SUBSCRIBE | FastCo Works advertisement BY Sarah Fielding Listen to this ArticleMore info 0:00 / 0:00 Oracle Corp. started September by making headlines for layoffs. Then, on Tuesday, September 9, it reported first-quarter financial results that missed the mark for revenue and earnings. Yet, you wouldn't guess any of this based on how its stock has rallied. Fast Company Innovation Festival Ticket Giveaway—Enter now! LOGIN The software company's shares (NYSE:ORCL) rose over 32% through after-hours and into ...

Core Insights - Alphabet's Cloud division has $106 billion in commitments from existing contracts, with an expected revenue of $58 billion over the next two years as services are delivered [1] - Google Cloud's revenue grew 32% to $13.6 billion in Q2, achieving an annual revenue run rate of over $50 billion [1] - The CEO of Google Cloud predicts revenue will skyrocket to $144 billion by 2030, with infrastructure revenue expected to grow 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year [5] Company Performance - Google Cloud is currently in third place in the cloud services market, behind Amazon and Microsoft, but is seen as a strong growth driver for Alphabet as its main search business matures [1] - Oracle also reported strong cloud revenue growth, with a 359% increase in backlog to $455 billion in the first quarter [6] - Despite Oracle's earnings miss, its shares rose significantly, indicating strong market sentiment around cloud growth [4] Market Trends - The AI compute race and demand for cloud services are driving growth in the tech sector, with major companies like Google and Oracle leading the charge [7] - The S&P 500 has reached record highs, driven by the performance of mega-cap tech stocks, including Alphabet and Oracle [16] - There is cautious optimism in the market, with expectations of continued growth into the new year despite some volatility [20]

Core Insights - Oracle Corp. reported first-quarter earnings of $1.47 per share and revenue of $14.92 billion, slightly below market expectations, but positive commentary on future growth drove the stock price up significantly [1][5] Financial Performance - Quarterly earnings were $1.47 per share and revenue was $14.92 billion, both figures slightly under Street estimates [1] - The company's backlog of remaining performance obligations increased by 359% to $455 billion due to four multi-billion-dollar contracts signed in Q1 [3] Growth Outlook - Oracle's MultiCloud database revenue grew by an extraordinary 1,529% in the first quarter, driven by demand from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft [2] - CEO Safra Catz forecasted that Oracle Cloud Infrastructure revenue will grow 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year, with potential expansion to $144 billion in the coming years [4] - The company plans to deliver an additional 37 datacenters to its hyperscaler partners, totaling 71 [3] Market Positioning - Chairman Larry Ellison emphasized that AI inference represents a much larger market than AI training, positioning Oracle favorably to capitalize on this opportunity [4] - The company anticipates signing several additional multi-billion-dollar customers in the near future, with remaining performance obligations likely to exceed half a trillion dollars [4] Analyst Reactions - Following the earnings report, multiple analysts raised their price targets for Oracle stock, reflecting optimism about future growth driven by cloud and AI adoption [5][6] - Price targets were raised significantly by various analysts, with JMP Securities increasing it from $315 to $342, and Guggenheim raising it from $250 to $375 [6] Stock Performance - Oracle's stock surged by 38.49% to $334.47 following the earnings report and positive outlook [7]

Company Overview - Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) has a market cap of $25.5 billion and is a leading provider of high-performance, energy-efficient server and storage solutions built on modular and open-standard architectures [1] - The company designs and manufactures a wide range of systems, including AI-optimized servers, blade and multi-node platforms, storage solutions, and edge computing systems, serving industries such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 5G, and enterprise data centers [2] Stock Performance - Shares of Super Micro Computer have decreased over 34% from its 52-week high of $66.44, while over the past three months, its shares have risen 3.9%, underperforming the broader Dow Jones Industrials Average's 6.4% gain during the same period [3] - Over the past 52 weeks, shares have returned nearly 8%, lagging behind the Dow Jones Industrials Average's nearly 12% increase, but are up 46.2% on a year-to-date basis, outperforming the Dow's 7.2% gain [4] Financial Results - Following its Q4 2025 results on August 5, Super Micro Computer's shares tumbled 18.3%. The company reported adjusted EPS at $0.41 and revenue at $5.76 billion, missing Wall Street expectations [5] - The company cut its long-term outlook, projecting at least $33 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue, down from its earlier forecast [5] Competitive Position - Super Micro Computer's stock has performed weaker than its rival, Pure Storage, Inc. (PSTG), which has climbed nearly 33% year-to-date and 74.9% over the past 52 weeks [5] Analyst Sentiment - Analysts remain cautious about Super Micro Computer's prospects, with a consensus rating of "Hold" from 18 analysts in coverage. The mean price target of $47.62 represents a premium of 5.6% to current levels [6]

Core Insights - Oracle's shares increased by 30% in premarket trading following a positive cloud revenue outlook despite weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results [1] - Remaining performance obligations rose 359% year-over-year to $455 billion, significantly exceeding estimates of $178 billion [1] - CEO Safra Catz indicated that Oracle anticipates securing "several additional multi-billion-dollar" cloud clients in the near future [1] Financial Performance - Oracle's cloud infrastructure division is projected to surpass $500 billion in booked revenue [2] - OCI revenue is expected to grow by 77% this year, reaching $18 billion, and is forecasted to hit $144 billion within four years [2] - For Q1, adjusted earnings were reported at $1.47 per share on revenue of $14.93 billion, slightly below expectations of $1.48 per share and $15.04 billion in revenue [2]

Market Overview - The stock market experienced significant volatility in Q2 2025, with the S&P 500 reaching an all-time high by the end of June despite a 7% drop from April 2 to April 7 due to the liberation day tariff announcement [1] - The market rebounded, gaining over 22% from the April 7 low through the end of June, with the Russell 1000 Growth returning 17.8% and the S&P 500 returning 10.9% in the quarter [1] - Large-cap stocks significantly outperformed small-cap stocks, and growth stocks outperformed value stocks during this period [1] Renaissance Large Cap Growth Strategy - The strategy outperformed the S&P 500 Index but underperformed the Russell 1000 Growth benchmark [1] - The investor letter highlighted Dynatrace, Inc. (NYSE:DT) as a new position added to the portfolio, focusing on its potential in the Information Technology sector [3] Dynatrace, Inc. (NYSE:DT) Insights - Dynatrace offers a security platform for multi-cloud environments, with a one-month return of 5.98% and a 52-week loss of 0.04% [2] - As of September 09, 2025, Dynatrace's stock closed at $50.65 per share, with a market capitalization of $15.271 billion [2] - The company is expected to benefit from the shift to cloud computing and growth in artificial intelligence, which increases the need for network observability solutions [3] - Dynatrace has been utilizing AI in observability for over a decade, positioning it well to benefit from the growth of agentic AI [3] Financial Performance - Dynatrace's total revenue for fiscal Q1 2026 was $477 million, representing a growth of 19% and surpassing the high end of guidance by approximately 200 basis points [4] - Despite the potential of Dynatrace as an investment, certain AI stocks are considered to offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk [4]

having shocked Wall Street with a massive revenue forecast tied, this time, to demand for its cloud-computing infrastructure. ...

Core Insights - The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has shown significant growth, with a 45% increase over the past five years and over 130% in the last ten years, driven by the quality of its holdings and stock buyback programs [1][3][6] - The ETF is based on the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, which emphasizes reliable dividend payments, cash flow, and return on equity, distinguishing it from traditional cap-weighted funds [2][4] - The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has approximately $100 billion in assets and focuses on reliable dividend growers, with notable holdings including Broadcom, Microsoft, and JPMorgan, and has seen its quarterly payments nearly double over the past decade [7][8] - The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has produced a 186% price increase over the last ten years, benefiting from the rise of technology stocks [9] - The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF currently has a modest yield of 2.5%, which is below expectations, and has been affected by the performance of its largest holdings [13][15][17] ETF Performance and Characteristics - The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF offers a trailing yield of just under 3.8%, appealing to income-focused investors, although higher yields can be found elsewhere [3][6] - The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF's yield is relatively low at just over 1.6%, primarily due to its selection criteria that exclude high-yield stocks [10][11][12] - The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF's yield has decreased significantly since late 2023, as its largest holdings have outperformed in the broader market [15][16][17] Investment Considerations - Dividend stocks and ETFs provide a simpler solution for investors seeking reliable income that grows over time, with ETFs being less hassle than individual stock purchases [5] - The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF is recommended for income investors seeking relative safety, despite trailing the S&P 500 in performance when dividends are not reinvested [6] - The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF may not be a suitable investment currently due to its underwhelming yield and market conditions affecting its performance [13][17]

Core Insights - Broadcom Inc. has granted CEO Hock E. Tan a long-term equity award linked to the company's success in artificial intelligence, emphasizing the board's commitment to his leadership through the end of the decade [1][5] Compensation Structure - The award, approved on September 3, 2025, includes performance stock units that vest only if Broadcom meets specific AI revenue goals between fiscal 2028 and fiscal 2030, contingent on Tan remaining in his role [2] - At target, the grant covers 610,521 shares, with payouts ranging from zero if revenue does not exceed $60 billion to as much as 300% of target if revenue surpasses $120 billion in any four consecutive quarters [2] Strategic Positioning - The board believes that to compete successfully in a rapidly changing technology industry driven by AI, Broadcom must develop advanced technologies and execute new strategies to meet customer demand [3] - The "Tan PSU Award" comes as Broadcom positions itself at the center of the AI and cloud computing boom, expanding into custom AI accelerators, XPUs, ASICs, networking switches, and data center infrastructure products [4] Industry Dynamics - Broadcom's strategy highlights the importance of Tan's leadership during an unprecedented transformation in the semiconductor industry driven by AI [5] - The award also indicates Broadcom's intention to position its custom silicon as a competitive alternative to Nvidia's dominant AI processors [5] Market Developments - Tan confirmed that Broadcom secured a major AI chip customer, identified as OpenAI, with expectations that 2026 custom chip sales could exceed prior forecasts [6] - Analysts estimate that AI chip revenue could reach $20 billion in 2025, reflecting the growing demand in the market [6] Competitive Landscape - Following Broadcom's $10 billion custom chip deal with OpenAI, Citi analyst Atif Malik cut Nvidia's price forecast, warning of a potential 4% decline in Nvidia's 2026 GPU sales due to intensified competition [7]

CNBC’s Jim Cramer is attributing Oracle Corp.‘s ORCL monumental $455 billion backlog to the ‘Stargate’ AI infrastructure project, questioning the 359% surge in the pipeline on a social media post.Check out ORCL’s stock price here.Cramer Weighs On Oracle TradeIn a series of posts on X, Cramer expressed astonishment at the market’s reaction and Oracle’s business pipeline. “Trying to figure out how much of that backlog for Oracle is Stargate because I don't know who else would be placing those orders,” he wrot ...