Oracle (ORCL)

[iam802]

Hurd Joins Oracle as Co-President

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/techn ... ?src=busln

[kennynah]

this kinda people.... wont be out of job for long one.... major competitor will want them for their trade secret knowledge... you think oracle really values his skillsets?

[iam802]

Oracle 1 : SAP 0

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$1.3 Billion Oracle-SAP Verdict Is Biggest Ever For Software Piracy

http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/23/sap-or ... TechCrunch)

After an 11 day trial whose highlights included the hilarious “Where In The World Is HP CEO Leo Apotheker?“ the Oracle vs. SAP intellectual property case has finally ended today in a whopping $1.3 billion dollar verdict, “The largest amount ever awarded for software piracy” according to Oracle co-president Safra Catz.

Before the trial, SAP admitted that its 2005 acquisition TomorrowNow pirated Oracle’s intellectual property and used it in order to pilfer customers from Oracle. Evidence presented during the trial showed that key SAP executives were aware of what was happening. ““For more than three years, SAP stole thousands of copies of Oracle software and then resold that software and related services to Oracle’s own customers,” said Catz.

The amount of the verdict was the biggest point of contention, as Oracle lawyers pushed for $1.7 billion in damages while SAP legal thought that the number was more in the $40 million range.

According to Bloomberg, the $1.3 billion award is the 23rd largest jury verdict of all time, and the largest amount for a verdict involving copyright, by far overtaking the previous $136 million settlement between the RIAA and Media Group Inc.

Whether the verdict will actually get paid out is a whole other ballgame. An SAP spokesman told Bloomberg that “We are, of course, disappointed by this verdict and will pursue all available options, including post-trial motions and appeal if necessary.”

[winston]

Here is the Forbes 2011 ranking of the top 10:

5. Larry Ellison (USA) - $39.5 billion, Oracle Corp

Ellison, the flamboyant Oracle founder and CEO, is known for his free, public outbursts against rivals such as German software maker SAP AG.

The executive, supposedly a model for the "Iron Man" movie character Tony Stark, late last year attacked Hewlett Packard and its board for the abrupt and -- he said -- unfair sacking of longtime friend Mark Hurd. Ellison then hired him.

Ellison, who won yachting's America's Cup last year, is considered one of the "old guard" of Silicon Valley.


Source: Reuters

[iam802]

Oracle is a well oiled sales machine. Surely this is a sign that tech spending is being curb.

==
Oracle Misses Estimates; Shares Fall

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... cline.html

Oracle Corp. (ORCL), the world’s second- largest software maker, reported quarterly sales and profit that missed analysts’ estimates as customers held off on buying databases, applications software and computer systems.

Profit before some costs in the fiscal second quarter, which ended Nov. 30, was 54 cents a share on revenue, excluding certain items, of $8.81 billion, the company said in a statement today. On average, analysts had projected profit of 57 cents on sales of $9.23 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Oracle’s shares fell as much as 11 percent in late trading.

Oracle and other business-software companies are taking longer to close deals as companies gird for slow economic growth in the U.S. and the possibility of a recession in Europe next year, said Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. New software licenses, an indicator of future revenue, rose less than Sherlund projected, and sales of hardware acquired through the Sun Microsystems deal fell more than expected.

“There’s nothing I can find in here that’s a silver lining,” said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon, who has an “outperform” rating on Oracle shares. “Every metric in here is below where consensus was. I don’t know how to sugar-coat it.”

Although sales of higher-priced hardware are accelerating, Barnicle said margins in the quarter were still below his estimate.

Third-Quarter Forecast

Sales excluding certain items in the current quarter, which ends in February, will increase 1 percent to 5 percent from a year earlier, co-president Safra Catz said on a conference call today. On average, analysts were predicting sales growth of 7.4 percent to $9.46 billion. Profit before some costs will be 55 cents to 58 cents a share, compared with analysts’ average 59- cent estimate.
Shares of Redwood City, California-based Oracle tumbled as low as $26.10 in extended trading. Before the report, they had gained 1.9 percent to $29.17 at the close in New York. The stock has declined 6.8 percent this year. The company also said it will buy back as much as $5 billion in stock.
In the second quarter, new software license sales rose 2 percent to $2.05 billion, compared with the $2.28 billion Sherlund estimated in a Dec. 15 research note.

Sales of hardware obtained in last year’s $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems declined to $953 million, missing the $1.06 billion in revenue estimated by Sherlund.

Net income in the second quarter rose 17 percent to $2.19 billion, or 43 cents a share, Oracle said in the statement.

‘More Normal Quarter’

In the third quarter, software license sales will be unchanged to 10 percent higher, and hardware sales will decline 5 percent to 15 percent, Catz said.

“They’re spending more time with their customers talking about the economy,” Sherlund said in an interview. “As we go into next year, things will probably be a bit slower.” Sherlund is based in New York and has a “buy” rating on the shares.

Customers are adding more layers of management approval for technology purchases, which is slowing down the closing of contracts, Catz said today. In response, Oracle has added new “deal management” procedures to monitor signings and make sure the necessary approvals are in place.
“We’ll have a much more normal next quarter,” she said.

The effect of the declining value of the euro against the dollar is also hurting sales. Excluding the effect of currency fluctuations, revenue this quarter would increase 3 percent to 7 percent, Catz said.

Recession ‘Fears’

Jason Maynard, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, said in a Dec. 19 report that corporate spending on hardware and software may fall 8 percent in the first quarter, a steeper drop than the average 7.3 percent average decline during the quarter in the past 10 years.

“The fears of a global recession are permeating the IT decision-making process,” said Maynard, who is based in Santa Monica, California, and has an “outperform” rating on Oracle shares.

To help blunt the impact of a possible slowdown in software sales growth, Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison has snapped up more than 70 companies in a $40 billion buying spree to add programs that help large corporations manage human resources and operations. The company has been using the acquisitions to build up its cloud business, meant to appeal to customers that are seeking to save money by letting them access computing power over the Internet.

Public Cloud

On Oct. 24, Oracle said it would buy online customer- service software company RightNow Technologies Inc. for $1.5 billion. Earlier that month, the company unveiled its Public Cloud service, which will run its database software and more than 100 new applications called Fusion in its data centers for customers.

Oracle, the largest database-software maker, is using the Sun acquisition to develop computer servers -- including high- end Exadata and Exalogic machines -- that run its database and applications. Still, its lower-priced systems using Intel Corp. chips are losing ground to competitors.
The company’s share of the worldwide server market declined to 6 percent in the third quarter, from 6.5 percent a year earlier, while Dell Inc. gained, market researcher IDC said.

Ellison told analysts on today’s call that Oracle’s hardware business could expand by the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in May. Sales of Exadata, Exalogic and other high-end systems could reach $1 billion annually by the end of the fiscal year.

“Then we plan to double those sales again next fiscal year,” he said.

[iam802]

Oracle acquires Taleo (TLEO) for US$1.9B


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 33232.html

[winston]

not vested

Oracle settles SEC charges over secret India payments

(Reuters) - Oracle Corp agreed to pay a $2 million fine to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that an India subsidiary secretly set aside money used to make unauthorized payments to phony vendors in that country.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/ ... nologyNews

[winston]

not vested

Oracle Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, hosts, and supports database and middleware software, applications software, and hardware systems.

It licenses database and middleware software, including database and database management, application server and cloud application, service-oriented architecture and business process management, business intelligence, identity and access management, data integration, Web experience management, portals, and content management and social network software, as well as development tools and Java, a software development platform.

In addition, it offers servers; storage, networking, and virtualization software; operating systems, including the Oracle Solaris Operating System; Oracle engineered systems; and hardware systems support solutions, including software updates for the software components, as well as product repair, maintenance, and technical support services.

http://todaysbigstock.com/2013/09/16/or ... nyse-orcl/

[winston]

Oracle (ORCL) Stock: 3 Things to Know Before Earnings

The upcoming Oracle earnings report might mark the start of a turnaround

By James Brumley

Source: Investor Place

http://investorplace.com/2015/09/oracle ... fix-9IirIU

[winston]

Blue Chips With Big Cash: #5, Oracle Corporation (ORCL)

Cash & Marketable Securities: ~$51 billion

If there was ever a candidate for a dividend boost, it’s Oracle Corporation (ORCL). Now, it does carry $40 billion in debt, yet that debt costs it only about 2.6% per year. I’d be happy to pay that down and improve earnings.

Meanwhile, its free cash flow is just insane — $13 billion annually and with consistency, versus just $2.45 billion in dividends!

Oracle isn’t exactly a spring chicken in the dividend game, especially for a tech stock. ORCL has paid out a quarterly sum since 2009. And yes, it has grown that payout substantially — to 15 cents currently from the original 5 cents per share it offered back then — but the yield is a paltry 1.5%.

With 4.2 billion shares outstanding, $5.9 billion would tack another $1.40 annually to the payout, which would have ORCL yielding a fat 5%. And even then, it’d still only be paying out about half its annual cash flow.

Dare to dream, but you can see how much room Oracle has.

Source: Investor Place