New York, February 20, 2026, 10:57 (EST) — Regular session
- Oracle shares slipped roughly 2.7% in morning trading, lagging a broader market upswing.
- Nvidia is closing in on a $30 billion stake in OpenAI, part of a broader funding round that’s set to clear $100 billion, according to a source.
- All eyes turn to Nvidia next week, as investors search for clues on AI budgets and the pace of data-center expansion.
Shares of Oracle (ORCL) dropped 2.7% to $152.25 as of 10:51 a.m. EST Friday. The stock bounced between $151.31 and $157.85, with roughly 6.7 million shares changing hands.
The S&P 500 gained 0.44%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.62% following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out President Donald Trump’s broad tariffs. Investors shrugged off ongoing concerns about high tech valuations and persistent questions around the returns on big AI investments.
“Markets are responding with a greater risk appetite for equities because we finally got something resolved,” said Todd Schoenberger, chief investment officer at CrossCheck Management. 1
Oracle’s slip kept the spotlight on its role in the AI buildout trade. Here, share prices can jump or sink just as easily on funding rounds and demand as on quarterly results.
Nvidia is nearing a $30 billion deal to invest in OpenAI, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The funding push could see ChatGPT’s creator looking to raise over $100 billion. SoftBank and Amazon are also expected to join in, the source said. 2
Investors are eyeing Nvidia’s earnings next week. All focus is on the chipmaker’s outlook and what its customers are doing—moves that could send waves through cloud and software stocks.
“It’s hard for Nvidia to surprise when everyone expects it to surprise,” said Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower. 3
Oracle has made its funding targets clear. Back on Feb. 1, the company said it planned to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion in 2026, aiming to finance new cloud infrastructure. The company highlighted demand already locked in from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure customers like AMD, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, TikTok and xAI.
Oracle is aiming to raise roughly half of its target via equity-linked and common equity offerings—this includes mandatory convertible preferred securities plus a new at-the-market share sale program that could reach $20 billion. The rest of the funds would come from senior unsecured bonds. Back in January, bondholders sued the company over its debt disclosures. In December, the cost to insure Oracle’s debt against default jumped, according to the report. 4
Oracle, in an SEC filing associated with the financing effort, outlined a plan to offer depositary shares tied to slices of mandatory convertible preferred stock—securities set to become common shares down the line.
The filing blocks dividends and some share buybacks unless preferred dividends are current, as long as the preferred is still in place. With mandatory convertibles, companies lose some immediate cash leeway, deferring part of the hit to shareholders until the set conversion date. 5
ORCL’s become something of a barometer for the AI capex cycle—pacing the speed of data center construction, tracking where the money’s coming from, and waiting to see real cash flow. Lately, the daily action reads less like software drama and more like a straight-up infrastructure play.
Yet risks still loom. Delays in the buildout paying off, a quicker pace of equity sales than projected, or persistently high borrowing costs—all could put Oracle back under the microscope for dilution and leverage. And if funding for top AI clients wobbles, nerves won’t settle down anytime soon.
All eyes turn to Nvidia’s numbers on Wednesday, with Salesforce and Intuit also set to report—critical checks for investor mood on AI’s impact and the sector’s spending appetite. Oracle shareholders, meanwhile, are on alert for updates tied to the company’s financing strategy, especially any details about pace or price. 6
