Oracle called the third quarter of fiscal 2026 its best in 15 years with revenue up 22% to $17.2 billion and cloud infrastructure up 84% to $4.9 billion. The market rejoiced, sending the stock up nearly 10% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Despite the market’s ebullience, the enterprise software giant is blowing through cash at a steadily rising pace. Just three quarters ago, Oracle’s free cash flow was essentially zero, and this quarter it clocked in at negative $24.7 billion over the trailing 12 months as its capital expenditures rocketed from $21.2 billion in fiscal 2025 to a guided $50 billion this fiscal year as the company forges ahead in its AI data center buildout.
