Oracle’s record-breaking AI rally hit a pause on Thursday, as the company’s stock slid after a massive surge that briefly pushed it closer to the trillion-dollar club. The dip also slowed co-founder Larry Ellison’s race toward becoming the world’s richest person.
The enterprise software giant has been on a tear this year, powered by billions in new cloud deals and growing demand for computing power from companies racing to dominate artificial intelligence.
On Wednesday, Oracle shares skyrocketed nearly 36 percent, driving its market value to an all-time high of $933 billion. But Thursday’s pullback of about 4 percent could cut that number to around $894 billion.
Ellison, who owns 41 percent of Oracle, now has an estimated fortune of $371.7 billion. That keeps him within sight of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tops Forbes’ wealth list at $441.2 billion.
“A bit of buyer exhaustion here. I think the ‘buy the dip’ crowd is likely to re-emerge,” said Dennis Dick, chief strategist at Stock Trader Network. “The guidance was so incredible, hard to think that this story is over.”
Oracle told investors this week that its order backlog is on track to hit half a trillion dollars soon. The Wall Street Journal also reported that OpenAI signed a $300 billion deal with Oracle for computing power, one of the largest contracts of its kind.
The stock has nearly doubled in 2025, making Oracle one of the strongest performers in the S&P 500 and outpacing even the so-called Magnificent Seven tech giants.
Analysts see more room to run. The median price target of $342 implies about a 9 percent upside from Thursday’s price of $314.45, according to LSEG data. Still, Oracle trades at a premium compared with cloud rivals. Its forward price-to-earnings ratio is 45.3, compared with Amazon’s 31.3 and Microsoft’s 31.
