Oracle has spent years piling up debt to fund share buybacks, which raises the risk level of adding even more debt to the balance sheet. Thanks to heavy spending on AI infrastructure, Oracle ended the second quarter with about $108 billion in debt. That's up from $92.6 billion in May. The company completed an $18 billion bond sale in September.

Oracle Corp. shares fell the most in more than 24 years after the company reported a jump in spending on AI data centers and other equipment, rising outlays that are taking longer to translate

It is a far cry from the company’s last quarterly results, released in September, when news of a series of AI deals boosted its bottom line and saw its share price soar 40 percent, briefly making founder and CTO Ellison the world’s richest man.

The world of bits moves fast. The world of atoms doesn’t. And data centers are where those two worlds collide.”

Oracle stock plunges over 7% as OpenAI data-center delay to 2028 sparks fresh worries. Oracles $300B AI build-out faces new pressure after Bloomberg reported construction setbacks and a $15B capex jump for FY26.

Oracle and other AI stocks tumbled on Thursday after the company reported surging expenditures related to its AI data center buildout, reinforcing concerns on Wall Street about debt-fueled spending on the fledgling technology.

The software giant’s latest results is adding fuel to concerns over its ability to capitalize on the AI industry’s ravenous demand for computing capacity.

Bloom Energy (BE) is back in the spotlight after partner Oracle posted weaker quarterly results, rattling AI related demand expectations for data center power and knocking Bloom’s shares off their recent rally.