New York, Feb 20, 2026, 18:46 EST — After-hours
- Oracle shares slipped roughly 5% on Friday, lagging behind as the broader U.S. market posted gains.
- Headlines around OpenAI’s funding and spending zeroed in on the mounting price tag for scaling up AI infrastructure.
- Next up: Nvidia reports on Feb. 25, with investors also eyeing any new details in Oracle’s 2026 funding plan.
Oracle Corp (ORCL) dropped 5.4% to $148.08 after the bell Friday, extending losses from earlier in the regular session. Shares fluctuated between $147.42 and $157.85 throughout the day.
Despite the decline, U.S. stocks managed to finish in positive territory after the Supreme Court overturned President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, sending shares of big tech players like Alphabet and Amazon higher. “Today is a removal of some uncertainty, and we’re on to the next phase,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments. 1
The main catalyst for Oracle remains AI-driven spending. OpenAI, moving toward a possible $1 trillion IPO, is eyeing around $600 billion in total compute expenditure by 2030, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters. The source put OpenAI’s 2025 revenue at $13 billion, with $8 billion in expenses. 2
Nvidia is nearly set to commit $30 billion to OpenAI, a person familiar told Reuters, as the artificial intelligence startup targets over $100 billion in its latest fundraising push. That would put OpenAI’s valuation near $830 billion, the report said. 3
Oracle pressed ahead with a slate of product updates. On Thursday, the data integration group announced the launch of Oracle GoldenGate for Distributed Applications and Analytics 26ai, now generally available. According to the company, this release brings embedded AI services and fresh support for cloud-spanning tools. 4
Oracle made another push into healthcare. On Thursday, Oracle Health rolled out a device validation program designed to ease integration for medical devices. “We’re not waiting for the future of healthcare connectivity, we’re setting the standard,” said Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager at Oracle Health. 5
Investors have been treating Oracle less like a traditional software play and more like an AI infrastructure bet. Earlier this month, the company outlined plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 to expand its cloud footprint—about half of that coming from equity-linked and common equity sales. That includes an at-the-market program for up to $20 billion, allowing Oracle to sell shares in chunks at market prices. 6
The cash plan is in focus as investors want to see whether heavy AI data center spending actually translates into sustainable revenue. Reuters, in a note looking ahead, cited Marta Norton at Empower: it’s “hard for Nvidia to surprise when everyone expects it to surprise.” King Lip of BakerAvenue Wealth Management added, “Next week is going to be pretty important for software.” 7
This path isn’t exactly smooth. Should AI demand soften or customers tap the brakes on expansion, Oracle faces the risk of rising funding costs and less flexibility—especially if shareholders grow wary of equity dilution.
Coming up, Nvidia’s fourth-quarter earnings and its conference call land Wednesday, Feb. 25—a date investors are watching closely for clues on AI infrastructure demand throughout the sector. 8
