Topline
American software giant Oracle suffered its worst daily stock loss in more than two decades Tuesday after the company’s earnings report largely disappointed investors, leaving Oracle chairman Larry Ellison billions of dollars poorer.
Larry Ellison, left, sits with Bill Gates in 2021.
Key Facts
Shares of Oracle crashed 13.5% to below $110, sliding to their lowest intraday share price since June.
Ellison’s net worth accordingly cratered from $159 billion to $140.6 billion Tuesday, according to Forbes’ calculations, making the world’s fourth-richest person by far the largest loser of any billionaire.
That widens the gap to roughly $23.5 billion between Ellison and the world’s third-wealthiest man, Jeff Bezos, who Ellison briefly overtook in June for the bronze.
The slide comes after Oracle narrowly missed analyst estimates for revenue in the three-month period ending August 31 and significantly lower sales guidance for the current financial period than forecasted.
“Investor enthusiasm was high into the print and Oracle didn’t deliver the expected upside,” explained UBS analysts led by Karl Keirstead, lowering their price target for Oracle from $140 to $135.
“Investors were likely underwhelmed by the lack of upside” demonstrated by Oracle in the report, concurred Goldman Sachs analysts led by Kash Rangan.
Contra
Ellison remains $18 billion ahead of the world’s fifth-richest person, Warren Buffett.
Key Background
Prior to Tuesday, Oracle stock’s 51% year-to-date gain far outpaced the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 34% rally, but the post-earnings slide puts Oracle’s 2023 performance nearly exactly in line with the index’s. After the company’s blockbuster June earnings report flexing the company’s potential to be a leader in the burgeoning generative artificial intelligence space, Oracle shares soared to their highest level in its 37-year history as a publicly traded company. Ellison, who cofounded Oracle in 1977 and served as its CEO from its founding until 2014, accordingly saw his fortune balloon. Ellison is a sizeable donor to the Republican party, shelling out roughly $20 million in support of GOP Senate candidates ahead of the 2022 midterm elections and reportedly gearing up to spend $60 million or more in support of Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)’s presidential campaign.
Further Reading
MORE FROM FORBESLarry Ellison Overtakes Jeff Bezos As World’s Third-Richest PersonBy Derek Saul
