Top News

• “Our flagship Abilene site remains on schedule, with 200MW already operational” - Oracle.
• Earlier, reports said its deal with OpenAI for the site’s expansion had fallen through.
• Oracle will report quarterly results after the markets close on Tuesday; analysts expect revenue to rise nearly 20%, the best pace in three years.

Oracle Corporation shares gained 2% in early premarket trading on Tuesday after the company clarified that the expansion of its flagship AI data center in Abilene, Texas, remained on track, pushing back against reports that its partnership with OpenAI for the site’s expansion had collapsed.

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The reaction allayed concerns about the future of one of the company’s main data center sites, which is being built as part of a massive capacity expansion drive.

The development comes ahead of Oracle’s fiscal third-quarter report after the market close, when investors will closely scrutinize the company’s debt levels and forward-order pipeline. Analysts and investors have raised concerns in recent months over Oracle’s growing debt pile and its heavy reliance on a small group of customers.

“Our flagship Abilene site remains on schedule, with 200MW already operational. Any claim that the planned capacity at this site is delayed is inaccurate,” Oracle said in an X post early Tuesday.

“Recent media reports about our data centers reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of how AI data centers are built and operated. Oracle’s AI data centers, both current and future, are designed to support… multiple generations of hardware from a range of vendors,” the company said.

Oracle-OpenAI Deal Stalls?

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Oracle and OpenAI had shelved plans to expand the Abilene site, part of the $500 billion Stargate project, amid drawn-out negotiations over financing, as well as OpenAI’s evolving demand forecasts. In July 2025, the two companies had agreed to develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts at the site, using Nvidia’s chips. 

CNBC reported on Monday, citing sources, that OpenAI is no longer interested in funding the site’s expansion. The additional capacity would come online in a year; by then, OpenAI is hoping to have expanded access to Nvidia’s next-generation chips in larger clusters elsewhere, according to the report.

ORCL Debt Buildup

The issue underscores the catch-22 Oracle has been grappling with, triggering heightened risk and uncertainty for investors. The company is piling on massive debt to fund new data-center buildouts to support the huge orders it has taken on from the likes of OpenAI and other hyperscalers.

In September, Oracle announced a five-year, $300-billion deal to supply computing services to OpenAI, and two months later reported that its remaining performance obligations (orders secured but not yet completed) jumped to $523 billion, or nine times its revenue over the last four quarters.

While the 438% jump in RPO lifted sentiment about future business gains, it also raised concerns that most of it is coming from a single customer.

ORCL Stock Under Pressure

Investors are also punishing Oracle. The stock has slumped over 53% since its Sept. 10 peak of $328.33, amid plans to raise up to $50 billion in debt and equity this year. Top market analysts, such as “The Big Short” investor Michael Burry, have painted a glum picture, even as Oracle is reportedly planning to cut thousands of jobs.

Analysts expect Oracle’s third-quarter revenue to rise nearly 20% to $16.9 billion, its best pace in three years, per Koyfin. Adjusted profit is seen rising 15% to $1.69.

Analyst, Retail View On ORCL

Oracle's third-quarter should show "meaningful AI‑driven revenue acceleration," but the same growth would likely squeeze margins due to upfront costs and the timing of lease expenses tied to new capacity coming online, Barclays analysts said in a recent note. The investment research firm slashed its price target on the stock to $200 from $300.

Jefferies, TD Cowen, and Evercore ISI were among the brokerages that lowered their ORCL targets this week. Still, 32 of 43 analysts rate it ‘Buy’ or higher,’ 10 rate it ‘Hold’, and one rates it ‘Strong Sell’ with an average upside target of 67%.

Retail investors were cautiously optimistic, with Stocktwits sentiment climbing to ‘bullish’ and holding firm since the start of the week. “Oracle will have [the] mother of all rallies. TikTok ownership details, layoffs, control over data center buildouts … $100 up tomorrow,” a user said.

Oracle shares are down 22.2% year-to-date.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<