Oracle’s (ORCL) impressive fourth-quarter earnings and bold cloud growth forecast have sparked investor enthusiasm, but not everyone on Wall Street is convinced. While the company projects accelerating cloud momentum in fiscal 2026, some analysts remain cautious, citing past performance shortfalls and aggressive targets.
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KeyBanc Stays Cautious Yet Bullish
Following the results, KeyBanc four-star-rated analyst Jackson Ader noted that investors don’t necessarily need to fully buy into Oracle’s bold forecast to see an upside in the near term. He pointed out that the company is building its business backlog at an “impressive rate,” suggesting it may be on track to meet at least part of its aggressive goals.
Ader further stated that Oracle fell short of meeting its growth targets last year. While this year’s projections are “stunning,” he cautioned that they remain “just targets,” expressing skepticism about the company’s ability to deliver on them.
Overall, Ader maintained a Buy rating on ORCL stock and raised his price target from $200 to $225.
Oracle Signals Stronger Cloud Growth Ahead
The company’s strong Q4 performance was largely driven by its expanding cloud operations. Oracle’s Q4 cloud revenue rose 27% to $6.7 billion, with IaaS revenue jumping 52% to $3 billion. Looking ahead to fiscal 2026, the company expects total cloud revenue to grow by 40%, a sharp increase from 24% growth this year. Notably, Oracle anticipates cloud infrastructure revenue to climb more than 70%, accelerating from 50% growth in the current year.
Following the impressive numbers, Citizens’ analyst Patrick Walravens called its cloud growth trajectory “absolutely remarkable.” Walravens reiterated his Buy rating on ORCL stock.
Additionally, Jefferies analysts, led by Brent Thill, raised their price target on Oracle shares to $220 from $200, maintaining a Buy rating. Thill stated that the results underscored the broad momentum behind the AI-driven infrastructure expansion.
Is Oracle a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Overall, Wall Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on ORCL stock, based on 12 Buys and 11 Holds assigned in the last three months. The average Oracle stock price target of $179.0 implies about 1.5% upside potential from current levels.
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