. This month, the company detailed a strategy to pull in $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026, tapping both debt and equity. The plan features a $20 billion at-the-market program—allowing Oracle to gradually sell shares—as well as mandatory convertible preferreds that pay a set dividend before flipping into common shares. (Reuters)
Ever since December, the financing question has weighed on the stock. That’s when Oracle bumped up its fiscal 2026 capex outlook by roughly $15 billion, cautioning investors about the cash drain from AI spending. At the time, BofA analysts pointed out that the stock’s weakness was tied to a breakneck investment push aimed at meeting surging demand. (Reuters)
Other players are moving, too. Oracle’s push into cloud puts it toe-to-toe with larger competitors chasing AI-intensive business, and investors haven’t hesitated to hit the stock when spending outpaces returns.
The risk is straightforward: delays from power issues, permitting disputes, or customer schedules could push new capacity further out. That scenario leaves Oracle stuck with higher financing costs and slimmer margins in the near term, right when investors are looking for clearer evidence of returns.
Macro forces are in the mix too. Fresh numbers Wednesday had U.S. core capital goods orders, a stand-in for business equipment spending, up 0.6% for December. Santander’s chief U.S. economist Stephen Stanley pointed to the AI-fueled investment surge, saying it “set the stage for a noticeable pickup in investment outlays in 2026.” (Reuters)
Oracle’s upcoming quarterly numbers—set for March 9, according to Investing.com’s earnings calendar—are the next event on investors’ radar. Traders want clarity on cloud demand, capital expenditures, and whether the company is leaning more on equity or fresh debt for growth. (Investing)
