The AI Trade Picks Up Steam After Oracle's 'Truly Historic' Quarter

Core Insights - Oracle's backlog reached $455 billion, marking a 359% year-over-year increase, driven by strong demand for AI and four multibillion-dollar cloud deals [2][7] - The company forecasts cloud revenue to grow from an estimated $18 billion this fiscal year to $144 billion by 2030, exceeding Wall Street's expectations by about $50 billion [3][10] - Oracle's projections have significantly boosted investor confidence, leading to a sharp increase in its stock price and positively impacting other AI-related stocks [4][9] Company Performance - Oracle's backlog growth is indicative of robust AI spending, with analysts describing the quarter as "truly historic" [7][9] - The company signed a notable five-year contract worth $300 billion with OpenAI, further solidifying its position in the AI market [3][13] - Despite lackluster first-quarter results, Oracle's optimistic outlook overshadowed these figures, resulting in a stock surge of up to 43% [4][8] Industry Impact - The strong performance of Oracle has positively influenced other AI-related companies, with shares of Nvidia, Broadcom, and Arm Holdings seeing significant increases [4][5] - Major cloud providers are expected to spend a cumulative $368 billion on infrastructure this year, with a substantial portion allocated for AI-related investments [10] - Tax incentives from recent legislation are anticipated to enhance Big Tech's free cash flows, further supporting AI infrastructure investments [11]