Larry Ellison Loses $24 Billion Amid Oracle Stock Plunge

New York City, NY — Larry Ellison, the world’s second-richest person, saw his net worth drop by roughly $24 billion on Friday as Oracle shares tumbled despite optimistic revenue forecasts from company executives. The stock fell about 7%, reaching around $291, marking the second-largest decline this year.

During a call with analysts late Thursday, Ellison and Oracle’s CEO Clay Magouyrk projected an annual revenue growth rate of 31% over the next five years. They expect sales to reach $225 billion by Fiscal Year 2030, with earnings anticipated to increase to $21 per share during the same period.

Wall Street initially celebrated these forecasts. Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow noted that the growth estimates exceeded expectations, while Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci remarked that the predictions were “much higher than some have speculated.”

However, the stock’s decline can be traced to a lack of detail regarding Oracle’s capital expenditure plans. Jefferies analyst Brent Thill pointed out that executives did not provide sufficient forward-looking commentary, which raised concerns about the necessary alignment of expenditures with cloud infrastructure revenue growth.

Ellison owns approximately 41% of Oracle. His net worth is now estimated at $350.6 billion, placing him behind Elon Musk, whose fortune has climbed to $485.9 billion. Last month, Ellison’s wealth briefly surged beyond $400 billion when Oracle shares skyrocketed, adding $110 billion to his net worth in a single day.

In response to the stock’s recent volatility, Thill raised his price target for Oracle to $400, while DiFucci and Lenschow also increased their targets to $400 from earlier figures of $375 and $367, respectively. Stifel analyst Brad Reback maintained his price target at $350.

Oracle’s stock had been on the rise recently due to anticipated growth in AI-driven cloud computing. Last month, Oracle projected its cloud infrastructure revenue would reach $18 billion this fiscal year, potentially nearly doubling to $32 billion by 2027 and continuing to grow to $73 billion, $114 billion, and $144 billion in subsequent years.

Additionally, Oracle reported a staggering 359% increase in contracted but unrecognized revenue, totaling $455 billion. This significant growth was attributed to four multibillion-dollar contracts secured with three different customers through the latest quarter, which took analysts by surprise. Deutsche Bank’s Brad Zelnick commented that those on the call were “all kind of in shock in a very, very good way,” reflecting a major shift in computing.