Oracle Raises $20 Billion as Tech Firms Ramp Up AI Investment Financing
Key Facts
Oracle raised $20 billion on Monday, November 2, through a $10 billion sale of common stock and an equal-sized bond offering, according to a company filing and Reuters reports. The offerings come as major technology companies expand equity and debt financing to support spending tied to artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. Oracle said the proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures, debt repayment, acquisitions, dividends and share repurchases. The move follows the company’s October 28 pledge to cap additional financing increases for its FY27–FY30 investment cycle at $20 billion. That pledge, however, split the amount equally between equity and gross debt, and excluded refinancing of existing debt.
The November 2 offering is separate from Oracle’s plan announced in February, when it said it expected to raise $45–50 billion during calendar year 2026 to expand its cloud infrastructure capacity in response to contracted demand. In October, Meta said it planned to issue nearly $100 billion in additional shares through the first quarter of 2027, according to Axios. Bloomberg Law reported that Meta is also considering raising at least $20 billion through a potential multi-currency debt offering. Alphabet launched a 6 billion euro bond sale, equivalent to $6.7 billion, according to Reuters. Bloomberg said Alphabet’s offering is its second in euros this year and comprises seven tranches; these are separate company plans and offerings, not a joint announcement.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle raised a combined $326 billion through equity and bond offerings from the start of 2026 through October 29, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data cited by Axios. The figure places the individual company moves within a broader wave of capital markets financing, alongside expanding spending on cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Oracle said at its October 28 investor event that capital spending would peak in the current and following fiscal years as it builds more cloud computing capacity. At the same event, the company outlined a path to positive free cash flow in the second half of FY28 and set a target of more than $30 billion in FY29. Investors’ focus is therefore on whether capacity investment can coexist with the company’s liquidity and cash flow plans.
Oracle shares moved in opposite directions in the days surrounding the financing announcement. The stock rose about 11% on Wednesday, October 28, after the chief financial officer said the company expected free cash flow to turn positive in the second half of fiscal 2028. On November 2, the shares fell about 6%, extending their year-to-date loss to about 33% through the previous Friday’s close, according to Reuters. The drop on the announcement day came as the market assessed financing needs and the timing of an improvement in cash flow, following earlier gains after the company’s comments on its expected liquidity trajectory. The sources did not report a figure for Oracle’s share move after the November 2 close.
On the corporate earnings front, Apple reported revenue of $114.5 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, up 12% from $102.5 billion in the year-earlier period and above analysts’ average estimate of $113.4 billion, according to AP. An Emarketer analyst said record iPhone revenue and strong growth in China demonstrated the resilience of the company’s business, while investors question the cost of the AI boom and the returns it will generate. Apple shares closed down 1.8% at $338.32 in regular trading on November 2, then were steady in after-hours trading, the report said. The company’s results and share-price response show another aspect of the sector debate: current revenue strength coincides with investor scrutiny of AI spending and the returns it will deliver. That day, Meta closed at $606.73 and Alphabet Class A at $278.99, according to EL7 data.