What to Expect From Oracle Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Mar 13, 10:09PM EDT · Published Sep 15, 1:55PM EDT

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Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results on Wednesday after the markets close. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $0.52 in earnings per share (EPS), as well as $8.53 billion in revenue. In the same period of the previous year, Oracle posted EPS of $0.62 and $8.60 billion in revenue.

This old-school large cap tech stock is very reasonable valuation-wise for investors. Oracle trades at 14.6 times estimated 2016 earnings and still provides solid free cash flow yield. Oracle plans to make almost all of its services available via the Internet by mid-October, as the database-software company changes its business model to fit a new competitive landscape. Around 65% of Oracle’s products are available on the cloud today, and that is expected to climb to 95% by the time the company holds its annual Oracle OpenWorld conference in October.

Oracle shares have sold off roughly 15% since the firm reported fourth-quarter earnings in mid-June. The disappointment was largely driven by currency-muted revenue growth and a material earnings shortfall as customers opted for cloud purchases instead of paid-up licenses in the quarter. The bottom line is that the firm’s transition to the cloud is happening faster than expected, which when viewed objectively is actually a good thing. However, this only explains half of the drop.

The rest of the disruption can be attributable to the broad markets crumbling in mid-August. Practically all companies felt the sting from this dip, although Oracle has recovered slightly from this 52-week low.

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A few analysts weighed in on Oracle ahead of its earnings:

Jefferies has a Buy rating and a price target of $50.
BTIG initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $44 price target.
Global Equities reiterated an Overweight rating with a $50 price target.
Citigroup reiterated a Hold rating with a $42 price target.

So far in 2015, Oracle has underperformed the market, with shares down over 15% year to date and down 6% in the past 52 weeks.

Shares of Oracle were up 1.2% to $38.02 Tuesday afternoon. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $47.25 and a 52-week trading range of $35.14 to $46.71.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.