William Blair Has Bearish Forecast for Oracle Q2 Earnings

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) – Research analysts at William Blair lowered their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Oracle in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 11th. William Blair analyst S. Naji now anticipates that the enterprise software provider will earn $1.27 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.37. The consensus estimate for Oracle’s current full-year earnings is $5.00 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Oracle’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.65 EPS.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.71.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $149.36 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.41. Oracle has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.