Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is yet another example of an increasingly interesting emerging dynamic in the tech sector over the past month or two. Try to make a list of the stocks that have been surprisingly successful in recent updates, earnings, or headline inputs. I’m guessing your list will be relatively similar to mine in that it will include MSFT, INTC, CSCO, and ORCL.
Can you think of a more old-school tech sector group of stocks? I mean, sure, we don’t have AOL or YHOO in there, but that’s only because they don’t exist as publicly traded tickers anymore. Otherwise, we are basically dealing with the A-list from 1996.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) just added another factor to this story on Thursday when it was disclosed that Warren Buffet just took a big new stake in the company.
Berkshire Hathaway holdings adjustments just came to light, with a number of new changes.
As was played up quite dramatically in the financial media, Mr. Buffett seemed to be quite partial to banks, with a massive $4B stake accumulated in JPM. But it should not be lost on the reader that ORCL took a big slice of the new money pie from Omaha.
With this renaissance in 1990’s tech-bubble stocks now in play, we want to understand why these companies are not only outperforming in the markets but also drawing steam from the smartest money on the planet.
One way to view this shift is the sense that the most well-managed and conservative names in the most high-growth sector represent a sweet-spot compromise of concepts. These companies have all found a way to move into cloud and data management action. But they also have a ton of oversight and a cumulative experience level measured in centuries in the C-suite.
While that can be a hindrance when the sap is flowing, it can also be a life saver when the seas are rough because you get the industry-level growth catalyst along with a conservative management profile.
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Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) trumpets itself as a company that develops, manufactures, markets, sells, hosts, and supports application, platform, and infrastructure solutions for information technology (IT) environments worldwide.
The company provides services in three primary layers of the cloud: Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Infrastructure as a Service. It offers human capital and talent management, enterprise resource planning, customer experience and relationship management, procurement, supply chain management, project portfolio management, business analytics and enterprise performance management, and industry-specific application software, as well as financial management and governance, and risk and compliance applications.
The company also licenses its Oracle Database for storage, retrieval, and manipulation of data; and Oracle Fusion Middleware software to build, deploy, secure, access, extend, and integrate business applications, as well as automate business processes. In addition, it provides a range of development tools, identity management, and business analytics software solutions for mobile computing development to address the development needs of businesses; Java, a software development language; and big data solutions.
Further, the company provides Oracle Engineered Systems, servers, storage, industry-specific hardware, and hardware support products, as well as operating systems, virtualization, management, and other hardware-related software. Additionally, it provides consulting services, including IT strategy alignment, enterprise architecture planning and design, initial software implementation and integration, application development and integration, security assessments, and ongoing software enhancements and upgrade services; and customer support and education services.
The company serves businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and resellers. Oracle Corporation was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) generated sales of $9.2B, according to information released in the company’s most recent quarterly financial report. That adds up to a sequential quarter-over-quarter growth rate of -18.3% on the top line. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($60.1B against $19.6B).