Oracle Drops as Sales Miss Estimates on Shift to Cloud
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Oracle Corp., the largest maker of database software, fell to a seven-month low after sales missed estimates for a second straight quarter as customers shifted spending to competitors’ Web-based business tools.
The shares slumped 9.3 percent. Fiscal fourth-quarter sales were $11 billion, Oracle said yesterday, missing analysts’ average estimate of $11.1 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While profit excluding some items of 87 cents matched estimates, Oracle’s profit forecast for the current period trailed some projections. Oracle also doubled its quarterly dividend, added $12 billion in buybacks and applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange.