Oracle Slumps on Earnings Miss as AI Hype Clouds Outlook

## Overview Oracle Corporation is a global leader in enterprise software and cloud computing, renowned for its database management systems and comprehensive suite of business applications. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Oracle serves organizations of all sizes across industries, providing the technological backbone for operations, analytics, and digital transformation[6]. Its mission centers on helping people see data in new ways, discover insights, and unlock possibilities through innovation[5]. ## History and Evolution Founded in 1977 by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates as Software Development Laboratories in Santa Clara, California, the company released its flagship Oracle Database in 1979—a pioneering relational database management system that revolutionized data storage and access[2][5]. Renamed Oracle Corporation in 1982, the company grew rapidly, going public in 1986 and expanding globally[2][5]. By the 1990s, Oracle was recognized as the world’s largest database management company, with innovations like Oracle7 cementing its industry leadership[5]. Oracle’s expansion into enterprise applications—such as ERP, CRM, HCM, and supply chain management—solidified its role as a one-stop provider for business software[6]. The 2010s marked a strategic pivot to cloud computing, with the launch of Fusion Cloud applications and the aggressive build-out of data centers to support its public cloud offerings[2]. ## Key Achievements Oracle’s achievements include the development of the first commercially viable relational database, the creation of integrated enterprise software suites, and the consolidation of its own global operations using its technology, saving over $1 billion[5]. The company’s cloud infrastructure now supports more than a thousand government customers across at least 60 data centers, and it offers over 100 cloud services[2]. A defining moment came in 2025, when Oracle secured a $300 billion, five-year agreement with OpenAI, along with major contracts with xAI and Meta, to deliver unprecedented cloud and AI infrastructure

Meta Platforms, Inc., known simply as Meta, is a leading American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California, best known for its ownership of major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads[1]. Founded in 2004 as TheFacebook, Inc., it rebranded to Facebook, Inc. in 2005 and adopted the Meta name in 2021 to signal its strategic pivot towards building the "metaverse"—a digital ecosystem integrating virtual and augmented reality technologies[1]. Meta primarily generates revenue through advertising, which constituted approximately 97.8% of its total income as of 2023[1]. The company is a key player among Big Tech firms, alongside Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon, with a market capitalization of about $1.585 trillion as of early 2025[6]. It has a vast global user base, with Facebook alone boasting hundreds of millions of users in countries like India (378 million), the U.S. (194 million), Indonesia, and Brazil, supported by extensive localization efforts for over 111 languages[6]. Meta invests heavily in research and development, spending $35.3 billion in 2022, making it the world’s third-largest R&D spender[1]. Its current focus emphasizes artificial intelligence (AI) and superintelligence, with major investments such as a multibillion-dollar funding round in AI startup Scale AI in 2025, and the development of advanced AI models like Llama 4.1 and 4.2 through its Meta Superintelligence Labs[1][2]. This AI-driven shift reflects Meta’s evolving mission to empower individual users through personalized digital experiences, moving beyond its original social networking identity[2]. In addition to social media and AI, Meta pursues innovation in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) hardware, notably through products like Meta Quest VR headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses,

NVIDIA Corporation, founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem, is a leading American technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, renowned for its development of graphics processing units (GPUs) and accelerated computing platforms[1][2][4]. Initially focused on GPU technology for video gaming, NVIDIA revolutionized the industry by inventing the world’s first GPU, the GeForce 256, in 1999, which transformed PC gaming and 3D graphics[4]. Over time, NVIDIA expanded its scope beyond gaming to include artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), professional visualization, and automotive technologies[1][4]. The company’s CUDA platform, launched in 2006, enabled GPUs to run massively parallel computations, fueling breakthroughs in scientific research, AI model training, and advanced simulations across industries[1][4]. Today, NVIDIA dominates with a 92% market share in discrete desktop and laptop GPUs and controls over 80% of GPUs used for AI training and inference, powering more than 75% of the world’s top 500 supercomputers[1]. NVIDIA’s product portfolio includes GeForce GPUs for gamers, professional GPUs for data centers and edge computing, Tegra processors for mobile and automotive applications, and platforms like NVIDIA Omniverse for digital twins and AI-driven industrial automation[1][2][3]. Its innovations extend into cloud gaming through GeForce Now and AI-driven autonomous vehicle systems. The company employs over 36,000 people worldwide, with a revenue surpassing $130 billion in fiscal year 2025, reflecting its massive impact on the technology ecosystem[2]. Recognized as one of the most innovative and best places to work, NVIDIA continues to be at the forefront of AI, accelerated computing, and digital transformation, shaping multiple sectors including healthcare, robotics, automotive, and gaming with cutting-edge hardware and software solutions[2][4]. Its leadership in GPU technology and AI infrastructure