ORCL 10-K diff: FY 2024-05-31 → FY 2025-05-31
Paragraph-level diff of Risk Factors (Item 1A) and Management's Discussion & Analysis (Item 7).
Item 1A · Risk Factors
+88 paragraphs −89 paragraphs ~88 changed
FY 2024-05-31 (earlier)
Item 1A. R isk Factors
We operate in rapidly changing economic and technological environments that present numerous risks, many of which are driven by factors that we cannot control or predict. The following discussion, as well as our discussion in Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, highlights some of these risks. The risks described below are not exhaustive and you should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties before investing in our securities.
Business and Operational Risks
We may be unsuccessful in developing and selling new products and services, integrating acquired products and services and enhancing our existing products and services. Our industry is characterized by rapid technological advances, intense competition, changing delivery models, evolving standards in communications infrastructure, increasingly sophisticated customer needs and frequent new product introductions and enhancements. We have continued to refresh and release new offerings of our cloud products and services, but if we are unable to develop new or sufficiently differentiated products and services, enhance and improve our product offerings and support services in a timely manner or position and price our products and services to meet demand, customers may not purchase or subscribe to our license, hardware or cloud offerings or renew license support, hardware support or cloud subscriptions contracts. Renewals of these contracts are important to our future success. In addition, we cannot provide any assurance that the standards on which we choose to develop new products will allow us to compete effectively for business opportunities in emerging areas.
In addition, our business may be adversely affected if:
• we do not continue to develop and release new or enhanced products and services within the anticipated time frames;
• infrastructure costs to deliver new or enhanced products and services take longer or result in greater costs than anticipated;• we are unable to increase our existing data center capacity or establish data centers in new geographic locations in a timely manner to meet current or expected customer demand;• we fail to meet our contractual service level commitments;
• there is a delay in market acceptance of and difficulty in transitioning new and existing customers to new, enhanced or acquired product lines or services;• sanctions, export controls or other regulatory, legislative or other barriers prevent us from serving certain customers or restrict our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions;• there are changes in IT trends that we do not adequately anticipate or timely address with our product development efforts;
• we do not optimize complementary product lines and services in a timely manner; or
• we fail to adequately integrate, support or enhance acquired product lines or services.
In addition, our profitability and revenues could be adversely impacted if we lose one or more of our key customers for any reason, including as a result of any of the factors discussed above. Any such loss could also limit or reduce our growth in future periods.Our AI products may not operate as anticipated, which could adversely affect our reputation, revenues and profitability. Machine learning and AI, including generative AI, are increasingly driving innovations in technology, and AI technology and services are highly competitive and rapidly evolving. We have invested, and expect to continue to invest, significant resources to build and support our AI products, and if our AI products fail to operate as anticipated or as well as competing products or otherwise do not meet customer needs or if our competitors’ AI products achieve higher market acceptance than ours, we may fail to recoup our investments in AI and our business and reputation may be harmed. In addition, AI technologies are rapidly evolving and present emerging legal and ethical issues, including claims of bias, discrimination, a perceived lack of transparency, as well as sometimes unpredictable behaviors or improper use of copyrighted or other protected material, such as personal and patient health information, any of which could expose us or our customers to reputational or legal risk and inhibit adoption of our AI products. Regulatory uncertainty, including the lack of comprehensive federal legislation, a patchwork of existing and proposed frameworks, and emerging regulatory initiatives, may expose us to compliance challenges and19
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uncertainties. Our failure to adapt to these changes could result in legal and reputational consequences including, but not limited to, being required to adjust or limit our product offerings or our use of AI in certain jurisdictions to comply with new and evolving AI laws and regulations.
If we do not successfully execute our Oracle Cloud strategy, including our offerings of Oracle Cloud Services, our revenues and profitability may decline. We provide our cloud and other offerings to customers worldwide via a variety of deployment models, including via our cloud-based SaaS and OCI offerings. As these business models continue to evolve, we may not be able to compete effectively, generate significant revenues or maintain the profitability of our cloud offerings. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of various cloud offering models by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our cloud and license offerings. If we do not successfully execute our cloud computing strategy or anticipate the cloud computing needs of our customers, our reputation as a cloud services provider could be harmed and our revenues and profitability could decline.
As customer demand for our cloud offerings increases, we experience volatility in our reported revenues and operating results due to the differences in timing of revenue recognition between our cloud license and on-premise license, and hardware product arrangements relative to our cloud offering arrangements. Customers predominantly purchase our cloud offerings on a subscription basis, and revenues from these offerings are generally recognized ratably or as services are consumed over the terms of the subscriptions. Consequently, any deterioration in sales activity associated with our cloud offerings may not be immediately observable in our consolidated statement of operations. This is in contrast to revenues associated with our license and hardware product arrangements, which are generally recognized in full at the time of delivery of the related licenses and hardware products. In addition, we may not be able to accurately anticipate customer transitions from or be able to sufficiently backfill reduced customer demand for our license, hardware and support offerings relative to the expected increase in customer adoption of and demand for our Oracle Cloud Services, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
If we are unable to secure data center capacity at affordable rates or do not accurately plan for our infrastructure capacity requirements, our profitability may decline. As a part of our Oracle Cloud strategy, we plan our investment levels based on estimates of future revenues and future anticipated rates of growth. In recent periods, our cloud services and license support expenses have grown to meet current and expected demand for our cloud offerings, including investments to increase our existing data center capacity and to establish data centers in new geographic locations. In connection with these investments, we entered, and expect to continue to enter, into long-term operating lease commitments with third-party data center providers that generally require us to pay significant contract termination fees to early exit such obligations should our strategies change, which could adversely impact our profitability and cash flows. Data centers in geographies that we rely on may also be unavailable on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Moreover, we do not control the operation of these third-party data centers, and they may suffer interruptions in service from events beyond our control, including from acts of government, natural events, power loss, break-ins or misconduct by those third parties. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers to provide equipment and components required to outfit these data centers on a timely basis. Ongoing or future delays could cause the loss of additional sales, delay our revenue recognition or increase our costs, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our business. We typically depreciate these assets over their estimated useful lives, which could be shortened should our cloud strategies change, which could adversely affect our profitability.
Our products and services may not function properly if we experience significant coding, manufacturing or configuration errors in our cloud, license and hardware offerings. Despite testing prior to the release and throughout the lifecycle of a product or service, our cloud, license and hardware offerings sometimes contain coding, manufacturing or configuration errors that can impact their function, performance and security, and result in other negative consequences. The detection and correction of any errors in released cloud, license or hardware offerings can be time consuming and costly. Errors in our cloud, license or hardware offerings, or errors embedded in third-party software products or services incorporated into our own products, could affect their ability to properly function, integrate or operate with other cloud, license or hardware offerings, could result in service interruptions, delays or outages of our cloud offerings, could create security vulnerabilities in our products or services, could delay the development or release of new products or services or new versions of products or services, and could adversely affect market acceptance of our products or services. If we experience any of these errors, or if there are delays in releasing our cloud, license or hardware offerings or new versions of these offerings, our sales could be affected and revenues could decline. In addition, we run Oracle’s business operations as well as cloud and other services that we offer to our customers on our products and networks. Therefore, any flaws could affect our and our customers’20
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abilities to conduct business operations and to ensure accuracy in financial processes and reporting, and may result in unanticipated costs and interruptions. Enterprise customers rely on our cloud, license and hardware offerings and related services to run their businesses, and errors in our cloud, license and hardware offerings and related services could expose us to product liability, performance and warranty claims as well as significant harm to our brand and reputation, which could impact our future sales.
If we are unable to compete effectively, the results of operations and prospects for our business could be harmed. We face intense competition in all aspects of our business. The nature of the IT industry creates a competitive landscape that is constantly evolving as firms emerge, expand or are acquired, as technology evolves and as delivery models change. Our enterprise cloud, license and hardware offerings compete directly with certain offerings from some of the largest and most competitive companies in the world. In addition, due to the low barriers to entry in many of our market segments, new technologies and new and growing competitors frequently emerge to challenge our offerings. We believe many vendors spend amounts in excess of what Oracle spends to develop and market applications and infrastructure technologies including databases, middleware products, application development tools, business applications, collaboration products and business intelligence, compute, storage and networking products, among others, which compete with Oracle applications and infrastructure offerings.
In addition, use of our competitors’ technologies can influence a customer’s purchasing decision or create an environment that makes it less efficient to utilize or migrate to Oracle products and services. For example, we offer our customers multicloud services whereby our customers can combine cloud services from multiple clouds with the goal of optimizing cost, functionality and performance. OCI’s multicloud services work with a number of our competitors’ products, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform. This multicloud strategy could lead our customers to migrate away from our cloud offerings to our competitors’ products or limit their purchases of additional Oracle products, either of which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
Our competitors may also adopt business practices that provide customers access to competing products and services on terms that we may not generally find acceptable, which may convince customers to purchase competitor products and services. We could lose customers if our competitors introduce new competitive products, add new functionality, acquire competitive products, reduce prices, better execute on their sales and marketing strategies, offer more flexible business practices, provide debt or equity financing to customers or form strategic alliances with other companies. Mergers, consolidations or alliances among our competitors, or acquisitions of our competitors by large companies may result in increased competition.
If our competitors offer deep discounts on certain products or services or develop products that the marketplace considers more valuable, we may need to lower prices, introduce pricing models and offerings or offer other terms that are less favorable to us to compete successfully. Any such changes may reduce revenues and margins and could adversely affect operating results. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of cloud delivery models offered by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our other cloud and license, hardware and services offerings, and we may also incur increased cloud delivery expenses as we expand our cloud operations and update our infrastructure, all of which could reduce our revenues and profitability. Our license support fees and hardware support fees are generally priced as a percentage of our net license fees and net new hardware products fees, respectively. Our competitors may offer lower pricing on their support offerings, which could put pressure on us to further discount our offerings. If we do not adapt our pricing models to reflect changes in customer use of our products, changes in customer demand or increased competition, our revenues could decrease.
Any failure to offer high-quality technical support services may adversely affect our relationships with our customers and our financial results . Our customers depend on our support organization to resolve technical issues relating to our applications and infrastructure offerings. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in customer demand for support services or may be inefficient in our resolution of customer support issues. Increased customer demand for these services, without corresponding revenues, could increase costs and adversely affect our operating results. Any failure to maintain high-quality technical support, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality technical support, could adversely affect our reputation, our ability to sell and renew our applications and infrastructure offerings to existing and prospective customers, and our business, operating results, and financial position.
We may not receive significant revenues from our current research and development efforts for several years, if at all. Developing our various product offerings is expensive and the investment in the development of these
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offerings often involves a long return on investment cycle. An important element of our corporate strategy is to continue to dedicate a significant amount of resources to research and development and related product and service opportunities, both through internal investments and the acquisition of intellectual property from acquired companies. Accelerated product and service introductions and short lifecycles require high levels of expenditures for research and development that could adversely affect our operating results if not offset by revenue increases. We believe that we must continue to dedicate a significant amount of resources to our research and development efforts to maintain our competitive position. However, we do not expect to receive significant revenues from these investments for several years, if at all.
Our cloud offerings and hardware offerings are complex, and if we cannot successfully manage this complexity, including the sourcing of technologies and components, the results of these businesses will suffer. We depend on suppliers to develop, manufacture and deliver on a timely basis the necessary technologies and components for our hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, and there are some technologies and components that can only be purchased from a single vendor due to price, quality, technology, availability or other business constraints. Our supply chain operations are affected by industry consolidation and component constraints or shortages, natural disasters, political unrest (such as the tensions between China and Taiwan), public health crises, changes to trade laws or regulations, port stoppages, shipping interruptions or other transportation disruptions or slowdowns, and other factors affecting the countries or regions where these single source component vendors are located or where the products are being shipped. If disruption caused by one or more of the risks described above occurs, our cloud and license business and hardware business and related operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Supply chain shortages have in some instances resulted in increases to the costs of production of our hardware products that we may not be able to pass on to our customers. In addition, we have in some instances responded to such shortages by committing to higher purchases and balances of hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, relative to our historical positions. While this permits us to secure manufacturing capacity, it has increased excess and obsolescence risk of such hardware products and could adversely impact our profitability and cash flows. We expect these factors will continue to impact us in the future.
We outsource most of our manufacturing, assembly, delivery and technology of, and certain component designs for, our hardware products to a variety of companies, many of which are located outside the U.S. From time to time, these partners experience production problems, delays or cannot meet our demand for products. Ongoing or future delays in manufacturing could cause the loss of additional sales, delayed revenue recognition or an increase in our hardware products expenses, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our cloud and license business and hardware business. These challenges could arise if we alter our manufacturing strategies, suppliers, or locations.
Our periodic workforce restructurings and reorganizations can be disruptive. We periodically restructure or make other adjustments to our workforce in response to management changes, product changes, performance issues, changes in strategies, acquisitions and other internal and external considerations. These types of restructurings have resulted, and may in the future result, in increased restructuring costs and temporary reduced productivity while employees adjust to the restructuring. These types of restructurings may also lead to a shortage of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles. In addition, we may not achieve or sustain the expected growth, resource redeployment or cost savings benefits of these restructurings, or may not do so within the expected timeframe. These effects could recur in connection with future acquisitions and other restructurings, and our revenues and other results of operations could be negatively affected.
We may lose key employees or may be unable to hire enough qualified employees. We rely on hiring qualified employees and the continued service of our senior management, including our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Technology Officer and founder; our Chief Executive Officer; other members of our executive team; and other key employees. In the technology industry, there is substantial and continuous competition for highly skilled business, product development and technical personnel, particularly in the AI field. Hiring freezes or slowdowns may result in decreased productivity while existing employees take on additional roles and responsibilities, and may also lead to a shortage of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles.
We may also experience increased compensation costs that are not offset by either improved productivity or higher sales. We may not be successful in recruiting new personnel and in retaining and motivating existing personnel. With
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rare exceptions, we do not have long-term employment or non-competition agreements with our employees. Members of our senior management team have left Oracle over the years for a variety of reasons, and any future departures may be disruptive to our operations.
We continually focus on improving our cost structure by hiring personnel in countries where advanced technical and other expertise are available at lower costs. When we make adjustments to our workforce, we may incur expenses associated with workforce reductions that delay the benefit of a more efficient workforce structure. We are experiencing increased competition for employees in these countries as the trend toward globalization continues, which has affected our employee retention efforts and increased our expenses in an effort to offer a competitive compensation program. In addition, changes to immigration and labor law policies may adversely impact our access to technical and professional talent.
Our general compensation program includes restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance-based equity, which are important tools in attracting and retaining employees in our industry. If our stock price performs poorly, it may adversely affect our ability to retain or attract employees. We continually evaluate our compensation practices and consider changes from time to time, which may have an impact on our ability to retain employees and the amount of stock-based compensation expense that we record. Any changes in our compensation practices or those of our competitors could affect our ability to retain and motivate existing personnel and recruit new personnel.
There are risks associated with our cloud and license and hardware indirect sales channels which could affect our future operating results. Our cloud and license and hardware indirect channel networks are comprised primarily of resellers, system integrators/implementers, consultants, education providers, internet service providers, network integrators and ISVs. Our relationships with these channel participants are important elements of our cloud, software and hardware marketing and sales efforts. Our financial results could be adversely affected if:• our contracts with channel participants were terminated or our relationships with channel participants were to deteriorate;
• any of our competitors enter into strategic relationships with or acquire a significant channel participant;
• the financial condition or operations of our channel participants were to weaken; or
• the level of demand for our channel participants’ products and services were to decrease.There can be no assurance that we will be successful in maintaining, expanding or developing our relationships with channel participants. If we are not successful, we may lose sales opportunities, customers and revenues. In addition, we do not control channel participants, some of which operate in jurisdictions with high levels of corruption, and our compliance policies and procedures may fail to prevent or detect violations of anti-corruption or other laws for which we may be held responsible.
Acquisitions present many risks and we may not achieve the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of a transaction. We review and consider strategic acquisitions of companies, products, services and technologies. We have a selective and active acquisition program and we expect to continue to make acquisitions in the future because acquisitions have been an important element of our overall corporate strategy. Risks we may face in connection with our acquisition program include:
• our ongoing business may be disrupted and our management’s attention may be diverted by acquisition, transition or integration activities;
• we may have difficulties (1) managing an acquired company’s technologies or lines of business; (2) entering new markets where we have no, or limited, direct prior experience or where competitors may have stronger market positions; or (3) retaining key personnel from the acquired companies;
• an acquisition may not further our business strategy as we expected, we may not integrate an acquired company or technology as successfully as we expected, we may impose our business practices or alter go-to-market strategies that adversely impact the acquired business or we may overpay for, or otherwise not realize the expected return on our investments, each or all of which could adversely affect our business or operating results and potentially cause impairment to assets that we recorded as a part of an acquisition, including intangible assets and goodwill;
• our operating results or financial condition may be adversely impacted by (1) claims or liabilities that we assume from an acquired company or technology or that are otherwise related to an acquisition; (2) pre-existing contractual relationships that we assume from an acquired company, the termination or
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modification of which may be costly or disruptive to our business; and (3) unfavorable revenue recognition or other accounting treatment as a result of an acquired company’s business practices;
• we may fail to identify or assess the magnitude of certain liabilities, shortcomings or other circumstances prior to acquiring a company or technology;
• we may not realize any anticipated increase in our revenues from an acquisition for a number of reasons, including (1) if a larger than predicted number of customers decline to renew or terminate their contracts with the acquired company; (2) if we are unable to sell the acquired products or service offerings to our customer base; (3) if acquired customers do not elect to purchase our technologies due to differing business practices; or (4) if contract models utilized by an acquired company do not allow us to recognize revenues in a manner that is consistent with our current accounting practices;
• we may have difficulty integrating acquired technologies, products, services and their related supply chain operations with our existing lines of business and related infrastructures;
• we may have multiple product lines or services offerings as a result of our acquisitions that are offered, priced, delivered and supported differently, which could cause customer confusion and delays;
• we may incur higher than anticipated costs (1) to support, develop and deliver acquired products or services; (2) for general and administrative functions that support new business models; or (3) to comply with regulations applicable to an acquired business that are more complicated than we had anticipated;
• we may be unable to obtain timely approvals from, or may otherwise have certain limitations, restrictions, penalties or other sanctions imposed on us by worker councils or similar bodies under applicable employment laws as a result of an acquisition;
• we may be unable to obtain required approvals from governmental authorities under foreign direct investment, foreign subsidy, competition and antitrust laws on a timely basis, if at all, and we may need to divest or dispose of assets or businesses or take other actions to obtain such approvals;
• our use of cash to pay for acquisitions may limit other potential uses of our cash; and
• we may have to incur additional debt to pay for acquisitions or have to delay or not proceed with an acquisition if we cannot obtain the necessary funding to complete the acquisition in a timely manner or on favorable terms.The occurrence of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, particularly in the case of a larger acquisition or several concurrent acquisitions.Data Privacy, Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property RisksIf our security measures for our products and services are compromised and as a result, our data, our customers’ data or our IT systems are accessed improperly, made unavailable, or improperly modified, our products and services may be perceived as vulnerable, our brand and reputation could be damaged, the IT services we provide to our customers could be disrupted, and customers may stop using our products and services, any of which could reduce our revenue and earnings, increase our expenses and expose us to legal claims and regulatory actions. Our products and services, including Oracle Cloud Services, store, retrieve, process and manage third-party data, such as our customers’ data, as well as our own data. We believe that Oracle is a target for computer hackers, cyber threats and other bad actors because Oracle stores and processes large amounts of data, including sensitive data such as health sciences (including patient health information), financial services, retail, hospitality, telecommunications and government data. We and our third-party vendors are regularly subject to attempts by third parties (which may include individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, such as state-sponsored organizations, nation-states and individuals sponsored by them) to identify and exploit product and service vulnerabilities, penetrate or bypass our security measures, and gain unauthorized access to our or our customers’, partners’ and suppliers’ software, hardware and cloud offerings, networks and systems. Successful attempts by one of these malicious actors can lead to the compromise of personal information or the confidential information or data of Oracle or our customers. Attempts of this nature typically involve IT-related viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs that attack networks, systems, products and services, exploit potential security vulnerabilities of networks, systems, products and services, create system disruptions and cause shutdowns or denials of service. Third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce customers, partners, employees or suppliers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other information to gain access to our data, our customers’, suppliers’ or partners’ data or the IT systems of Oracle, our customers, suppliers or partners. Our products and
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services, including our Oracle Cloud Services, may also be accessed or modified improperly as a result of customer, partner, employee, contractor or supplier error or malfeasance.
If a cyber-attack or other security incident results in unauthorized access to, or modification or exfiltration of, our customers’ or suppliers’ data, other external data, our own data or our IT systems, or if the services we provide to our customers are disrupted, or if our products or services are reported to have (or are perceived as having) security vulnerabilities, we could incur significant expenses and suffer substantial damage to our brand and reputation. If our customers lose confidence in the security and reliability of our products and services, including our cloud offerings, and perceive them to not be secure, they may decide to reduce or terminate their spend with us. In addition, cyber-attacks and other security incidents could lead to considerable investigation and remediation costs, loss or destruction of information, interruption of our operations, inappropriate use of proprietary and sensitive data, lawsuits, indemnity obligations, regulatory investigations and financial penalties, and claims and increased legal liability, including in some cases contractual costs related to customer notification and fraud monitoring. Our remediation efforts may not be successful.
Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to, or sabotage IT systems, change frequently, grow more complex over time, and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate or implement adequate measures to prevent such techniques. Our internal IT systems continue to evolve and we are often early adopters of new technologies. However, our business policies and internal security controls may not keep pace with these changes as new threats emerge. We may not discover any security breach and loss of information for a significant period of time after the security breach.
Our products operate in conjunction with and are dependent on a wide variety of third-party products, components and services. If there is a security vulnerability in one of these components, and if there is a security exploit targeting it, we could face increased costs, liability claims, customer dissatisfaction, reduced revenue, or harm to our reputation or competitive position. We also have an active acquisition program and have acquired a number of companies, products, services and technologies over the years. While we make significant efforts to address any IT security issues with respect to our acquired companies, we may still inherit such risks when we integrate these companies within Oracle.
Our business practices with respect to data could give rise to operational interruption, liabilities or reputational harm as a result of governmental regulation, legal requirements or industry standards relating to privacy and data protection. As regulatory focus on privacy issues continues to increase and worldwide laws and regulations concerning the handling of personal information expand and become more complex and stringent, potential risks related to data collection and use within our business will intensify. In addition, U.S. federal and state as well as foreign governments have enacted or are considering enacting legislation or regulations, or may in the near future interpret existing legislation or regulations, in a manner that could significantly impact our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, partners and data providers, to collect, augment, analyze, use, transfer (including across national borders) and share personal and other information that is integral to certain services we provide. We are also subject to data privacy and other related regulations governing the healthcare industry and patient information, including but not limited to regulations governing electronic health data transmissions, the processing of patient information, healthcare fraud and healthcare information sharing.
Following the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the rate of global consideration and adoption of privacy laws has increased, giving rise to more global jurisdictions in which regulatory inquiries and audits may be requested of Oracle, and if we are not deemed to be in compliance, could result in enforcement actions and/or fines. This is true in the U.S. where, for example, a number of states have enacted privacy laws, the U.S. Congress is considering several privacy and security-related bills at the federal level, the federal government is pursuing a range of cybersecurity initiatives pertaining to critical infrastructure companies and government contractors, and a number of other state legislatures are considering privacy laws. Regulators globally are also imposing greater monetary fines for privacy violations. The GDPR provides for monetary penalties of up to €20 million, or up to 4% of an organization’s worldwide revenue of the preceding financial year, whichever is greater. These penalties can be significant. For example, a U.S.-based technology company was fined €1.2 billion for alleged GDPR violations in 2023. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to fine companies for unfair and deceptive data protection practices, and these fines may increase in size. Taken together, the laws or regulations associated with the enhanced protection of personal and other types of data could greatly increase the size of potential fines related to data protection, and our cost of providing our products and services could result in changes to our business
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practices or even prevent us from offering certain services in jurisdictions in which we operate. Although we have implemented contracts, diligence programs, policies and procedures designed to address compliance with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, partners, suppliers, data providers or agents will not violate such laws and regulations or our contracts, policies and procedures. Additionally, public perception and standards related to the privacy of personal information can shift rapidly, in ways that may affect our reputation or influence regulators to enact regulations and laws that may limit our ability to provide certain products and services. For example, numerous jurisdictions, including the EU, are considering laws and regulations that would impose additional data privacy and other compliance requirements on the use of AI and could require us to adjust or limit our product offerings in such jurisdictions.We make statements about our use and disclosure of personal information through our privacy policy, information provided on our website and press statements. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with these public statements or with U.S. federal, state, or foreign laws and regulations, including laws and regulations regulating privacy, data security, or consumer protection, public perception, standards, self-regulatory requirements or legal obligations, could result in lost or restricted business, proceedings, actions or fines brought against us or levied by governmental entities or others, or could adversely affect our business and harm our reputation.
Third parties have claimed, and in the future may claim, infringement or misuse of intellectual property rights and/or breach of license agreement provisions. We periodically receive notices from, or have lawsuits filed against us by, third parties claiming infringement or other misuse of their intellectual property rights and/or breach of our agreements with them. These third parties include entities that do not design, manufacture, or distribute products or services or that acquire intellectual property for the sole purpose of monetization through infringement assertions. We expect to continue to receive such claims as:
• we continue to expand into new businesses and acquire companies;
• the number of products and competitors in our industry segments grows;
• the use and support of third-party code (including open source code) becomes more prevalent in the industry;• the volume of issued patents continues to increase; and
• non-practicing entities continue to assert intellectual property infringement in our industry segments.
Responding to any such claim, regardless of its validity, could:
• be time consuming, costly and result in litigation;
• divert management’s time and attention from developing our business;
• require us to pay monetary damages or enter into royalty and licensing agreements that we would not normally find acceptable;• require us to stop selling or to redesign certain of our products;
• require us to release source code to third parties, possibly under open source license terms;
• require us to satisfy indemnification obligations to our customers; or
• otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights. We rely on copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures, controls and contractual commitments to protect our intellectual property. Despite our efforts, these protections may be limited. Unauthorized third parties may try to copy or reverse engineer our products or otherwise use our intellectual property. Our patents may be invalidated or circumvented. Any of our pending or future patent applications may not be issued with the claim scope we seek, if at all. In addition, the laws of some countries do not provide the same level of intellectual property protection as U.S. laws and courts. If we cannot protect our intellectual property against unauthorized copying or use, or other misappropriation, we may not remain competitive.
Legal and Regulatory RisksAdverse litigation results could affect our business. We are subject to various legal proceedings. Litigation can be lengthy, expensive and disruptive to our operations, and can divert our management’s attention away from running our core business. The results of our litigation also cannot be predicted with certainty. Even a favorable judgment
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may be subject to appeals leading to protracted litigation, additional costs and the prospect that our desired outcome will be overturned. An adverse decision could result in monetary damages or injunctive relief that could affect our business, operating results or financial condition. Additional information regarding certain of the lawsuits we are involved in is discussed under Note 16 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
We may be subjected to increased taxes due to changes in U.S. or international tax laws or from adverse resolutions of tax audits and controversies. As a multinational corporation, we incur income taxes as well as non-income based taxes (such as payroll, sales, use, property and value-added taxes) in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant uncertainties exist with respect to the application of the various taxes to the businesses in which we engage, often requiring that we make judgments in determining our tax liabilities and worldwide provision for income taxes. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities in the U.S. and internationally, which has led to disagreements regarding our treatment of various items, including our intercompany transfer prices and calculations and the applicability of withholding taxes to our cross-border transactions. Any unfavorable resolution of these tax audits and controversies could cause our tax liabilities to increase and may have a material and adverse impact on our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate. Although we believe that our income and non-income based tax estimates are reasonable, there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and tax accruals.
Countries around the world continually consider and make changes to relevant tax, accounting and other laws, treaties, regulations, guidance and interpretations. In the U.S., various legislative proposals, if enacted, may substantially raise U.S. income taxes on our domestic and international profits. Such unfavorable tax proposals, the prospects for which depend to a significant degree on the U.S. political landscape, create the potential for added volatility in our quarterly provision for income taxes and could have a material adverse impact on our future income tax provisions and effective tax rate.
Other countries also continue to consider changes to their tax laws that could negatively affect us by increasing taxes imposed on our international revenue streams, operations and cross-border transactions, including the imposition of taxes targeted at digital technology businesses and changes in withholding tax rules. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Group of Twenty (G20), together with over 140 participating countries, have developed a two-pillar framework calling for a 15% global minimum tax on multinational corporate groups, which has been adopted in many jurisdictions, and that would provide greater taxing rights to market jurisdictions where customers or users are located. These changes may materially increase the level of income tax on our international profits.Our future income tax provisions and effective tax rate could materially increase under the tax changes discussed above or if other changes are made to applicable tax laws and rules in the U.S. or in other countries in which we do business. Our provision for income taxes also could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of income earned or losses incurred in jurisdictions with differing statutory tax rates, fluctuations in our stock price and level of stock-based compensation expense, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities and by other factors.Our international sales and operations and global customer base subject us to additional risks that can adversely affect our operating results. We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from, and have significant operations, outside of the U.S., and in both our U.S. and non-U.S. operations we serve customers based in or with ties to numerous jurisdictions around the world. Compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. These laws and regulations include data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, foreign currency-related regulations, competition/antitrust regulations, anti-bribery laws and other laws prohibiting payments to governmental officials such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), market access regulations, tariffs, and import, export and general trade regulations, including but not limited to economic sanctions and embargos. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in monetary fines, civil and/or criminal penalties, enforcement actions against us, our officers or our employees, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business, including disgorgement, the loss of trade privileges, and other remedial measures. Any such violations could result in prohibitions on our ability to offer our products and services in one or more countries or territories or to certain entities, could delay or prevent potential acquisitions and could also materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business and our operating results.
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Changes to sanctions or export control regulations in the U.S. and the other jurisdictions where we currently operate or have dealings, or in the future may operate or have dealings, can require suspension or termination of business (including financial transactions) in or with certain countries and territories or with certain customers. In addition, we continue to monitor relations between the U.S. and the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China, among others. It is difficult to anticipate the effect international relations may have on us. Compliance with any further economic sanctions, export controls or other regulatory restrictions (and any countermeasures thereto) taken by the U.S. or other countries could prevent us from serving certain customers or restrict us or our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions, which could have an adverse effect on our operations and results of operations. For example, in April 2024, the U.S. President signed into law a bill that will make it unlawful to provide internet hosting services to TikTok that are used to enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of TikTok for users within the U.S. if certain steps are not taken by TikTok’s owners within a set time frame. If we are unable to provide those services to TikTok, and if we cannot redeploy that capacity in a timely manner, our revenues and profits would be adversely impacted. Compliance with these laws may increase our expenses as we engage specialized or other additional resources to assist us with our compliance efforts.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate these risks and manage these difficulties. We monitor our operations and investigate allegations of improprieties relating to transactions and the way in which such transactions are recorded. Where circumstances warrant, we provide information and report our findings to government authorities, and in some circumstances such authorities conduct their own investigations and we respond to their requests or demands for information. No assurance can be given that action will not be taken by such authorities or that our compliance program will prove effective.
We are also subject to a variety of other risks and challenges in managing an organization operating globally, including those related to:• general economic conditions in each country or region;• political unrest, terrorism and war, including but not limited to the current Russia-Ukraine war, the economic impact thereof and the potential to subject our business to materially adverse consequences should the situation escalate beyond its current scope, including, among other potential impacts, the geographic proximity of the situation relative to the rest of Europe, where a material portion of our business is carried out;• the potential for other hostilities, including but not limited to further destabilization in the Middle East and tensions between China and Taiwan;• public health risks, social risks and supporting infrastructure stability risks, particularly in areas in which we have significant operations;• fluctuations in currency exchange rates and related impacts on customer demand and our operating results;
• difficulties in accessing or transferring funds from or converting currencies in certain countries that could lead to a devaluation of our net assets, in particular our cash assets, in that country’s currency;• regulatory changes, including government austerity measures in certain countries that we may not be able to sufficiently plan for or avoid that may unexpectedly impair bank deposits or other cash assets that we hold in these countries or that impose additional taxes that we may be required to pay in these countries;• common local business behaviors or regulatory requirements that conflict with our business ethics, practices and conduct policies;
• longer payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;
• overlapping tax regimes; and• reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries.The variety of risks and challenges listed above could also disrupt or otherwise negatively impact our supply chain operations and sales of our products and services in affected countries or regions.
As the majority shareholder of Oracle Financial Services Software Limited, a publicly traded company in India, and Oracle Corporation Japan, a publicly traded company in Japan, we face several additional risks, including being subject to local securities regulations and being unable to exert full control that we would otherwise have if these entities were wholly-owned subsidiaries.28
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The healthcare industry is highly regulated, and thus, we are subject to several laws, regulations and industry initiatives, non-compliance with certain of which could adversely affect our healthcare business. As a participant in the healthcare industry, certain of our operations and relationships, and those of our customers, are regulated by several U.S. federal, state, local and foreign governmental entities. The impact of these regulations on us is both direct and also indirect, in terms of government program requirements applicable to our customers for the use of health IT. Even though we may not be directly regulated by specific healthcare laws and regulations, our products and services must be capable of being used by our customers in a way that complies with those laws and regulations. There are significant, wide-ranging and rapidly evolving regulations both within and outside the U.S., such as regulations in the areas of healthcare fraud, information sharing, e-prescribing, claims processing and transmission, healthcare devices, the security and privacy of patient data and interoperability standards, that may be directly or indirectly applicable to our operations and relationships or the business practices of our customers. Specific risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The U.S. and other countries have regulations in place related to medical devices that now, or may in the future, apply to certain of our healthcare products and services. If any of our healthcare products and services are deemed to be actively regulated medical devices by regulatory agencies in countries where we do business, we could be subject to extensive requirements governing pre- and post-marketing activities, including pre-market notification clearance.
• Various U.S. federal, state and non-government agencies continue to generate requirements for the use of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT), and CEHRT continues to be a requirement of participation in federal healthcare programs in order to receive reimbursement for health items and services provided by certain of our customers to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. We expect the regulations establishing the certification and interoperability standards for CEHRT will continue to be updated to emphasize interoperability, consumer engagement, patient safety and health information privacy and security.Complying with these regulations globally is expensive and could subject us to unanticipated and significant delays. If we fail to comply sufficiently with these and other regulations, it could negatively impact our ability to continue to develop, distribute and deliver certain of our healthcare products and services, and we could suffer fines or penalties.
Our sales to local, state, federal and foreign government customers expose us to business volatility and risks, including government budgeting cycles and appropriations, government shutdowns, procurement regulations, governmental policy shifts, early termination of contracts, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties. We derive revenues from contracts with the U.S. government, state and local governments, and foreign governments and are subject to procurement laws relating to the award, administration and performance of those contracts.Governmental entities are variously pursuing policies that affect our ability to sell our products and services. Changes in government procurement policy, priorities, regulations, technology initiatives and/or requirements may negatively impact our potential for growth in the government sector. For example, the U.S. government imposes evolving cybersecurity requirements, including, for example, the FedRAMP authorization process and the Department of Defense (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. These requirements may impact our lines of business in the U.S. federal government market. Compliance with these cybersecurity requirements is complex and costly, and failure to meet, or delays in meeting, the required security controls could limit our ability to sell products and services, directly or indirectly, to the DoD and other federal and state government entities that implement similar cybersecurity requirements.
We are also subject to early termination of our contracts. Many governmental entities have the right to terminate contracts at any time for a variety of reasons, including without cause. For example, the U.S. federal government may terminate any of our government contracts and subcontracts at its convenience, or for default based on our performance. U.S. federal, state and local government and foreign government contracts are generally subject to government funding authorizations/appropriations. Contracts may also be terminated due to a lack of government funds.
There is increased pressure on governments and their agencies, both domestically and internationally, to reduce spending as governments continue to face significant deficit reduction pressures. This may adversely impact spending on government programs. In addition, an extended federal government shutdown in the U.S. could cause delays in approvals and decision making, which could negatively impact our results of operations.
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Government contracts laws and regulations impose certain risks, and contracts are generally subject to audits and investigations. If violations of law are found, they could result in civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, refund of a portion of fees received, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions or debarment from future government business.
Environmental and other related laws and regulations subject us to a number of risks and could result in significant liabilities and costs. Our cloud and hardware operations are subject to state, federal and international laws governing protection of the environment, proper handling and disposal of materials used for these operations, human health and safety, the use of certain chemical substances and the labor practices of suppliers, as well as local testing and labeling requirements. Regulatory, market, carbon tax and competitive pressures regarding the greenhouse gas emissions and energy mix for our data center operations may also grow.
Approximately half of our hardware revenues come from international sales. Environmental legislation, such as the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, China’s regulation on Management Methods for Controlling Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products and the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism, among others, may increase our cost of doing business internationally and impact our hardware revenues from the EU, China and other countries with similar environmental legislation as we endeavor to comply with and implement these requirements. Compliance with these ever-changing environmental and other laws in a timely manner could increase our product design, development, procurement, manufacturing, delivery, cloud operations, insurance premiums and administration costs, limit our ability to manage excess and obsolete non-compliant inventory, change our sales activities, or otherwise impact future financial results of our cloud and hardware businesses. Any violation of these laws can subject us to significant liability, including fines, penalties and possible prohibition of sales of our products and services into one or more states or countries and result in a material adverse effect on the financial condition or operations of our cloud and hardware businesses.
The Nomination and Governance Committee of our Board of Directors oversees and periodically reviews our environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs, including environmental sustainability. We also have an Environmental Steering Committee (ESC) comprised of senior individuals from a wide range of Oracle business units, including our Chief Sustainability Officer who oversees our overall sustainability strategy, including climate related risk mitigation. The ESC evaluates if climate or environmental risks have the potential for significant chronic or acute impact on our core and/or strategic business functions, including service delivery and support, product development and deployment, supply chain management, facility operations, employee recruitment and retention, or brand reputation. Any failure to identify and assess these risks could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial performance and growth.
We publish an annual Social Impact Report, which includes disclosure of our ESG matters and goals. Our disclosures on these matters, and standards we set for ourselves or a failure to meet these standards, may potentially harm our reputation and brand. By electing to set and share publicly these corporate ESG standards, our business may also face increased scrutiny related to ESG initiatives and activities.
Further, new laws, regulations, policies, and international accords relating to ESG matters, including sustainability, climate change, human capital and diversity, some of which require specific, target-driven frameworks or disclosure requirements, are being developed, formalized and implemented in many jurisdictions. Standards for reporting ESG metrics, including ESG-related disclosures, are complex and evolving, and the implementation and oversight of controls to comply with applicable reporting and disclosure standards could impose significant compliance costs. In addition, such disclosure requirements could result in revisions to our previous ESG-related disclosure or challenges in meeting evolving and varied regulatory and other stakeholder expectations and standards, which could expose us to liability or harm our reputation and prospects.Financial RisksOur operations can be difficult for us to predict because our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate significantly based on a number of factors. Our revenues, particularly certain of our cloud license and on-premise license revenues and hardware revenues, can be difficult to forecast. A substantial portion of our cloud license, on-premise license and hardware contracts is completed in the latter part of a quarter. Because a significant portion of our cost structure is largely fixed in the short term, sales and revenue shortfalls tend to have a disproportionately negative impact on our profitability. We typically have a number of large transactions each quarter, which increases
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the risk of fluctuations in our quarterly results. If we lose one or more of our key customers for any reason, or we experience a delay in even a small number of these large transactions, our quarterly sales, revenues and profitability could fall significantly short of our predictions. In addition, sudden shifts in regional or global economic or political activity may cause our sales forecasts to be inaccurate.
In addition, we hold a portfolio of publicly traded equity investments and privately held debt and equity investments, including investments in Ampere Computing Holdings LLC (Ampere), a privately held related party entity in which we had an ownership interest of approximately 29% as of May 31, 2024. Any impairment charges and effect of changes in the fair values of certain of these investments are recorded as unrealized gains or losses as a component of consolidated net income in each period. The timing and amount of impairment charges or changes in fair value, if any, of these investments depends on factors beyond our control, including the perceived and actual performance of the companies or funds in which we invest, and are also subject to the general conditions of public and private equity markets, which are uncertain and have in the past varied, and may in the future vary, materially by period. Changes in the fair values of these investments, including Ampere, have contributed, and may in the future contribute, to volatility in our net income that is not reflective of our core businesses. The amount of our investments in Ampere could increase in future periods for a variety of reasons, including due to the potential exercise of put options by our co-investors or call options by us. If either of these options are exercised by us or our co-investors, we would acquire control of Ampere and its results would be consolidated with our results of operations. Ampere has generated net losses in the past and we currently expect such entity to generate net losses in future periods that we may need to consolidate into our results of operations in future periods.
Changes in currency exchange rates can adversely affect customer demand and our revenue and profitability. We conduct a significant number of transactions and hold cash in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Changes in the values of major foreign currencies, particularly the Australian Dollar, British Pound, Brazilian Real, Canadian Dollar, Euro, Indian Rupee, Japanese Yen and Saudi Riyal, relative to the U.S. Dollar can significantly affect our total assets, revenues, operating results and cash flows, which are reported in U.S. Dollars. Fluctuations in foreign currency rates, including the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar against the Euro and most other major international currencies, adversely affects our revenue growth in terms of the amounts that we report in U.S. Dollars after converting our foreign currency results into U.S. Dollars and in terms of actual demand for our products and services as certain of these products may become relatively more expensive for foreign currency-based enterprises to purchase. In addition, currency variations can adversely affect margins on sales of our products in countries outside of the U.S. Generally, our reported revenues and operating results are adversely affected when the dollar strengthens relative to other currencies and are positively affected when the dollar weakens. In addition, our reported assets generally are adversely affected when the dollar strengthens relative to other currencies as a portion of our consolidated cash and bank deposits, among other assets, are held in foreign currencies and reported in U.S. Dollars.
In addition, we incur foreign currency transaction gains and losses, primarily related to sublicense fees and other intercompany agreements among us and our subsidiaries that we expect to cash settle in the near term, which are charged to earnings in the period incurred. We have a program which primarily utilizes foreign currency forward contracts designed to offset the risks associated with certain foreign currency exposures. We may suspend the program from time to time. As part of this program, we enter into foreign currency forward contracts so that increases or decreases in our foreign currency exposures are offset at least in part by gains or losses on the foreign currency forward contracts in an effort to mitigate the risks and volatility associated with our foreign currency transaction gains or losses. A large portion of our consolidated operations are international, and we expect that we will continue to realize gains or losses with respect to our foreign currency exposures, net of gains or losses from our foreign currency forward contracts, including the cost to obtain such contracts. For example, we will experience foreign currency gains and losses in certain instances if it is not possible or cost-effective to hedge our foreign currency exposures, if our hedging efforts are ineffective, or should we suspend our foreign currency forward contract program. Our ultimate realized loss or gain with respect to currency fluctuations will generally depend on the size and type of cross-currency exposures that we enter into, the currency exchange rates associated with these exposures and changes in those rates, whether we have entered into foreign currency forward contracts to offset these exposures and any related fees paid to purchase such contracts, and other factors. All of these factors could materially impact our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.
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We have incurred foreign currency losses associated with the devaluation of currencies in certain highly inflationary economies relative to the U.S. Dollar. We could incur future losses in emerging market countries and other countries where we do business should their currencies become designated as highly inflationary.
There are risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness. As of May 31, 2024, we had an aggregate of $86.9 billion of outstanding indebtedness that will mature between calendar year 2024 and calendar year 2061. Our ability to pay interest and repay the principal for our indebtedness is dependent upon our ability to manage our business operations, generate sufficient cash flows to service such debt and the other factors discussed in this Risk Factors section. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage any of these risks successfully.
We expect to refinance a portion of our outstanding debt as it matures. There is a risk that we may not be able to refinance existing debt or that the terms of any refinancing may not be as favorable as the terms of our existing debt. Furthermore, if prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing result in higher interest rates upon refinancing, then the interest expense relating to that refinanced indebtedness would increase.Should we incur future increases in interest expense, our ability to utilize certain of our foreign tax credits to reduce our U.S. federal income tax could be limited, which could unfavorably affect our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate. In addition, changes to our outlook or credit rating or a withdrawal by any rating agency could negatively affect the value of both our debt and equity securities and increase the interest amounts we pay on certain outstanding or future debt. These risks could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Common StockOur stock price could become more volatile and your investment could lose value. All of the factors discussed within this Risk Factors section could affect our stock price. The timing of announcements in the public market by us or by our competitors regarding new cloud services, products, product enhancements, technological advances, acquisitions or major transactions could also affect our stock price. Changes in the amounts and frequency of stock repurchases or dividends could affect our stock price. Our stock price could also be affected by factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, among others: speculation in the press, social media and the analyst community; changes in recommendations or earnings related estimates by financial analysts; changes in investors’ or analysts’ valuation measures for our stock; negative analyst surveys or channel check surveys; earnings announcements where our financial results differ from our guidance or investors’ expectations; our credit ratings; dissemination of inaccurate information or misinformation about our business and results of operations (including through the malicious use of generative AI tools); and market trends unrelated to our performance. The stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. A significant drop in our stock price could also expose us to the risk of securities class action lawsuits, which could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our business.
We cannot guarantee that our stock repurchase program will be fully implemented or that it will enhance long-term stockholder value. Our repurchase program does not have an expiration date and we are not obligated to repurchase a specified number or dollar value of shares. Further, our stock repurchase program may be accelerated, suspended, delayed or discontinued at any time. However, we do not expect to increase the amount of stock repurchases until our gross debt is reduced below certain thresholds. Even if fully implemented, our stock repurchase program may not enhance long-term stockholder value.General Risks
Economic, political and market conditions can adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability, which in turn could adversely affect our stock price. Our business is influenced by a range of factors that are beyond our control and that we have no comparative advantage in forecasting. These include:
• general economic and business conditions;
• overall demand for enterprise cloud, license and hardware products and services;
• governmental budgetary constraints or shifts in government spending priorities; and32
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Index to Financial Statements• general legal, regulatory and political developments.Macroeconomic developments such as the global or regional economic effects resulting from elevated inflation and interest rates, limited liquidity, adverse developments affecting financial institutions, the current wars, evolving trade policies between the U.S. and international trade partners, or the occurrence of similar events in other countries that lead to uncertainty or instability in economic, political or market conditions could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and outlook, which, in turn, could adversely affect our stock price. Any general weakening of, and related declining corporate confidence in, the global economy or the curtailment of government or corporate spending could cause current or potential customers to reduce or eliminate their IT budgets and spending, which could cause customers to delay, decrease or cancel purchases of our products and services or cause customers not to pay us or to delay paying us for previously purchased products and services. If any parties with whom we conduct business or invest our cash or cash equivalents are unable to meet their obligations to us, our business could be adversely affected. Bank failures or issues in the broader U.S. or global financial systems may have an impact on the broader capital markets and, in turn, our ability to access those markets.
In addition, international, regional or domestic political unrest and the related potential impact on global stability, terrorist attacks and the potential for other hostilities in various parts of the world, public health crises and natural disasters continue to contribute to a climate of economic and political uncertainty that could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability. These factors generally have the strongest effect on our sales of cloud license and on-premise license, hardware and related services and, to a lesser extent, also may affect our renewal rates for license support and our subscription-based cloud offerings.Business disruptions could adversely affect our operating results. A significant portion of our critical business operations are concentrated in a few geographic areas, some of which include emerging market international locations that may be less stable relative to running such business operations solely within the U.S. We are a highly automated business and a disruption or failure of our systems, supply chains and processes could cause delays in completing sales, providing services, including some of our cloud offerings, and enabling a seamless customer experience with respect to our customer facing back-office processes. Although the Oracle Cloud is designed to automatically redirect traffic to an alternate facility, in the event of a severe impact to one facility, a major natural disaster, political, social or other disruption to infrastructure that supports our operations or other catastrophic event or the effects of climate change (such as increased storm severity, drought and pandemics) that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our critical business operations, supply chains or IT systems could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, our future operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
FY 2025-05-31 (later)
Item 1A. R isk Factors
We operate in rapidly changing economic and technological environments that present numerous risks, many of which are driven by factors that we cannot control or predict. The following discussion, as well as our discussion in Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, highlights some of these risks. The risks described below are not exhaustive and you should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties before investing in our securities.
Business and Operational Risks
We may be unsuccessful in developing and selling new products and services, integrating acquired products and services and enhancing our existing products and services. Our industry is characterized by rapid technological advances, intense competition, changing delivery models, evolving standards in communications infrastructure, increasingly sophisticated customer needs and frequent new product introductions and enhancements. We have continued to refresh and release new offerings of our cloud products and services, but if we are unable to develop new or sufficiently differentiated products and services, enhance and improve our product offerings and support services in a timely manner or position and price our products and services to meet demand, customers may not purchase or subscribe to our license, hardware or cloud offerings or renew license support, hardware support or cloud subscriptions contracts. Renewals of these contracts are important to our future success. In addition, we cannot provide any assurance that the standards on which we choose to develop new products will allow us to compete effectively for business opportunities in emerging areas.
In addition, our business may be adversely affected if:
• we do not continue to develop and release new or enhanced products and services within the anticipated time frames;
• infrastructure costs to deliver new or enhanced products and services take longer or result in greater costs than anticipated;• supply chain costs, energy costs or other costs to develop, produce or distribute our products and services result in greater costs than anticipated;
• we are unable to accurately anticipate, plan for and manage future data center capacity needs in a timely manner to meet current or expected customer demand;• we fail to meet our contractual service level commitments;
• there is a delay in market acceptance of and difficulty in transitioning new and existing customers to new, enhanced or acquired product lines or services;• sanctions, tariffs, export controls, geopolitical instability and related market disruptions or other regulatory, legislative or other trade and non-tariff barriers, including retaliatory measures, impede or prevent us from serving certain customers or restrict our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions;
• inflation, trade policy, geopolitical conditions and other macroeconomic factors reduce customer demand for our products and services or cause us to be unable to meet current or expected customer demand;• there are changes in IT trends that we do not adequately anticipate or timely address with our product development efforts;
• we do not optimize complementary product lines and services in a timely manner; or
• we fail to adequately integrate, support or enhance acquired product lines or services.
In addition, our profitability and revenues could be adversely impacted if we lose one or more of our key customers for any reason, including as a result of any of the factors discussed above. Any such loss could also limit or reduce our growth in future periods.Our AI products may not operate as anticipated, which could adversely affect our reputation, revenues and profitability. Machine learning and AI, including generative AI, agentic AI and LLMs, are increasingly driving innovations in technology, and AI technology and services are highly competitive and rapidly evolving. We have invested, and expect to continue to invest, significant resources to build and support our AI products. In addition, we rely on partners and suppliers to produce some of our AI products. If we are unable to introduce new AI products or if our AI products fail to operate as anticipated or as well as competing products or otherwise do not meet customer needs, or if our competitors’ AI products achieve higher market acceptance than ours, we may fail to
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recoup our investments in AI and our business and reputation may be harmed. Further, if we do not continue to invest significant resources to develop and support our AI products, we may fall behind technological developments and evolving industry standards, which would likewise harm our ability to compete. In addition, AI technologies are rapidly changing and present evolving legal, regulatory and ethical issues, including claims of bias, discrimination, a perceived lack of transparency, as well as sometimes unpredictable behaviors or improper use of copyrighted or other protected material, such as personal and patient health information, any of which could expose us or our customers to reputational or legal risk and inhibit adoption of our AI products. Regulatory uncertainty, including the lack of comprehensive federal legislation and a patchwork of existing and proposed frameworks and regulatory initiatives in numerous jurisdictions, may expose us to compliance challenges and uncertainties. Our failure to adapt to these changes, or any failure by our employees, contractors, partners, suppliers or agents to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our AI products or our related policies and procedures, could result in legal, financial and reputational consequences including, but not limited to, being required to adjust or limit our product offerings or our use of AI in certain jurisdictions to comply with new and evolving AI laws and regulations.
If we do not successfully execute our Oracle Cloud strategy, including our offerings of Oracle Cloud Services, our revenues and profitability may decline. We provide our cloud and other offerings to customers worldwide via a variety of deployment models, including via our cloud-based OCA and OCI offerings. As these business models continue to evolve, we may not be able to compete effectively, generate significant revenues or maintain the profitability of our cloud offerings. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of various cloud offering models by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our cloud and license offerings. If we do not successfully execute our cloud computing strategy or anticipate the cloud computing needs of our customers, our reputation as a cloud services provider could be harmed and our revenues and profitability could decline.
As customer demand for our cloud offerings increases, we experience volatility in our reported revenues and operating results due to the differences in timing of revenue recognition between our cloud license and on-premise license and hardware product arrangements relative to our cloud offering arrangements. Customers predominantly purchase our cloud offerings on a subscription basis, and revenues from these offerings are generally recognized ratably or as services are consumed over the terms of the subscriptions. Consequently, any deterioration in sales activity associated with our cloud offerings may not be immediately observable in our consolidated statements of operations. This is in contrast to revenues associated with our license and hardware product arrangements, which are generally recognized in full at the time of delivery of the related licenses and hardware products. In addition, we may not be able to accurately anticipate customer transitions from or be able to sufficiently backfill reduced customer demand for our license, hardware and support offerings relative to the expected increase in customer adoption of and demand for our Oracle Cloud Services, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
If we are unable to secure data center capacity at affordable rates or do not accurately plan for and manage our infrastructure capacity requirements, our profitability may decline. As a part of our Oracle Cloud strategy, we plan our investment levels based on estimates of future revenues and customer demand and future anticipated rates of growth. In recent periods, our cloud services and license support expenses have grown to meet current and expected demand for our cloud offerings, including investments to increase our existing data center capacity and to establish data centers in new geographic locations. In connection with these investments, we entered, and expect to continue to enter, into long-term lease commitments with third-party data center providers and other significant commitments with suppliers of chips and other data center infrastructure. If we underestimate customer demand or our data center capacity needs, we may face shortages of available infrastructure, limiting our ability to support customer growth and potentially causing us to lose business to competitors. Conversely, if we overestimate customer demand or our data center capacity needs, we could be locked into multi-year commitments for excess data center space, resulting in lower profitability and cash flows because our third-party data center vendors generally require us to pay significant contract termination fees to early exit such obligations. Data centers in geographies that we rely on may also be unavailable on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Moreover, we do not control the operation of these third-party data centers, and they may suffer interruptions in service from events beyond our control, including from acts of government, natural events, power loss, break-ins or misconduct by those third parties. We have faced, and may continue to face, rising costs for data center energy demands. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers to provide equipment and components required to outfit these data centers on a timely basis. Ongoing or future delays or the inability to meet customer demand could cause the loss of additional sales, delay our revenue recognition or increase our costs, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our business. We typically depreciate these assets over their estimated useful lives, which could be shortened should our cloud strategies change, which could adversely affect our profitability.
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Our products and services may not function properly if we experience significant coding, manufacturing or configuration errors in our cloud, license and hardware offerings. Despite testing prior to the release and throughout the lifecycle of a product or service, our cloud, license and hardware offerings sometimes contain coding, manufacturing or configuration errors that can impact their function, performance and security, and result in other negative consequences. The detection and correction of any errors in released cloud, license or hardware offerings can be time consuming and costly. Errors in our cloud, license or hardware offerings, or errors embedded in third-party software products or services incorporated into our own products, can affect their ability to properly function, integrate or operate with other cloud, license or hardware offerings; result in service interruptions, delays or outages of our cloud offerings; create security vulnerabilities in our products or services; delay the development or release of new products or services or new versions of products or services; and adversely affect market acceptance of our products or services. If we experience any of these errors, or if there are delays in releasing our cloud, license or hardware offerings or new versions of these offerings, our sales could be affected and revenues could decline. In addition, we run Oracle’s business operations as well as cloud and other services that we offer to our customers on our products and networks. Therefore, any flaws could affect our and our customers’ abilities to conduct business operations and to ensure accuracy in financial processes and reporting, and may result in unanticipated costs and interruptions. Enterprise customers rely on our cloud, license and hardware offerings and related services to run their businesses, and errors in our cloud, license and hardware offerings and related services could expose us to product liability, performance and warranty claims as well as significant harm to our brand and reputation, which could impact our future sales.
If we are unable to compete effectively, the results of operations and prospects for our business could be harmed. We face intense competition in all aspects of our business. The nature of the IT industry creates a competitive landscape that is constantly evolving as firms emerge, expand or are acquired, as technology evolves and as delivery models change. Our enterprise cloud, license and hardware offerings compete directly with certain offerings from some of the largest and most competitive companies in the world, many of which have well-developed customer bases and strong brand recognition. In addition, due to the low barriers to entry in many of our market segments, new technologies and new, agile and growing competitors frequently emerge to challenge our offerings. We believe many vendors spend amounts in excess of what Oracle spends to develop and market applications and infrastructure technologies including databases, middleware products, application development tools, business applications, collaboration products and business intelligence, compute, storage and networking products, among others, which compete with Oracle applications and infrastructure offerings.
In addition, use of our competitors’ technologies can influence a customer’s purchasing decision or create an environment that makes it less efficient to utilize or migrate to Oracle products and services. For example, we offer our customers multicloud services whereby our customers can combine cloud services from multiple clouds with the goal of optimizing cost, functionality and performance. OCI’s multicloud services work with a number of our competitors’ products, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. This multicloud strategy could lead our customers to migrate away from our cloud offerings to our competitors’ products or limit their purchases of additional Oracle products, either of which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
Our competitors may also seek to attract or retain customers who might otherwise purchase our products and services by offering competing products and services on terms that we may not generally find acceptable. We could lose customers if our competitors introduce new competitive products, add new functionality, acquire competitive products, reduce prices, better execute on their sales and marketing strategies, offer more flexible business practices, provide debt or equity financing to customers or form strategic alliances with other companies. Mergers, consolidations or alliances among our competitors, or acquisitions of our competitors by large companies, may result in increased competition.
If our competitors offer deep discounts on certain products or services or develop products that the marketplace considers more valuable, we may need to lower prices, introduce pricing models and offerings or offer other terms that are less favorable to us to compete successfully. Any such changes may reduce revenues and margins and could adversely affect operating results. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of cloud delivery models offered by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our other cloud and license, hardware and services offerings, and we have incurred increased cloud delivery expenses as we expand our cloud operations and update our infrastructure, all of which could reduce our revenues and profitability. Our license support fees and hardware support fees are generally priced as a percentage of our net license fees and net new hardware products fees, respectively. Our competitors may offer lower pricing on their support offerings, which could put pressure on us to further discount our offerings. If we do not adapt our pricing models to reflect changes in customer use of our products, changes in customer demand or increased competition, our revenues could decrease.19
Table of ContentsAny failure to offer high-quality technical support services may adversely affect our relationships with our customers and our financial results . Our customers depend on our support organization to resolve technical issues related to our applications and infrastructure offerings. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in customer demand for support services or resolve issues efficiently. Increased customer demand for these services, without corresponding revenues, could increase costs and adversely affect our operating results. Any failure to maintain high-quality technical support, or even the perception that our support is insufficient, could adversely affect our reputation, hinder our ability to sell and renew our applications and infrastructure offerings to existing and prospective customers, and negatively impact our business, operating results and financial position.
We may not receive significant revenues from our current research and development efforts for several years, if at all. Developing our various product offerings is expensive and the return on investment is often long. An important element of our corporate strategy is to commit significant resources to research and development, as well as related product and service opportunities, both through internal investments and the acquisition of intellectual property from acquired companies. Accelerated product and service introductions and short lifecycles require high levels of research and development spending, which could adversely affect our operating results if not offset by revenue increases. We believe that continued investment in research and development is essential to maintaining our competitive position. However, our investments in research and development may fail to yield competitive products and services and we do not expect to receive significant revenues from these investments for several years, if at all.
Our cloud offerings and hardware offerings are complex, and if we cannot successfully manage this complexity, including the sourcing of technologies and components, the results of these businesses will suffer. We depend on suppliers to develop, manufacture and deliver on a timely basis the necessary technologies and components for our hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, and there are some technologies and components that can only be purchased from a single vendor due to price, quality, technology, availability or other business constraints. Our supply chain operations are affected by industry consolidation and component constraints or shortages, natural disasters, political unrest (such as the tensions between China and Taiwan), public health crises, changes to trade laws or regulations, tariffs and customs controls, port stoppages, shipping interruptions or other transportation disruptions or slowdowns, and other factors affecting the countries or regions where these single source component vendors are located or where the products are being shipped. If disruption caused by one or more of the risks described above occurs, our cloud and license business and hardware business and related operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Supply chain shortages have in some instances resulted in increases to the costs of production of our hardware products that we may not be able to pass on to our customers. In addition, we have in some instances responded to such shortages by committing to higher purchases and balances of hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, relative to our historical positions. For example, industry supply capacity for AI accelerators, including graphics processing units, is competitive, and we at times have to accept less favorable terms with suppliers to avoid supply constraints. While this permits us to secure cloud infrastructure capacity, it has increased excess and obsolescence risk of such hardware products and could adversely impact our profitability and cash flows. We expect these factors will continue to impact us in the future.
We outsource most of our manufacturing, assembly, delivery and technology of, and certain component designs for, our hardware products to a variety of companies, many of which are located outside the U.S. From time to time, these partners experience production problems or delays or cannot meet our demand for products on a timely or cost-effective basis, including as a result of changes to trade laws or regulations, tariffs, sanctions and export or import controls. Ongoing or future delays or cost increases in manufacturing could cause the loss of additional sales, delayed revenue recognition or an increase in our hardware products expenses, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our cloud and license business and hardware business. These challenges could arise if we alter our manufacturing strategies, suppliers, or locations.
Our periodic workforce restructurings and reorganizations can be disruptive. We periodically restructure or make other adjustments to our workforce in response to management changes, product changes, performance issues, changes in strategies, acquisitions and other internal and external considerations. These types of restructurings have resulted, and may in the future result, in increased restructuring costs and temporarily reduced productivity while employees adjust to the restructuring. These types of restructurings may also lead to shortages of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles, loss of valuable institutional knowledge and damage to employee morale and retention.20
Table of ContentsHiring freezes or slowdowns can also result in decreased productivity while existing employees take on additional roles and responsibilities, and may also lead to a shortage of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles. In addition, we may not achieve or sustain the expected growth, resource redeployment or cost savings benefits of these restructurings, or may not do so within our expected timeframe. These effects could recur in connection with future acquisitions and other restructurings, and our revenues and other results of operations could be negatively affected.
We may lose key employees or may be unable to hire enough qualified employees. We rely on hiring qualified employees and retaining our senior management, including our Chairman of the Board, Chief Technology Officer and founder; our Chief Executive Officer; other executive team members; and key employees. In the technology industry, especially in the AI field, competition for highly skilled business, product development and technical personnel is intense and ongoing.
We may also face rising compensation costs without corresponding gains in productivity or sales. We may not be successful in recruiting new personnel and in retaining and motivating existing personnel. With rare exceptions, we do not have long-term employment agreements with our employees. Members of our senior management team have left Oracle over the years for a variety of reasons, and any future departures may be disruptive to our operations.
To manage expenses, we hire personnel in countries where advanced technical and other expertise are available at lower costs. When we make adjustments to our workforce, we may incur expenses associated with workforce reductions that delay the benefit of a more efficient workforce structure. We are experiencing increased competition for employees in these countries as the trend toward globalization continues, which has affected our employee retention efforts and increased our expenses in an effort to offer a competitive compensation program. In addition, changes to immigration and labor law policies may adversely impact our access to technical and professional talent.
Our general compensation program includes restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance-based equity, which are important tools in attracting and retaining employees in our industry. If our stock price stagnates or declines, our ability to retain or attract employees may be harmed. We continually evaluate our compensation practices and consider changes from time to time, which may have an impact on our ability to retain employees and the amount of stock-based compensation expense that we record. Any changes in our compensation practices or those of our competitors could affect our ability to retain and motivate existing personnel and recruit new personnel.
There are risks associated with our cloud and license and hardware indirect sales channels which could affect our future operating results. Our cloud and license and hardware indirect channel networks consist primarily of resellers, system integrators/implementers, consultants, education providers, internet service providers, network integrators and ISVs. Our relationships with these channel participants are important elements of our cloud, software and hardware marketing and sales efforts. Our financial results could be adversely affected if:• our contracts with channel participants were terminated or our relationships with channel participants were to deteriorate;
• any of our competitors enter into strategic relationships with or acquire a significant channel participant;
• the financial condition or operations of our channel participants were to weaken; or
• the level of demand for our channel participants’ products and services were to decrease.We may not successfully maintain, expand or develop our relationships with channel participants. If we are not successful, we may lose sales opportunities, customers and revenues. In addition, we do not control channel participants, some of whom operate in jurisdictions with elevated corruption risks. Our compliance policies and procedures may fail to prevent or detect violations of anti-corruption or other laws, and channel participants may violate such laws, all of which could subject us to litigation or regulatory risk and result in liability.
Acquisitions present many risks and we may not achieve the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of a transaction. We regularly review and consider strategic acquisitions of companies, products, services and technologies as a part of our corporate strategy, and we expect to continue making acquisitions in the future. However, our strategic acquisition program carries several risks, including but not limited to:
• business disruption and management distraction due to acquisition, transition or integration activities;
• challenges in managing acquired technologies or lines of business, entering new markets where we have no, or limited, direct prior experience or market positions, or retaining key personnel from the acquired companies;
21Table of Contents• acquisitions that do not meet strategic expectations, including due to difficulties integrating acquired companies, negative impacts from imposed business practices or different go-to-market strategies, and the risk of overpaying or failing to realize expected returns on our investments, each or all of which could adversely affect our business or operating results and potentially cause impairment to assets that we recorded as a part of an acquisition, including intangible assets and goodwill;
• negative financial impacts from (1) assumed claims or liabilities; (2) assumed costly or disruptive pre-existing contractual relationships; and (3) unfavorable revenue recognition or other accounting treatment as a result of an acquired company’s business practices;
• failure to identify or accurately assess significant liabilities or shortcomings prior to finalization of an acquisition;
• failure to realize expected revenue growth from an acquisition for a number of reasons, including (1) more customers than expected declining to renew or terminating their contracts; (2) difficulty selling acquired products or service offerings to our customer base; (3) acquired customers declining to purchase our technologies due to differing business practices; or (4) contract models utilized by an acquired company conflicting with our revenue recognition methods;
• integration difficulties, including aligning acquired compliance programs, technologies, products, services, supply chain operations, environmental practices or infrastructure with our existing lines of business;
• product and service inconsistencies across multiple product lines or services offerings, leading to customer confusion and delays;
• higher than anticipated costs related to supporting, developing and delivering acquired products or services, expanding general and administrative functions for new business models or complying with complex regulations applicable to an acquired business;
• labor challenges, including difficulties obtaining timely approvals from works councils or similar bodies under applicable employment laws;
• regulatory and judicial challenges, including delays or restrictions from governmental authorities under foreign direct investment, foreign subsidy, competition and antitrust laws, potentially requiring asset divestitures, other concessions or a termination of the acquisition process;
• limitations on our potential other uses for our cash; and
• financial constraints that may require us to incur additional debt to pay for acquisitions or delay or not proceed with an acquisition if we cannot obtain the necessary funding to complete the acquisition in a timely manner or on favorable terms.The occurrence of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, particularly in the case of a larger acquisition or several concurrent acquisitions.We are subject to risks with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. We are subject to evolving, and sometimes conflicting, laws, regulations, policies and stakeholder expectations relating to matters beyond our core products and services, including ESG matters, such as environmental sustainability, climate change, human capital and workforce matters. The Nomination and Governance Committee of our Board oversees and periodically reviews our ESG programs and our management evaluates if climate or environmental risks could significantly impact our core or strategic business functions, including service delivery and support, product development and deployment, supply chain management, facility operations, employee recruitment and retention or brand reputation. Any failure to identify and address these risks could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial performance and growth.
Further, in an effort to be responsive to customer, employee and other stakeholder interests and expectations, we publicly disclose certain ESG-related goals and statistics. If we fail to meet these goals, or are perceived as failing to meet our ESG goals, our revenues, reputation and brand may be harmed. In addition, views on ESG and related matters diverge within and among different stakeholder groups, including stockholders, customers and employees, as well as government actors. Efforts to meet evolving and increasingly divergent stakeholder expectations on ESG and related matters may place a strain on our employees and systems, and if we are targeted by those who disagree with our public positions on ESG and related issues, or if we do not otherwise successfully manage ESG-related expectations across our stakeholders, it could erode stakeholder trust, impact our reputation or subject us to litigation, which could adversely affect our business and reputation.
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Table of ContentsData Privacy, Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property RisksIf our security measures for our products and services are compromised and as a result, our data, our customers’ data or our IT systems are accessed improperly, made unavailable, or improperly modified, our products and services may be perceived as vulnerable, our brand and reputation could be damaged, the IT services we provide to our customers could be disrupted, and customers may stop using our products and services, any of which could reduce our revenue and earnings, increase our expenses and expose us to legal claims and regulatory actions. Our products and services, including Oracle Cloud Services, store, retrieve, process and manage third-party data, such as our customers’ data, as well as our own data. We believe that Oracle has been and is a target for computer hackers, cyberattacks and other perpetrators or threat actors because Oracle stores and processes large amounts of data, including sensitive data such as health sciences (including patient health information), financial services, retail, hospitality, telecommunications and government data. We and our third-party vendors are regularly subject to attempts by third parties (which may include individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, such as state-sponsored organizations, nation-states and individuals sponsored by them) to identify and exploit product and service vulnerabilities, penetrate or bypass our security measures, and gain unauthorized access to our or our customers’, partners’ and suppliers’ software, hardware and cloud offerings, networks and systems. Such malicious attacks can lead, and have led, to the compromise of personal information or the confidential information or data of Oracle or our customers. Attempts of this nature typically involve IT-related viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs that attack networks, systems, products and services, exploit potential security vulnerabilities of networks, systems, products and services, create system disruptions and cause shutdowns or denials of service. Third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce customers, partners, employees or suppliers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other credentials to gain access to our data, our customers’, suppliers’ or partners’ data or the IT systems of Oracle, our customers, suppliers or partners. Our products and services, including our Oracle Cloud Services, may also be accessed or modified improperly as a result of customer, partner, employee, contractor or supplier error or malfeasance.
When a cyberattack or other security event or incident results in unauthorized access to, or modification or exfiltration of, our customers’ or suppliers’ data, other external data, our own data or our IT systems, or if the services we provide to our customers are disrupted, or if our products or services are reported to have (or are perceived as having) security vulnerabilities, we have incurred and could incur significant expenses and could suffer substantial damage to our brand and reputation. If our customers lose confidence in the security and reliability of our products and services, including our cloud offerings, they may reduce or terminate their spending with us. In addition, cyberattacks and other security events or incidents have resulted and could result in: significant investigation and remediation costs; loss or destruction of data; operational disruptions; inappropriate use of proprietary and sensitive data; lawsuits; indemnity obligations; regulatory investigations and financial penalties; and increased legal liability, including in some cases contractual costs for customer notification and fraud monitoring. Our remediation efforts may not be successful.
Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to, or sabotage IT systems, constantly evolve, grow more complex over time, and often are not detected until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate or implement adequate measures to prevent such techniques. Our internal IT systems continue to evolve and we are often early adopters of new technologies. However, our business policies and internal security controls may not keep pace with emerging threats. We may not detect or confirm any security breach and loss of information for a significant period of time after the security breach.
Our products operate in conjunction with and are dependent on a wide variety of third-party products, components and services. If a security vulnerability exists in one of these components, a targeted exploit could lead to increased costs, liability claims, customer dissatisfaction, reduced revenue, or harm to our reputation or competitive position. We also have an active acquisition program and have acquired a number of companies, products, services and technologies over the years. While we make significant efforts to address any IT security issues with respect to our acquired companies, we may still inherit such risks when we integrate these companies within Oracle.
Our business practices with respect to data could give rise to operational interruption, liabilities or reputational harm as a result of governmental regulation, legal requirements or industry standards relating to privacy and data protection. As regulatory focus on privacy issues continues to increase and worldwide laws and regulations concerning the handling of personal information expand and become more complex and stringent, potential risks related to data collection and use within our business will intensify. In addition, U.S. federal and state as well as foreign governments have enacted or are considering enacting legislation or regulations, or may in the near future interpret existing legislation or regulations, in a manner that could significantly impact our ability, as well as the
23Table of Contentsability of our customers, partners and data providers, to collect, augment, analyze, use, transfer (including across national borders) and share personal and other information that is integral to certain services we provide. We are also subject to data privacy and other related regulations governing the healthcare industry and patient information, including but not limited to regulations governing electronic health data transmissions, the processing of patient information, healthcare fraud and healthcare information sharing.
Following the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the rate of global consideration and adoption of privacy laws has increased, giving rise to more global jurisdictions in which regulatory inquiries and audits may be requested of Oracle, and if we are not deemed to be in compliance, could result in enforcement actions and/or fines. This is true in the U.S. where, for example, a number of states have enacted privacy laws, the U.S. Congress has been considering several privacy and security-related bills at the federal level, the federal government is pursuing a range of cybersecurity initiatives pertaining to critical infrastructure companies and government contractors, and a number of other state legislatures have passed or are considering privacy laws. Regulators globally are also imposing greater monetary fines for privacy violations. The GDPR provides for monetary penalties of up to €20 million, or up to 4% of an organization’s worldwide revenue of the preceding financial year, whichever is greater. These penalties can be significant. For example, a U.S.-based technology company was fined €1.2 billion for alleged GDPR violations in 2023. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to fine companies for unfair and deceptive data protection practices, and these fines may increase in size. Taken together, the laws or regulations associated with the enhanced protection of personal and other types of data could greatly increase the size of potential fines related to data protection, and our cost of providing our products and services could result in changes to our business practices or even prevent us from offering certain services in jurisdictions in which we operate. Although we have implemented contracts, diligence programs, policies and procedures designed to address compliance with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, partners, suppliers, data providers or agents will not violate such laws and regulations or our contracts, policies and procedures. Additionally, public perception and standards related to the privacy of personal information can shift rapidly, in ways that may affect our reputation or influence regulators to enact regulations and laws that may limit our ability to provide certain products and services. For example, numerous jurisdictions, including the EU, have passed or are considering laws and regulations that would impose additional data privacy and other compliance requirements on the use of AI and could require us to adjust or limit our product offerings in such jurisdictions.We make statements about our use and disclosure of personal information through our privacy policy, information provided on our website and press statements. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with these public statements or with U.S. federal, state, or foreign laws and regulations, including laws and regulations regulating privacy, data security, or consumer protection, public perception, standards, self-regulatory requirements or legal obligations, could result in lost or restricted business, proceedings, actions or fines brought against us or levied by governmental entities or others, or could adversely affect our business and harm our reputation.
Third parties have claimed, and in the future may claim, infringement or misuse of intellectual property rights and/or breach of license agreement provisions. We periodically receive notices from, or have lawsuits filed against us by, third parties claiming infringement or other misuse of their intellectual property rights and/or breach of our agreements with them. These third parties include entities that do not design, manufacture, or distribute products or services or that acquire intellectual property for the sole purpose of monetization through infringement assertions. We expect to continue to receive such claims as:
• we continue to expand into new businesses and acquire companies;
• the number of products and competitors in our industry segments grows;
• the use and support of third-party code (including open source code) becomes more prevalent in the industry;• the use of AI and support of LLMs becomes more prevalent in the industry;• the volume of issued patents continues to increase; and
• non-practicing entities continue to assert intellectual property infringement in our industry segments.
Responding to any such claim, regardless of its validity, could:
• be time consuming, costly and result in litigation;
• divert management’s time and attention from developing our business;
• require us to pay monetary damages or enter into royalty and licensing agreements that we would not normally find acceptable;24
Table of Contents• require us to stop selling or to redesign certain of our products;
• require us to release source code to third parties, possibly under open source license terms;
• require us to satisfy indemnification obligations to our customers; or
• otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights. We rely on copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures, controls and contractual commitments to protect our intellectual property. Despite our efforts, these protections may be limited. Unauthorized third parties may try to copy or reverse engineer our products or otherwise use our intellectual property. Our patents may be invalidated or circumvented. Any of our pending or future patent applications may not be issued with the claim scope we seek, if at all. In addition, the laws of some countries do not provide the same level of intellectual property protection as U.S. laws and courts. If we cannot protect our intellectual property against unauthorized copying or use, or other misappropriation, we may not remain competitive.
Legal and Regulatory RisksAdverse litigation results could affect our business. We are subject to various legal proceedings. Litigation can be lengthy, expensive and disruptive to our operations, and can divert our management’s attention away from running our core business. The results of our litigation also cannot be predicted with certainty. Even favorable judgments have been, and may in the future be, subject to appeals leading to protracted litigation, additional costs and the prospect that our desired outcome will be overturned. An adverse decision could result in monetary damages or injunctive relief that could affect our business, operating results or financial condition. Additional information regarding certain of the lawsuits we are involved in is discussed under Note 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
We may be subjected to increased taxes due to changes in U.S. or international tax laws or from adverse resolutions of tax audits and controversies. As a multinational corporation, we incur income taxes as well as non-income-based taxes (such as payroll, sales, use, property and value-added taxes) in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant uncertainties exist with respect to the application of the various taxes to the businesses in which we engage, often requiring that we make judgments in determining our tax liabilities and worldwide provision for income taxes. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities in the U.S. and internationally, which has led to disagreements regarding our treatment of various items, including our intercompany transfer prices and calculations and the applicability of withholding taxes to our cross-border transactions. Any unfavorable resolution of these tax audits and controversies could cause our tax liabilities to increase and may have a material and adverse impact on our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate. Although we believe that our income and non-income-based tax estimates are reasonable, there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and tax accruals.
Countries around the world continually consider and make changes to relevant tax, accounting and other laws, treaties, regulations, guidance and interpretations. For example, the U.S. Congress is considering extending tax provisions enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as making other changes to federal tax law, some of which could have an adverse impact on us. Various other legislative proposals, if enacted, could substantially raise U.S. income taxes on our domestic and international profits. Such unfavorable tax proposals create the potential for added volatility in our quarterly provision for income taxes and could have a material adverse impact on our future income tax provisions and effective tax rate.
Other countries also continue to consider changes to their tax laws that could negatively affect us by increasing taxes imposed on our international revenue streams, operations and cross-border transactions, including the imposition of taxes targeted at digital technology businesses and changes in withholding tax rules. A project led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international association comprised of 38 countries including the U.S., over the last several years has resulted in changes to the basic design of the international tax system, including the implementation of a 15% minimum tax in over 50 countries, as well as proposed changes that would provide greater taxing rights to market jurisdictions where customers or users are located. There can be no assurance that these enacted changes, which are subject to ongoing OECD guidance and interpretations by the various adopting countries, and any contemplated changes, if implemented by countries, will not materially increase the level of income tax on our international profits.
25Table of ContentsOur future income tax provisions and effective tax rate could materially increase under the tax changes discussed above or if other changes are made to applicable tax laws and rules in the U.S. or in other countries in which we do business. Our provision for income taxes also could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of income earned or losses incurred in jurisdictions with differing statutory tax rates, fluctuations in our stock price and level of stock-based compensation expense, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities and by other factors.Our international sales and operations and global customer base subject us to additional risks that can adversely affect our operating results. We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from, and have significant operations, outside of the U.S., and in both our U.S. and non-U.S. operations we serve customers based in or with ties to numerous jurisdictions around the world. Compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. These laws and regulations include data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, foreign currency-related regulations, competition/antitrust regulations, anti-bribery laws and other laws prohibiting payments to governmental officials such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), market access regulations, tariffs, and import, export and general trade regulations, including but not limited to sanctions and embargos. Violations of these laws and regulations can result in monetary fines, civil and/or criminal penalties, enforcement actions against us, our officers or our employees, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business, including disgorgement, the loss of trade privileges, and other remedial measures. Any such violations could result in prohibitions on our ability to offer our products and services in one or more countries or territories or to certain entities, could delay or prevent potential acquisitions and could also materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business and our operating results.
Changes to sanctions or export control regulations in the U.S. and the other jurisdictions where we currently operate or have dealings, or in the future may operate or have dealings, can require suspension or termination of business (including financial transactions) in or with certain countries and territories or with certain customers. In addition, we continue to closely monitor international relations and it is difficult to anticipate the effect geopolitical developments may have on us. Compliance with any further sanctions, export controls or other regulatory restrictions (and any countermeasures thereto) taken by the U.S. or other countries could prevent us from serving certain customers or restrict us or our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions, which could have an adverse effect on our operations and results of operations. For example, the U.S. enacted a law making it unlawful, beginning in January 2025, to provide internet hosting services to TikTok that are used to enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of TikTok for users within the U.S. The President issued executive orders that prohibit enforcement until a future date, and also prohibit the imposition of penalties at any time for providing services during the time period covered by the prohibition of enforcement, and ordered the Attorney General to notify relevant service providers that continuing to provide services during the prohibition of enforcement does not violate the statute. If the prohibition is lifted or expires without a resolution that satisfies relevant legal requirements, we may no longer be able to provide those services to TikTok, and if we cannot redeploy that capacity in a timely manner, our revenues and profits would be adversely impacted.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate and manage these risks. We monitor our operations and investigate allegations of improprieties relating to transactions and the way in which such transactions are recorded. Where warranted, we provide information and report our findings to government authorities who may conduct their own investigations, and we respond to their requests or demands for information. No assurance can be given that such authorities will not take action or that our compliance program will prove effective. There is no guarantee that our compliance policies and procedures will be followed at all times or will effectively detect and prevent all violations of laws, including economic and financial sanction laws and embargoes. In addition, we are currently navigating a period of geopolitical and regulatory volatility.
We face a variety of other risks and challenges in managing an organization operating globally, including those related to:• general economic conditions in each country or region;• political unrest, terrorism and war, including but not limited to the current Russia-Ukraine war and its potential economic and geopolitical impacts on Europe, where a material portion of our business is carried out;• the potential for other hostilities, including but not limited to further destabilization in the Middle East and tensions between China and Taiwan;• public health, social and supporting infrastructure stability risks, particularly in areas in which we have significant operations;
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Table of Contents• fluctuations in currency exchange rates and related impacts on customer demand and our operating results;
• difficulties in accessing or transferring funds from or converting currencies in certain countries that could lead to a devaluation of our net assets, in particular our cash assets, in that country’s currency;• regulatory changes, including unexpected government austerity measures in certain countries that may impair bank deposits or other cash assets that we hold in these countries or that impose additional taxes that we may be required to pay in these countries;• common local business behaviors or regulatory requirements that conflict with our business ethics, practices and conduct policies;
• longer payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;
• overlapping tax regimes; and• weaker protection for intellectual property rights in some countries.The variety of risks and challenges listed above could also disrupt or otherwise negatively impact our supply chain operations and sales of our products and services in affected countries or regions.
As the majority shareholder of Oracle Financial Services Software Limited, a publicly traded company in India, and Oracle Corporation Japan, a publicly traded company in Japan, we face several additional risks, including being subject to local securities regulations and being unable to exert full control that we would otherwise have if these entities were wholly-owned subsidiaries.The healthcare industry is highly regulated, and thus, we are subject to several laws, regulations and industry initiatives, non-compliance with certain of which could adversely affect our healthcare business. As a participant in the healthcare industry, certain of our operations and relationships, and those of our customers, are regulated by several U.S. federal, state, local and foreign governmental entities. These regulations impact us both directly and indirectly, in terms of government program requirements applicable to our customers for the use of health IT. Even though we may not be directly regulated by specific healthcare laws and regulations, our products and services must be capable of being used by our customers in a way that complies with those laws and regulations. There are significant, wide-ranging and rapidly evolving regulations worldwide, covering healthcare fraud, information sharing, e-prescribing, medical claims processing and transmission, healthcare devices, the use of AI in healthcare, the security and privacy of patient data and interoperability standards, that may be directly or indirectly applicable to our operations and relationships or the business practices of our customers. Specific risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Medical device regulations in the U.S. and other countries may now or in the future apply to certain of our healthcare products and services. If any of our healthcare products and services are deemed to be actively regulated medical devices by regulatory agencies in countries where we do business, we could be subject to extensive requirements governing pre- and post-marketing activities, including pre-market notification clearance or recalls.
• Certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) requirements continue to evolve and remain necessary to participate in federal healthcare programs in order to receive reimbursement for health items and services provided by certain of our customers to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. We expect the regulations establishing the certification and interoperability standards for CEHRT will continue to be updated to emphasize interoperability, consumer engagement, patient safety and health information privacy and security.Complying with these regulations globally is expensive and could subject us to unanticipated and significant delays. If we fail to comply sufficiently with these and other regulations, it could negatively impact our ability to continue to develop, distribute and deliver certain of our healthcare products and services, and we could suffer fines or penalties.
Our sales to local, state, federal and foreign government customers expose us to business volatility and risks, including government budgeting cycles and appropriations, government shutdowns, procurement regulations, governmental policy shifts, early termination of contracts, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties. We derive revenues from contracts with the U.S. government, state and local governments, and foreign governments and are subject to procurement laws relating to the award, administration and performance of those contracts.Governmental entities are variously pursuing policies that affect our ability to sell our products and services. Changes in government procurement policy, priorities, regulations, technology initiatives and/or requirements may negatively impact our potential for growth in the government sector. For example, the U.S. government imposes
27Table of Contentsevolving cybersecurity requirements, including, for example, the FedRAMP authorization process and the Department of Defense (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. These requirements may impact our lines of business in the U.S. federal government market. Compliance with these cybersecurity requirements is complex and costly, and any failure or alleged failure to meet, or delays in meeting, the required security controls could result in liability, limit our ability to sell products and services, directly or indirectly, to the DoD and other federal and state government entities that implement similar cybersecurity requirements and adversely affect our reputation and sales.
We are also subject to early termination of our contracts. Many governmental entities have the right to terminate contracts at any time for a variety of reasons, including without cause. For example, the U.S. federal government may terminate any of our government contracts and subcontracts at its convenience, or for default based on our performance. U.S. federal, state and local government and foreign government contracts are generally subject to government funding authorizations/appropriations. Contracts may also be terminated due to a lack of government funds.
There is increased pressure on governments and their agencies, both domestically and internationally, to reduce spending as governments continue to face significant deficit reduction pressures. This may adversely impact spending on government programs and result in termination of government contracts, delays in contract awards and pausing of payments during cost efficiency reviews. In addition, an extended federal government shutdown in the U.S. could cause delays in approvals and decision making, which could negatively impact our results of operations.
Government contracts laws and regulations impose certain risks, and certain of our government contracts and contracting practices are currently, and may in the future be, subject to audits and investigations. Any violations of law or alleged violations of law could subject us to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, refund of fees received, treble damages, settlement payments, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions or debarment from future government business, as well as adverse publicity and reputational damage.
Environmental and other related laws and regulations subject us to a number of risks and could result in significant liabilities and costs. Our cloud and hardware operations are subject to extensive, evolving and sometimes inconsistent state, federal and international regulations related to ESG matters. Some of these regulations establish specific metrics, targets, and disclosure frameworks for a variety of ESG issues, including environmental sustainability, supply chain labor practices, workforce health and safety, proper handling and disposal of certain chemicals and materials, and local testing and labeling requirements. Regulatory, market, carbon tax and competitive pressures regarding the greenhouse gas emissions and energy mix for our data center operations have increased and are expected to continue to increase.
Compliance with these ever-changing and sometimes divergent ESG laws in a timely manner could increase our product design, development, procurement, manufacturing, delivery, cloud operations, insurance premiums and administration costs, limit our ability to manage excess and obsolete non-compliant inventory, change our sales activities, or otherwise impact future financial results of our cloud and hardware businesses. Failure to comply with these laws can subject us to significant liability, including fines, penalties and possible prohibition of sales of our products and services in certain regions. Additionally, new or updated regulated disclosure requirements could result in revisions to our previous ESG-related disclosure, which could expose us to liability or reputational harm.Financial RisksOur operations can be difficult for us to predict because our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate significantly based on a number of factors. Our revenues, particularly certain of our cloud license and on-premise license revenues and hardware revenues, can be difficult to forecast. A substantial portion of our cloud license, on-premise license and hardware contracts is completed in the latter part of a quarter. Because a significant portion of our cost structure is largely fixed in the short term, sales and revenue shortfalls tend to have a disproportionately negative impact on our profitability. We typically have a number of large transactions each quarter, which increases the risk of fluctuations in our quarterly results. If we lose one or more of our key customers for any reason, or we experience a delay in even a small number of these large transactions, our quarterly sales, revenues and profitability could fall significantly short of our predictions. In addition, sudden shifts in regional or global economic or political activity may cause our sales forecasts to be inaccurate.
28Table of ContentsIn addition, we hold a portfolio of marketable and non-marketable debt and equity investments, including investments in Ampere Computing Holdings LLC (Ampere), a privately held related party entity in which we had an ownership interest of approximately 29% as of May 31, 2025. Any impairment charges and effect of changes in the fair values of certain of these investments are recorded as unrealized gains or losses as a component of consolidated net income in each period. The timing and amount of impairment charges or changes in fair value, if any, of these investments depends on factors beyond our control, including the perceived and actual performance of the companies or funds in which we invest, and are also subject to the general conditions of public and private equity markets, which are uncertain and have in the past varied, and may in the future vary, materially by period. Changes in the fair values of these investments, including Ampere, have contributed, and may in the future contribute, to volatility in our net income that is not reflective of our core businesses.
On March 19, 2025, SoftBank Group Corp. announced that it had entered into an agreement with Ampere and certain of its equity holders to acquire all of the equity interests of Ampere (the Ampere Acquisition). The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, that are beyond our control. If the Ampere Acquisition closes, we will cease to be an investor in Ampere. During the period prior to closing the Ampere Acquisition, the amount of our investments in Ampere could increase for a variety of reasons and we will continue to recognize our share of loss in Ampere’s net earnings until the closure of the acquisition. If the Ampere Acquisition does not close, we will continue to be exposed to the risk associated with our investments in Ampere as discussed above.
Changes in currency exchange rates can adversely affect customer demand and our revenue and profitability. We conduct a significant number of transactions and hold cash in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Changes in the values of major foreign currencies, particularly the Australian Dollar, British Pound, Brazilian Real, Canadian Dollar, Euro, Indian Rupee, Japanese Yen and Saudi Riyal, relative to the U.S. Dollar can significantly affect our total assets, revenues, operating results and cash flows, which are reported in U.S. Dollars. Fluctuations in foreign currency rates, including the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar against the Euro and most other major international currencies, adversely affects our revenue growth by reducing the U.S. Dollar value of our foreign currency earnings and affecting actual demand for our products and services as they may become relatively more expensive for foreign currency-based enterprises to purchase. Currency variations can also negatively impact profit margins on sales of our products in countries outside of the U.S. Generally, a stronger U.S. Dollar adversely affects, and a weaker U.S. Dollar favorably affects, our reported revenues and operating results. In addition, our reported assets generally are adversely affected when the dollar strengthens relative to other currencies as a portion of our consolidated cash and bank deposits, among other assets, are held in foreign currencies and reported in U.S. Dollars.
In addition, we incur foreign currency transaction gains and losses, primarily related to sublicense fees and other intercompany agreements among us and our subsidiaries that we expect to cash settle in the near term, which are charged to earnings in the period incurred. We have a program which primarily utilizes foreign currency forward contracts designed to offset the risks associated with certain foreign currency exposures. We may suspend the program from time to time. As part of this program, we enter into foreign currency forward contracts so that increases or decreases in our foreign currency exposures are offset at least in part by gains or losses on the foreign currency forward contracts in an effort to mitigate the risks and volatility associated with our foreign currency transaction gains or losses. A large portion of our consolidated operations is international, and we expect that we will continue to realize gains or losses with respect to our foreign currency exposures, net of gains or losses from our foreign currency forward contracts, including the cost to obtain such contracts. For example, we experience foreign currency gains and losses when it is not possible or cost-effective to hedge our foreign currency exposures, our hedging efforts are ineffective or we suspend our foreign currency forward contract program. Our ultimate realized loss or gain with respect to currency fluctuations will generally depend on the size and type of cross-currency exposures that we enter into, the currency exchange rates associated with these exposures and changes in those rates, whether we have entered into foreign currency forward contracts to offset these exposures and any related fees paid to purchase such contracts, and other factors. All of these factors can from time to time materially impact our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.
We have incurred foreign currency losses associated with the devaluation of currencies in certain highly inflationary economies relative to the U.S. Dollar. We could incur future losses in other countries where we do business should their currencies become designated as highly inflationary.
There are risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness. As of May 31, 2025, we had an aggregate of $92.6 billion of outstanding indebtedness that will mature between calendar year 2025 and calendar year 2065. Our ability to pay interest and repay the principal for our indebtedness is dependent upon our ability to manage our
29Table of Contentsbusiness operations, generate sufficient cash flows to service such debt and the other factors discussed in this Risk Factors section. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage any of these risks successfully.
We have been refinancing portions of our outstanding debt as it matures and we may continue to do so in the future. There is a risk that we may not be able to refinance existing debt or that the terms of any refinancing may not be as favorable as the terms of our existing debt. Furthermore, if prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing result in higher interest rates upon refinancing, then the interest expense relating to that refinanced indebtedness would increase.Should we incur future increases in interest expense, our ability to utilize certain of our foreign tax credits to reduce our U.S. federal income tax could be limited, which could unfavorably affect our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate. In addition, changes to our outlook or credit rating or a withdrawal by any rating agency could negatively affect the value of both our debt and equity securities and increase the interest amounts we pay on certain outstanding or future debt. These risks could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Common StockOur stock price could become more volatile and your investment could lose value. All of the factors discussed within this Risk Factors section could affect our stock price. The timing of announcements in the public market by us or by our competitors regarding new cloud services, AI advancements, products, product enhancements, technological advances, data center capacity, acquisitions or major transactions could also affect our stock price. Changes in the amounts and frequency of stock repurchases or dividends could affect our stock price. Our stock price could also be affected by factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, among others: speculation in the press, social media and the analyst community; changes in recommendations or earnings-related estimates by financial analysts; changes in investors’ or analysts’ valuation measures for our stock; negative analyst surveys or channel check surveys; earnings announcements where our financial results differ from our guidance or investors’ expectations; our credit ratings; dissemination of inaccurate information or misinformation about our business and results of operations (including through the malicious use of generative AI tools); the enforcement or non-enforcement of laws and regulations; and market trends unrelated to our performance. The stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. A significant drop in our stock price could also expose us to the risk of securities class action lawsuits, which could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our business.
We cannot guarantee that our stock repurchase program will be fully implemented or that it will enhance long-term stockholder value. Our repurchase program does not have an expiration date and we are not obligated to repurchase a specified number or dollar value of shares. Further, our stock repurchase program may be accelerated, suspended, delayed or discontinued at any time. Our stock repurchase program may not enhance long-term stockholder value.General Risks
Economic, political and market conditions can adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability, which in turn could adversely affect our stock price. Our business is influenced by a range of factors that are beyond our control and that we have no comparative advantage in forecasting. These include:
• general economic and business conditions;
• overall demand for enterprise cloud, license and hardware products and services;
• governmental budgetary constraints or shifts in government spending priorities; and• general legal, regulatory and political developments.Macroeconomic developments such as the global or regional economic effects resulting from elevated inflation and interest rates, limited liquidity, adverse developments affecting financial institutions, the current wars, evolving trade policies between the U.S. and international trade partners, including the imposition of tariffs and other trade measures or restrictions, or the occurrence of similar events in other countries that lead to uncertainty or instability in economic, political or market conditions could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and outlook, which, in turn, could adversely affect our stock price. Any general weakening of, and related declining
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corporate confidence in, the global economy or the curtailment of government or corporate spending could cause current or potential customers to reduce or eliminate their IT budgets and spending, which could cause customers to delay, decrease or cancel purchases of our products and services or cause customers not to pay us or to delay paying us for previously purchased products and services. If any parties with whom we conduct business or invest our cash or cash equivalents are unable to meet their obligations to us, our business could be adversely affected. Bank failures or issues in the broader U.S. or global financial systems may have an impact on the broader capital markets and, in turn, our ability to access those markets.
In addition, international, regional or domestic political unrest and the related potential impact on global stability, trade wars, terrorist attacks and the potential for other hostilities in various parts of the world, public health crises and natural disasters continue to contribute to a climate of economic and political uncertainty that could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability. These factors generally have the strongest effect on our sales of cloud license and on-premise license, hardware and related services and, to a lesser extent, also may affect our renewal rates for license support and our subscription-based cloud offerings.Business disruptions could adversely affect our operating results. A significant portion of our critical business operations are concentrated in a few geographic areas, some of which include emerging market international locations that may be less stable relative to running such business operations solely within the U.S. We are a highly automated business and a disruption or failure of our systems, supply chains and processes could cause delays in completing sales, providing services, including some of our cloud offerings, and enabling a seamless customer experience with respect to our customer facing back-office processes. Although the Oracle Cloud is designed to automatically redirect traffic to an alternate facility, in the event of a severe impact to one facility, a major natural disaster, political, social or other disruption to infrastructure that supports our operations or other catastrophic event or the effects of climate change (such as increased storm severity, drought and pandemics) that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our critical business operations, supply chains or IT systems could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, our future operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Item 7 · Management's Discussion & Analysis
+215 paragraphs −210 paragraphs ~210 changed
FY 2024-05-31 (earlier)
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis o f Financial Condition and Results of OperationsWe begin Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations with an overview of our businesses and significant trends. This overview is followed by a summary of our critical accounting estimates that we believe are important to understanding significant assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results. We then provide a more detailed analysis of our results of operations and financial condition for fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022 can be found in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on June 20, 2023, which is available free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our Investor Relations website at www.oracle.com/investor.Business Overview
Oracle provides products and services that address enterprise IT needs. Our products and services include enterprise applications and infrastructure offerings that are delivered worldwide through a variety of flexible and interoperable IT deployment models. These models include on-premise, cloud-based and hybrid deployments (an approach that combines both on-premise and cloud-based deployments). Accordingly, we offer choice and flexibility to our customers and facilitate the product, service and deployment combinations that best suit our customers’ needs. Through our worldwide sales force and Oracle Partner Network, we sell to customers all over the world including businesses of many sizes, government agencies, educational institutions and resellers.We have three businesses: cloud and license; hardware; and services; each of which comprises a single operating segment. The descriptions set forth below as a part of this Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the information contained within Item 1 Business and Note 14 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report provide additional information related to our businesses and operating segments and align to how our chief operating decision makers (CODMs), which are our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer, view our operating results and allocate resources.Cloud and License BusinessOur cloud and license business, which represented 84% and 83% of our total revenues in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively, markets, sells and delivers a broad spectrum of enterprise applications and infrastructure technologies through our cloud and license offerings. Revenue streams included in our cloud and license business are:• Cloud services and license support revenues, which include:
o cloud services revenues, which are earned by providing customers access to Oracle Cloud applications and infrastructure technologies via cloud-based deployment models that Oracle develops, provides unspecified updates and enhancements for, deploys, hosts, manages and supports and that customers access by entering into a subscription agreement with us for a stated period. Oracle Cloud Services arrangements generally: are billed in advance of the cloud services being delivered; have durations of one to four years; are renewed at the customer’s option; and are recognized as revenues ratably over the contractual period of the cloud contract or, in the case of usage model contracts, as the cloud services are consumed over time; ando license support revenues, which are earned by providing Oracle license support services to customers that have elected to purchase support services in connection with the purchase of Oracle applications and infrastructure software licenses for use in cloud, on-premise and other IT environments. Substantially all license support customers renew their support contracts with us upon expiration in order to continue to benefit from technical support services and the periodic issuance of unspecified updates and enhancements, which current license support customers are entitled to receive. License support contracts are generally priced as a percentage of the net fees paid by the customer to purchase a cloud license and/or on-premise license; are generally billed in advance of the support services being performed; are generally renewed at the customer’s option; and are generally recognized as revenues ratably over the contractual period that the support services are provided, which is generally one year.
39Table of ContentsIndex to Financial Statements• Cloud license and on-premise license revenues, which include revenues from the licensing of our software products including Oracle Applications, Oracle Database, Oracle Middleware and Java, among others, which our customers deploy within cloud-based, on-premise or other IT environments. Our cloud license and on-premise license transactions are generally perpetual in nature and are generally recognized as revenues up front at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer to download and use. Revenues from usage-based royalty arrangements for distinct cloud licenses and on-premise licenses are recognized at the point in time when the software end user usage occurs. The timing of a few large license transactions can substantially affect our quarterly license revenues due to the point-in-time nature of revenue recognition for license transactions, which is different than the typical revenue recognition pattern for our cloud services and license support revenues in which revenues are recognized over time. Cloud license and on-premise license customers have the option to purchase and renew license support contracts, as further described above.Providing choice and flexibility to our customers as to when and how they deploy Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies are important elements of our corporate strategy. In recent periods, customer demand for our applications and infrastructure technologies delivered through our Oracle Cloud Services has increased. To address customer demand and enable customer choice, we have certain programs for customers to pivot their applications and infrastructure software licenses and the related license support to the Oracle Cloud for new deployments and to migrate to and expand with the Oracle Cloud for their existing workloads. The proportion of our cloud services revenues relative to our total revenues has increased and we expect this trend to continue. Cloud services revenues represented 37%, 32% and 25% of our total revenues during fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Our cloud and license business’ revenue growth is affected by many factors, including the strength of general economic and business conditions; governmental budgetary constraints; the strategy for and competitive position of our offerings; customer satisfaction with our offerings; the continued renewal of our cloud services and license support customer contracts by the customer contract base; substantially all customers continuing to purchase license support contracts in connection with their license purchases; the pricing of license support contracts sold in connection with the sales of licenses; the pricing, amounts and volumes of licenses and cloud services sold; our ability to manage Oracle Cloud capacity requirements to meet existing and prospective customer demand; and foreign currency rate fluctuations.On a constant currency basis, we expect that our total cloud and license revenues generally will continue to increase due to:
• expected growth in our cloud services offerings; and
• continued demand for our cloud license and on-premise license and license support offerings.
We believe these factors should contribute to future growth in our cloud and license business’ total revenues, which should enable us to continue to make investments in research and development and our cloud operations to develop, improve, increase the capacity of and expand the geographic footprint of our cloud and license products and services.Our cloud and license business’ margin has historically trended upward over the course of the four quarters within a particular fiscal year due to the historical upward trend of our cloud and license business’ revenues over those quarterly periods and because the majority of our costs for this business are generally fixed in the short term. The historical upward trend of our cloud and license business’ revenues over the course of the four quarters within a particular fiscal year is primarily due to the addition of new cloud services and license support contracts to the customer contract base that we generally recognize as revenues ratably or based upon customer usage over the respective contractual terms and the renewal of existing customers’ cloud services and license support contracts over the course of each fiscal year that we generally recognize as revenues in a similar manner; and the historical upward trend of our cloud license and on-premise license revenues, which we generally recognize at a point in time upon delivery; in each case over those four fiscal quarterly periods.
40Table of ContentsIndex to Financial StatementsHardware BusinessOur hardware business, which represented 6% of our total revenues in each of fiscal 2024 and 2023, provides a broad selection of enterprise hardware products and hardware-related software products including Oracle Engineered Systems, servers, storage, industry-specific hardware offerings, operating systems, virtualization, management and other hardware-related software and related hardware support. Each hardware product and its related software, such as an operating system or firmware, are highly interdependent and interrelated and are accounted for as a combined performance obligation. The revenues for this combined performance obligation are generally recognized at the point in time that the hardware product and its related software are delivered to the customer and ownership is transferred to the customer. We expect to continue to make investments in research and development to improve existing hardware products and services and to develop new hardware products and services. The majority of our hardware products are sold through indirect channels, including independent distributors and value-added resellers. Our hardware support offerings provide customers with unspecified software updates for software components that are essential to the functionality of our hardware products and associated software products. Our hardware support offerings can also include product repairs, maintenance services and technical support services. Hardware support contracts are entered into and renewed at the option of the customer, are generally priced as a percentage of the net hardware products fees and are generally recognized as revenues ratably as the hardware support services are delivered over the contractual terms.We generally expect our hardware business to have lower operating margins as a percentage of revenues than our cloud and license business due to the incremental costs we incur to produce and distribute these products and to provide support services, including direct materials and labor costs.Our quarterly hardware revenues are difficult to predict. Our hardware revenues, cost of hardware and hardware operating margins that we report are affected by many factors, including our manufacturing partners’ abilities to timely manufacture or deliver a few large hardware transactions; our strategy for and the position of our hardware products relative to competitor offerings; customer demand for competing offerings, including cloud infrastructure offerings; the strength of general economic and business conditions; governmental budgetary constraints; whether customers decide to purchase hardware support contracts at or in close proximity to the time of hardware product sale; the percentage of our hardware support contract customer base that renews its support contracts; and the close association between hardware products, which have a finite life, and customer demand for related hardware support as hardware products age; customer decisions to either maintain or upgrade their existing hardware infrastructure to newly developed technologies that are available; and foreign currency rate fluctuations.Services BusinessOur services business, which represented 10% and 11% of our total revenues in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively, helps customers and partners maximize the performance of their investments in Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies. We believe that our services are differentiated based on our focus on Oracle technologies, extensive experience, broad sets of intellectual property and best practices. Our services offerings include consulting services and advanced customer services. Our services business has lower margins than our cloud and license and hardware businesses. Our services revenues are affected by many factors including our strategy for, and the competitive position of, our services; customer demand for our cloud and license and hardware offerings and the related services that we may market and sell in connection with these offerings; general economic conditions; governmental budgetary constraints; personnel reductions in our customers’ IT departments; tighter controls over customer discretionary spending; and foreign currency rate fluctuations.AcquisitionsOur selective and active acquisition program is another important element of our corporate strategy. Historically, we have invested billions of dollars to acquire a number of complementary companies, products, services and technologies. We acquired certain companies and technologies during fiscal 2024 and 2023, including Cerner in fiscal 2023. Refer to Note 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information related to our acquisition of Cerner and our other recent acquisitions. As compelling
41Table of ContentsIndex to Financial Statements
opportunities become available, we may acquire companies, products, services and technologies in furtherance of our corporate strategy.We believe that we can fund our future acquisitions with our internally available cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances, cash generated from operations, additional borrowings or from the issuance of additional securities. We estimate the financial impact of any potential acquisition with regard to earnings, operating margin, cash flows and return on invested capital targets, among others, before deciding to move forward with an acquisition.
Investment in Ampere Computing Holdings LLCFrom time to time since 2017, we have made investments in Ampere, a related party entity, in the form of equity and convertible debt instruments. The total carrying value of our investments in Ampere, after accounting for losses under the equity method of accounting, was $1.5 billion and $1.2 billion as of May 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We currently expect Ampere to continue to generate net losses in future periods but we remain confident in the long-term potential of Ampere’s server chips.
Our equity investments in Ampere represent an ownership interest of approximately 29% as of May 31, 2024 and 2023. We also own convertible debt investments in Ampere which, under the terms of an agreement with Ampere and other co-investors, will mature in June 2026 and are convertible into equity securities at the holder’s option under certain circumstances. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, we invested an aggregate of $600 million in convertible debt instruments issued by Ampere. In accordance with the terms of an agreement with other co-investors, we are also a counterparty to certain put (exercisable by a co-investor) and call (exercisable by Oracle) options at prices of approximately $400 million to $1.5 billion, respectively, to acquire additional equity interests in Ampere from our co-investors through January 2027. If either of such options is exercised by us or our co-investors, we would obtain control of Ampere and consolidate its results with our results of operations.Critical Accounting EstimatesOur consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which requires us to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that can affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and related disclosure. Critical accounting estimates are those estimates that involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty and have had, or are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. We believe that the estimates, judgments and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable based upon information available to us at the time that these estimates, judgments and assumptions are made. To the extent that there are differences between these estimates, judgments or assumptions and actual results, our financial statements will be affected. We have critical accounting estimates in the areas of business combinations, income taxes and non-marketable investments. Refer to Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more discussion of our significant accounting policies.
Business Combinations
In accordance with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 805, Business Combinations , we use our best estimates and assumptions, which are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement, to recognize and measure assets acquired and liabilities assumed, including intangible assets and pre-acquisition contingencies, at the acquisition date as well as any contingent consideration, where applicable. Although we believe that the assumptions and estimates we have made in the past have been reasonable and appropriate, they are based in part on historical experience and information obtained from the management of the acquired companies and are inherently uncertain. Unanticipated events and circumstances may occur that may affect the accuracy or validity of such assumptions, estimates or actual results. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the business acquisition date, we record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of a business acquisition’s measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations.
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For a given business acquisition, we may identify certain pre-acquisition contingencies as of the acquisition date and may extend our review and evaluation of these pre-acquisition contingencies throughout the measurement period in order to obtain sufficient information to assess whether we include these contingencies as a part of the fair value estimates of assets acquired and liabilities assumed and, if so, to determine their estimated amounts.
If we cannot reasonably determine the fair value of a non-income tax related pre-acquisition contingency by the end of the measurement period, which is generally the case given the nature of such matters, we will recognize an asset or a liability for such pre-acquisition contingency if: (1) it is probable that an asset existed or a liability had been incurred at the acquisition date and (2) the amount of the asset or liability can be reasonably estimated. Subsequent to the measurement period or final determination of the net asset values for the business combination, whichever comes first, changes in our estimates of such contingencies will affect earnings and could have a material effect on our results of operations and financial position.
In addition, uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances assumed in a business combination are initially estimated as of the acquisition date. We reevaluate these items quarterly based upon facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date with any adjustments to our preliminary estimates being recorded to goodwill if identified within the measurement period. Subsequent to the measurement period or our final determination of the tax allowance’s or contingency’s estimated value, whichever comes first, changes to these uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances will affect our provision for income taxes in our consolidated statement of operations and could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position.Income TaxesJudgment is required in determining our worldwide income tax provision. In the ordinary course of a global business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax outcome is uncertain. Some of these uncertainties arise as a consequence of revenue sharing and cost reimbursement arrangements among related entities, the process of identifying items of revenues and expenses that qualify for preferential tax treatment, and the segregation of foreign and domestic earnings and expenses to avoid double taxation. Although we believe that our estimates are reasonable, the final tax outcome of these matters could be different from that which is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and accruals. Such differences could have a material effect on our income tax provision and net income in the period in which such determination is made.We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In order for us to realize our deferred tax assets, we must be able to generate sufficient taxable income in those jurisdictions where the deferred tax assets are located. We consider future growth, forecasted earnings, future taxable income, the mix of earnings in the jurisdictions in which we operate, historical earnings, taxable income in prior years, if carryback is permitted under the law, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies in determining the need for a valuation allowance. In the event we were to determine that we would not be able to realize all or part of our net deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets valuation allowance would be charged to earnings in the period in which we make such a determination, or goodwill would be adjusted at our final determination of the valuation allowance related to an acquisition within the measurement period. If we later determine that it is more likely than not that the net deferred tax assets would be realized, we would reverse the applicable portion of the previously provided valuation allowance as an adjustment to our provision for income taxes at such time.
We calculate our current and deferred tax provision based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the actual results reflected in income tax returns filed during the subsequent year. Adjustments based on filed returns are generally recorded in the period when the global tax implications are known, which can materially impact our effective tax rate.The amount of income tax we pay is subject to ongoing audits by federal, state and foreign tax authorities, which often result in proposed assessments. Our estimate of the potential outcome for any uncertain tax issue may require certain judgments. A description of our accounting policies associated with tax related contingencies assumed as a part of a business combination is provided under “Business Combinations” above.
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Index to Financial Statements
For those tax related contingencies that are not a part of a business combination, we account for these uncertain tax issues pursuant to ASC 740, Income Taxes , which contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained in an audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. Although we believe that we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given with respect to the final outcome of these matters. We adjust reserves for our uncertain tax positions due to changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit, judicial rulings, and refinement of estimates or realization of earnings or deductions that differ from our estimates. To the extent that the final outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences generally will impact our provision for income taxes in the period in which such a determination is made. Our provisions for income taxes include the impact of reserve provisions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate and also include the related interest and penalties.Non-Marketable InvestmentsWe assess our non-marketable debt and equity investments for credit losses and impairment on a quarterly basis and as facts and circumstances change. Our analysis includes an assessment of various qualitative and quantitative factors, including the investee’s historical financial results, current financial projections, rate of cash usage and assumptions regarding product acceptance and opportunity within the market. This analysis requires significant judgment in evaluating underlying factors. In some instances, investee specific information available to us to make this assessment may be limited or may be available on a delayed basis. If the investment is determined to be impaired, we adjust the carrying amount of such investment to its estimated fair value by recognizing a charge, which is included in non-operating expenses, net in our consolidated statements of operations. Estimating the fair value of an investment upon impairment involves a significant level of estimation, uncertainty and judgment. We may incur future losses due to impairments, which could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position.Results of Operations
Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information
In our results of operations discussion below, we provide an overview of our total consolidated revenues, total consolidated operating expenses and total consolidated operating margin, all of which are presented on a GAAP basis. We also present a GAAP-based discussion below for substantially all of the other expense items as presented in our consolidated statements of operations that are not directly attributable to our three businesses.
In addition, we discuss below the results of each of our three businesses—cloud and license, hardware and services—which are our operating segments as defined pursuant to ASC 280, Segment Reporting . The financial reporting for our three businesses that is presented below is presented in a manner that is consistent with that used by our CODMs. Our operating segment presentation below reflects revenues, direct costs and sales and marketing expenses that correspond to and are directly attributable to each of our three businesses. We also utilize these inputs to calculate and present a segment margin for each of our three businesses in the discussion below.Consistent with our internal management reporting processes, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses, stock-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets, certain other expense allocations, acquisition related and other expenses, restructuring expenses, interest expense, non-operating expenses, net and provision for income taxes are not attributed to our three operating segments because our management does not view the performance of our three businesses including such items and/or it is impracticable to do so. Refer to “Supplemental Disclosure Related to Certain Charges” below for additional discussion of certain of these items and Note 14 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for a reconciliation of the summations of total segment margin as presented in the discussion below to total income before income taxes as presented per our consolidated statements of operations for fiscal 2024 and 2023.
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Index to Financial StatementsConstant Currency PresentationOur international operations have provided, and are expected to continue to provide, a significant portion of each of our businesses’ revenues and expenses. As a result, each of our businesses’ revenues and expenses and our total revenues and expenses will continue to be affected by changes in the U.S. Dollar against major international currencies. In order to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed, excluding the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations, we compare the percent change in the results from one period to another period in this Annual Report using constant currency. To present this information, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than U.S. Dollars are converted into U.S. Dollars at constant exchange rates (i.e., the rates in effect on May 31, 2023, which was the last day of our prior fiscal year) rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. For example, if an entity reporting in Euros had revenues of 1.0 million Euros from products sold on May 31, 2024 and 2023, our financial statements would reflect reported revenues of $1.09 million in fiscal 2024 (using 1.09 as the applicable average exchange rate for the period) and $1.08 million in fiscal 2023 (using 1.08 as the applicable average exchange rate for the period). The constant currency presentation, however, would translate the fiscal 2024 results using the fiscal 2023 exchange rate and indicate, in this example, no change in revenues between the periods compared. In each of the tables below, we present the percent change based on actual, unrounded results in reported currency and in constant currency.Total Revenues and Operating Expenses
Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Total Revenues by Geography :
Americas
$33,122
6%
6%$31,226EMEA (1)13,0308%5%
12,109Asia Pacific6,8093%6%
6,619Total revenues52,9616%
6%49,954
Total Operating Expenses37,6082%
2%
36,861Total Operating Margin
$15,353
17%16%
$13,093Total Operating Margin %29%26%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas62%63%EMEA
25%24%Asia Pacific13%13%Total Revenues by Business :
Cloud and license
$44,464
8%
8%$41,086Hardware3,066-6%
-7%
3,274Services5,431-3%-3%
5,594Total revenues
$52,961
6%
6%$49,954% Revenues by Business :
Cloud and license84%83%Hardware6%6%Services10%11%(1) Comprised of Europe, the Middle East and AfricaExcluding the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations, our total revenues increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to growth in our cloud and license business’ revenues, which were partially offset by a decline in our hardware business’ and services business’ revenues. The constant currency revenues increase in our cloud and license business in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 was attributable to growth in our cloud services and license support revenues as customers purchased our applications and infrastructure technologies via cloud and license deployment models and also renewed their related cloud contracts and license support contracts to continue to gain access to the latest versions of our technologies and to receive support services, partially offset by a decrease in our cloud license and on-premise license revenues. In our hardware business, the constant currency decrease in revenues in fiscal 2024 was due to the emphasis we placed on the marketing and sale of our growing cloud-based infrastructure technologies and strategic hardware offerings and the de-emphasis of our sales and marketing efforts
45Table of ContentsIndex to Financial Statements
for non-strategic hardware products and related support services. In our services business, the constant currency decrease in revenues in fiscal 2024 was attributable to a decrease in revenues from each of our primary services offerings. In constant currency, the Americas, the EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions contributed 64%, 22% and 14%, respectively, of the constant currency total revenue growth during fiscal 2024.
Excluding the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations, our total operating expenses increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to higher cloud services and license support expenses, which were primarily due to higher infrastructure investments that were made to support the increase in our cloud services and license support revenues; higher research and development expenses, which were primarily due to higher employee related expenses; and higher acquisition related and other expenses, which were primarily due to certain asset impairment charges and certain litigation related charges. These constant currency increases in operating expenses were partially offset by lower sales and marketing expenses, which were primarily due to lower employee related expenses; lower hardware expenses; lower expenses for amortization of intangible assets as certain of our assets were fully amortized; lower general and administrative expenses; and lower restructuring expenses.
In constant currency, our total operating margin and total operating margin as a percentage of revenues increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to higher revenues.Supplemental Disclosure Related to Certain Charges
To supplement our consolidated financial information, we believe that the following information is helpful to an overall understanding of our past financial performance and prospects for the future.
Our operating results reported pursuant to GAAP included the following business combination accounting adjustments and expenses related to acquisitions and certain other expenses, including stock-based compensation, that affected our GAAP net income:
Year Ended May 31,
(in millions)20242023Amortization of intangible assets (1)
$3,010$3,582Acquisition related and other (2)314190Restructuring (3)404490Stock-based compensation, operating segments (4)1,3821,201Stock-based compensation, R&D and G&A (4)2,5922,346Income tax effects (5)(2,459
)(2,136
)$5,243$5,673
(1) Represents the amortization of intangible assets, substantially all of which were acquired in connection with our acquisitions. As of May 31, 2024, estimated future amortization related to intangible assets was as follows (in millions):
Fiscal 2025
$
2,303Fiscal 20261,639
Fiscal 2027
672
Fiscal 2028
635
Fiscal 2029
561Thereafter1,080Total intangible assets, net
$6,890
(2) Acquisition related and other expenses consist of personnel related costs for transitional and certain other employees, certain business combination adjustments including certain adjustments after the measurement period has ended and certain other operating items, net.
(3) Restructuring expenses in fiscal 2024 primarily related to employee severance in connection with the Fiscal 2024 Oracle Restructuring Plan (2024 Restructuring Plan). Restructuring expenses in fiscal 2023 primarily related to employee severance in connection with the Fiscal 2022 Oracle Restructuring Plan (2022 Restructuring Plan). Additional information regarding certain of our restructuring plans is provided in management’s discussion below under “Restructuring Expenses,” and in Note 8 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
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Index to Financial Statements(4) Stock-based compensation was included in the following operating expense line items of our consolidated statements of operations (in millions):
Year Ended May 31,20242023Cloud services and license support
$525$435Hardware2318Services167137Sales and marketing667611Stock-based compensation, operating segments1,3821,201Research and development2,2251,983General and administrative367363Total stock-based compensation
$3,974$3,547
(5) For fiscal 2024 and 2023, the applicable jurisdictional tax rates applied to our income before income taxes after excluding the tax effects of items within the table above such as for stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring, and certain acquisition related and other items, and after excluding the net deferred tax effects associated with a previously recorded income tax benefit that resulted from a partial realignment of our legal entity structure. These adjustments resulted in an effective tax rate of 19.2%, instead of 10.9%, for fiscal 2024 and 16.3%, instead of 6.8%, for fiscal 2023, which in each case represented our effective tax rates as derived per our consolidated statements of operations.
Cloud and License Business
Our cloud and license business engages in the sale and marketing of our applications and infrastructure technologies that are delivered through various deployment models and include: Oracle Cloud Services offerings; Oracle cloud license and on-premise license offerings; and Oracle license support offerings. Our cloud services deliver applications and infrastructure technologies on a subscription basis via cloud-based deployment models that we develop, provide unspecified updates and enhancements for, deploy, host, manage and support. Revenues for our cloud services are generally recognized ratably over the contractual term, which is generally one to four years, or in the case of usage model contracts, as the cloud services are consumed. Cloud license and on-premise license revenues represent fees earned from granting customers licenses, generally on a perpetual basis, to use our database and middleware and our applications software products within cloud and on-premise IT environments and are generally recognized up front at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer to download and use. License support revenues are typically generated through the sale of applications and infrastructure software license support contracts related to cloud licenses and on-premise licenses; are purchased by our customers at their option; and are generally recognized as revenues ratably over the contractual term, which is generally one year. We continue to place significant emphasis, both domestically and internationally, on direct sales through our own sales force. We also continue to market certain of our offerings through indirect channels. Costs associated with our cloud and license business are included in cloud services and license support expenses and sales and marketing expenses. These costs are largely personnel and infrastructure related including the cost of providing our cloud services and license support offerings, salaries and commissions earned by our sales force for the sale of our cloud and license offerings and marketing program costs.
47Table of ContentsIndex to Financial StatementsYear Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Cloud and License Revenues :
Americas
$28,1969%
9%$
25,821
EMEA10,7718%
6%
9,930Asia Pacific5,497
3%6%5,335Total revenues44,4648%
8%
41,086Expenses :
Cloud services and license support (1)8,78322%
21%
7,222Sales and marketing (1)7,167-7%
-8%
7,738Total expenses (1)15,9507%
6%
14,960Total Margin
$28,5149%9%$26,126Total Margin %64%64%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas
64%63%EMEA
24%
24%
Asia Pacific
12%13%Revenues by Offerings :
Cloud services
$19,774
25%24%$15,881License support19,609
1%0%19,426Cloud license and on-premise license5,081-12%
-12%
5,779Total revenues
$44,464
8%
8%$41,086Cloud Services and License Support Revenues by Ecosystem :
Applications cloud services and license support
$18,172
9%
9%$16,651Infrastructure cloud services and license support21,21114%
13%
18,656Total cloud services and license support revenues
$39,38312%11%$35,307(1) Excludes stock-based compensation and certain expense allocations. Also excludes amortization of intangible assets and certain other GAAP-based expenses, which were not allocated to our operating segment results for purposes of reporting to and review by our CODMs, as further described under “Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information” above.Excluding the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations, our cloud and license business’ total revenues increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to growth in our cloud services and license support revenues as customers purchased our applications and infrastructure technologies via cloud and license deployment models and renewed their related cloud contracts and license support contracts to continue to gain access to the latest versions of our technologies and to receive support services for which we delivered such cloud and support services during the period presented. The growth in our cloud services and license support revenues was partially offset by a decrease in our cloud license and on-premise license revenues. In constant currency, the Americas, the EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions contributed 71%, 18% and 11%, respectively, of the constant currency revenue growth for this business during fiscal 2024.
In constant currency, our total cloud and license business’ expenses increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to higher technology infrastructure expenses to support the increase in our cloud and license business’ revenues. These constant currency expense increases were partially offset by lower sales and marketing expenses, which decreased primarily due to lower employee related expenses due to lower headcount. Our cloud services and license support expenses have grown in recent periods, and we expect this trend to continue during fiscal 2025 as we increase our existing data center capacity and establish data centers in new geographic locations in order to meet current and expected customer demand.
Excluding the effects of currency rate fluctuations, our cloud and license business’ total margin increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to increases in total revenues for this business. In constant currency, total margin as a percentage of revenues remained flat in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023.
48Table of ContentsIndex to Financial StatementsHardware BusinessOur hardware business’ revenues are generated from the sales of our Oracle Engineered Systems, server, storage and industry-specific hardware offerings. The hardware product and related software, such as an operating system or firmware, are highly interdependent and interrelated and are accounted for as a combined performance obligation. The revenues for this combined performance obligation are generally recognized at the point in time that the hardware product is delivered to the customer and ownership is transferred to the customer. Our hardware business also earns revenues from the sale of hardware support contracts purchased by our customers at their option and that are generally recognized as revenues ratably as the hardware support services are delivered over the contractual term, which is generally one year. The majority of our hardware products are sold through indirect channels such as independent distributors and value-added resellers and we also market and sell our hardware products through our direct sales force. Operating expenses associated with our hardware business include the cost of hardware products, which consists of expenses for materials and labor used to produce these products by our internal manufacturing operations or by third-party manufacturers, warranty and related expenses and the impact of periodic changes in inventory valuation, including the impact of inventory determined to be excess and obsolete; the cost of materials used to repair customer products with eligible support contracts; the cost of labor and infrastructure to provide support services; and sales and marketing expenses, which are largely personnel related and include variable compensation earned by our sales force for the sales of our hardware offerings.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Hardware Revenues :
Americas
$1,494
-12%
-13%$1,702EMEA921-1%
-4%
933Asia Pacific6512%
4%
639Total revenues3,066-6%
-7%
3,274Expenses :
Hardware products and support (1)855-15%
-16%
1,011Sales and marketing (1)296-11%
-11%
331Total expenses (1)1,151-14%
-15%
1,342Total Margin
$1,915
-1%
-1%$1,932Total Margin %62%59%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas
49%52%EMEA
30%28%Asia Pacific
21%20%(1) Excludes stock-based compensation and certain expense allocations. Also excludes amortization of intangible assets and certain other GAAP-based expenses, which were not allocated to our operating segment results for purposes of reporting to and review by our CODMs, as further described under “Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information” above.Our constant currency hardware revenues decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to our continued emphasis on the marketing and sale of our cloud-based infrastructure technologies and strategic hardware offerings and the de-emphasis of our sales and marketing efforts for non-strategic hardware products, which resulted in reduced sales volumes of certain of our hardware product lines and also impacted the volume of hardware support contracts sold in recent periods. Geographically, we experienced constant currency revenue declines in the Americas and the EMEA regions, partially offset by a constant currency revenue increase in the Asia Pacific region, in fiscal 2024.
Excluding the effects of currency rate fluctuations, total hardware expenses decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to lower hardware product costs and lower sales and marketing expenses, all of which aligned with lower hardware revenues.
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In constant currency, our hardware business’ total margin decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to lower total revenues for this business. In constant currency, total margin as a percentage of revenues increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to lower total expenses for this business.Services BusinessOur services offerings are designed to help maximize the performance of customer investments in Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies and include our consulting services and advanced customer services offerings. Services revenues are generally recognized over time as the services are performed. The cost of providing our services consists primarily of personnel related expenses, technology infrastructure expenditures, facilities expenses and external contractor expenses.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Services Revenues :
Americas
$3,432-7%-8%$3,703EMEA1,3387%
5%
1,246Asia Pacific661
2%6%645Total revenues5,431-3%-3%
5,594Total Expenses (1)4,5151%
0%
4,490Total Margin
$916
-17%
-17%$1,104Total Margin %17%20%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas63%66%EMEA25%22%Asia Pacific12%12%(1) Excludes stock-based compensation and certain allocations. Also excludes certain other GAAP-based expenses, which were not allocated to our operating segment results for purposes of reporting to and review by our CODMs, as further described under “Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information” above.Excluding the effects of currency rate fluctuations, our total services revenues decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to a decrease in revenues in each of our primary services offerings. The constant currency decrease in services revenues in the Americas region was partially offset by constant currency increases in services revenues in the EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions in fiscal 2024.
In constant currency, total services expenses remained flat in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023.
In constant currency, our services business’ total margin and total margin as a percentage of revenues decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to lower total revenues for this business.
Research and Development Expenses : Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel related expenditures. We intend to continue to invest significantly in our research and development efforts because, in our judgment, they are essential to maintaining our competitive position.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Research and development (1)
$6,690
1%
1%$6,640Stock-based compensation2,22512%
12%
1,983Total expenses
$8,915
3%
3%$8,623% of Total Revenues
17%
17%
(1) Excluding stock-based compensation50Table of ContentsIndex to Financial Statements
On a constant currency basis, total research and development expenses increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to higher employee related expenses, including higher stock-based compensation expenses.
General and Administrative Expenses : General and administrative expenses primarily consist of personnel related expenditures for IT, finance, legal and human resources support functions.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023General and administrative (1)
$1,181
-3%
-3%$1,216Stock-based compensation3671%
1%
363Total expenses
$1,548
-2%
-2%$1,579% of Total Revenues
3%
3%
(1) Excluding stock-based compensationExcluding the effects of currency rate fluctuations, our total general and administrative expenses decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to lower professional fees, partially offset by higher stock-based compensation expenses.
Amortization of Intangible Assets : Substantially all of our intangible assets were acquired through our business combinations. We amortize our intangible assets over, and monitor the appropriateness of, the estimated useful lives of these assets. We also periodically review these intangible assets for potential impairment based upon relevant facts and circumstances. Refer to Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information regarding our intangible assets and related amortization.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Developed technology
$676
-15%
-15%$792Cloud services and license support agreements and related relationships1,026-32%
-32%
1,507Cloud license and on-premise license agreements and related relationships4672%
2%
459Other8412%
2%
824Total amortization of intangible assets
$3,010
-16%
-16%$3,582
Amortization of intangible assets decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to a reduction in expenses associated with certain of our intangible assets that became fully amortized.
Acquisition Related and Other Expenses : Acquisition related and other expenses consist of personnel related costs for transitional and certain other employees, certain business combination adjustments, including adjustments after the measurement period has ended, and certain other operating items, net.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023
Transitional and other employee related costs$19
-76%
-76%$77Business combination adjustments, net(12
)*
*
10Other, net307198%
196%
103Total acquisition related and other expenses
$314
65%
64%$190
*
Not meaningful
On a constant currency basis, acquisition related and other expenses increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 due to higher other expenses primarily related to certain asset impairment charges and certain litigation related charges, partially offset by lower transitional and other employee related costs and lower expenses for business combination adjustments.
51Table of ContentsIndex to Financial Statements
Restructuring Expenses : Restructuring expenses resulted from the execution of management-approved restructuring plans that were generally developed to improve our cost structure and/or operations, often in conjunction with our acquisition integration strategies and/or other strategic initiatives. Restructuring expenses consist of employee severance costs, contract termination costs and certain other exit costs to improve our cost structure prospectively. For additional information regarding our restructuring plans, see Note 8 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Restructuring expenses
$404
-18%
-18%$490
Restructuring expenses in fiscal 2024 primarily related to the 2024 Restructuring Plan. Restructuring expenses in fiscal 2023 primarily related to the 2022 Restructuring Plan, which is substantially complete. Our management approved, committed to and initiated the 2024 Restructuring Plan and the 2022 Restructuring Plan in order to restructure and further improve efficiencies in our operations. We may incur additional restructuring expenses in future periods due to the initiation of new restructuring plans or from changes in estimated costs associated with existing restructuring plans.The majority of the initiatives undertaken by the 2024 Restructuring Plan were effected to implement our continued emphasis in developing, marketing, selling and delivering our cloud-based offerings. Certain of the cost savings realized pursuant to the 2024 Restructuring Plan initiatives were offset by investments in resources and geographies that we believe better address the development, marketing, sale and delivery of our cloud-based offerings, including investments in the development and delivery of our second-generation cloud infrastructure.
Interest Expense :
Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Interest expense
$3,514
0%
0%$3,505
Interest expense remained flat in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023.
Non-Operating Expenses, net : Non-operating expenses, net consists primarily of interest income, net foreign currency exchange losses, the noncontrolling interests in the net profits of our majority-owned subsidiaries (primarily Oracle Financial Services Software Limited and Oracle Corporation Japan), net losses related to equity investments, including losses attributable to equity method investments (primarily Ampere) and net other income and expenses, including net unrealized gains and losses from our investment portfolio related to our deferred compensation plan and non-service net periodic pension income and losses.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Interest income
$451
58%
59%$285Foreign currency losses, net(228
)-8%
-11%
(249
)Noncontrolling interests in income(186
)13%
13%
(165)Losses from equity investments, net(303
)-7%
-8%
(327
)
Other income (expenses), net168*
*(6
)
Total non-operating expenses, net$
(98
)-79%
-80%
$
(462
)*
Not meaningful52Table of ContentsIndex to Financial Statements
Our non-operating expenses, net decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to higher interest income; lower net losses associated with equity investments; lower foreign currency losses; and higher other income, net, which was primarily attributable to unrealized investment gains associated with certain marketable equity securities that we held for employee benefit plans, and for which an equal and offsetting amount was recorded to our operating expenses during the same period. These decreases in non-operating expenses, net were partially offset by higher expenses for noncontrolling interests in income.
Provision for Income Taxes : Our effective income tax rates for each of the periods presented were the result of the mix of income earned in various tax jurisdictions that apply a broad range of income tax rates. Refer to Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for a discussion regarding the differences between the effective income tax rates as presented for the periods below and the U.S. federal statutory income tax rates that were in effect during these periods. Future effective tax rates could be adversely affected by an unfavorable shift of earnings weighted to jurisdictions with higher tax rates, by unfavorable changes in tax laws and regulations, by adverse rulings in tax related litigation, or by shortfalls in stock-based compensation realized by employees relative to stock-based compensation that was recorded for book purposes, among others.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2024Actual
Constant2023Provision for income taxes
$1,274
105%
103%$623Effective tax rate10.9%6.8%
Provision for income taxes increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to the absence of unrecognized tax benefits due to settlements with tax authorities, an unfavorable jurisdictional mix of earnings, and higher income before provision for income taxes, partially offset by a combination of an increase in tax benefits related to stock-based compensation, the realization of a one-time tax attribute and the revaluation of net deferred tax assets due to a change in tax rate.Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of May 31,
(Dollars in millions)2024Change2023Working capital
$(8,990)331%$(2,086)
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
$10,6615%
$10,187
Working capital : The decrease in working capital as of May 31, 2024 in comparison to May 31, 2023 was primarily due to $10.0 billion of long-term senior notes that were reclassified to current liabilities, cash used to pay dividends to our stockholders, cash used for capital expenditures, cash used for purchases of non-marketable investments, net cash used for our employee stock programs and cash used for repurchases of our common stock during fiscal 2024. These unfavorable impacts were partially offset by favorable impacts to our net current assets resulting from net income during fiscal 2024. Our working capital may be impacted by some or all of the aforementioned factors in future periods, the amounts and timing of which are variable.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities : The increase in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of May 31, 2024 in comparison to May 31, 2023 was primarily due to cash inflows from our operations during fiscal 2024. This increase was partially offset by cash used for capital expenditures, $3.5 billion of repayment of senior notes during fiscal 2024, payments of cash dividends to our stockholders, purchases of non-marketable investments, net cash used for our employee stock programs and repurchases of our common stock. Our cash and cash equivalents may be impacted by some or all of the aforementioned factors in future periods, the amounts and timing of which are variable.
53Table of ContentsIndex to Financial StatementsYear Ended May 31,
(Dollars in millions)2024Change2023Net cash provided by operating activities
$18,673
9%$17,165Net cash used for investing activities
$(7,360)-80%$(36,484)Net cash (used for) provided by financing activities$(10,554
)
*$
7,910
*Not meaningfulCash flows from operating activities : Our largest source of operating cash flows is cash collections from our customers following the purchase and renewal of their license support and cloud services agreements. Customers for these license support and cloud services agreements are generally billed in advance of services being provided. Over the course of a fiscal year, we also generate cash from the sales of new licenses, hardware offerings and other services. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are typically for employee related expenditures, material and manufacturing costs related to the production of our hardware products, taxes, interest payments and leased facilities.
Net cash provided by operating activities increased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to higher net income, partially offset by certain cash unfavorable working capital changes, net.
Cash flows from investing activities : The changes in cash flows from investing activities primarily relate to our acquisitions, purchases, maturities and sales of our investments in marketable securities and other instruments and investments in capital assets primarily to support the growth in our cloud and license business.
Net cash used for investing activities decreased in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023 primarily due to the decrease in cash used for acquisitions, net of cash acquired and lower capital expenditures.Cash flows from financing activities : The changes in cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to borrowings and repayments related to our debt instruments, stock repurchases, dividend payments and net proceeds related to employee stock programs.Net cash used for financing activities was $10.6 billion during fiscal 2024 compared to the net cash provided by financing activities of $7.9 billion in fiscal 2023. The increase in net cash used for financing activities was primarily due to the absence of the cash proceeds from borrowings pursuant to the issuance of senior notes and Term Loan Credit Agreement, higher repayments of commercial paper notes, net of issuances, higher net cash used for our employee stock programs and higher dividend payments, partially offset by lower maturities of senior notes and lower stock repurchases, in each case in fiscal 2024 relative to fiscal 2023. During fiscal 2023 we borrowed $15.7 billion pursuant to the Bridge Credit Agreement, which was fully repaid within fiscal 2023.Free cash flow : To supplement our statements of cash flows presented on a GAAP basis, we use non-GAAP measures of cash flows on a trailing 4-quarter basis to analyze cash flows generated from our operations. We believe that free cash flow is also useful as one of the bases for comparing our performance with that of our competitors. The presentation of non-GAAP free cash flow is not meant to be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income as an indicator of our performance, or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. We calculate free cash flow as follows:
Year Ended May 31,
(Dollars in millions)2024Change2023Net cash provided by operating activities
$18,673
9%$17,165Capital expenditures(6,866
)-21%
(8,695
)Free cash flow
$11,807
39%$8,470Net income
$10,467$8,503Net cash provided by operating activities as a percent of net income178%202%Free cash flow as percent of net income113%100%
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Table of Contents
Index to Financial StatementsRecent Financing Activities :Term Loan Credit Agreements : On June 10, 2024, we terminated our existing term loan credit agreement that we entered into in fiscal 2023 and repaid the principal amount outstanding together with interest accrued up to the date of repayment. Simultaneously, we borrowed up to the maximum commitment amount of $5.6 billion pursuant to a term loan credit agreement (Term Loan Credit Agreement) executed on the same date. Any remaining unpaid principal balance under the Term Loan Credit Agreement will become fully due and payable on August 16, 2027, unless the termination date of Term Loan Credit Agreement is extended. Refer to Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional details about our borrowings.
Cash Dividends : In fiscal 2024, we declared and paid cash dividends of $1.60 per share that totaled $4.4 billion. In June 2024, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.40 per share of our outstanding common stock payable on July 25, 2024 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on July 11, 2024. Future declarations of dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to the final determination of our Board of Directors.
Common Stock Repurchase Program : Our Board of Directors has approved a program for us to repurchase shares of our common stock. As of May 31, 2024, approximately $7.0 billion remained available for stock repurchases pursuant to our stock repurchase program. We repurchased 10.6 million shares for $1.2 billion, 17.0 million shares for $1.3 billion, and 185.8 million shares for $16.2 billion in fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Our stock repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date and the pace of our repurchase activity will depend on factors such as our working capital needs, our cash requirements for acquisitions and dividend payments, our debt repayment obligations or repurchases of our debt, our stock price and economic and market conditions. Our stock repurchases may be effected from time to time through open market purchases or pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Our stock repurchase program may be accelerated, suspended, delayed or discontinued at any time.
Contractual Obligations : Our largest contractual obligations as of May 31, 2024 consisted of:• principal payments related to our senior notes and other borrowings that were included in our consolidated balance sheet and the related periodic interest payments;
• routine tax payments including those that are payable pursuant to the transition tax under the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that were included in our consolidated balance sheet;• operating lease liabilities that were included in our consolidated balance sheet;
• operating lease commitments that have not yet commenced and were not included in our consolidated balance sheet; and• other contractual commitments associated with agreements that are enforceable and legally binding.In addition, as of May 31, 2024, we had $11.0 billion of gross unrecognized income tax benefits, including related interest and penalties, recorded on our consolidated balance sheet, the nature of which is uncertain with respect to settlement or release with the relevant tax authorities, although we believe it is reasonably possible that certain of these liabilities could be settled or released during fiscal 2025. We are involved in claims and legal proceedings, which are inherently uncertain with respect to outcomes, estimates and assumptions that we make as of each reporting period, are inherently unpredictable, and many aspects are out of our control. Notes 7, 10, 13 and 16 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report include additional information regarding our most material contractual obligations and contingencies.
We believe that our current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances, cash generated from operations, and our borrowing arrangements will be sufficient to meet our working capital, capital expenditures and contractual obligations requirements. In addition, we believe that we could fund our future acquisitions, dividend payments and repurchases of common stock or debt with our internally available cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, cash generated from operations, additional borrowings or from the issuance of additional securities.
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Table of Contents
Index to Financial StatementsStock-Based Awards
Our stock-based compensation program is a key component of the compensation package we provide to attract and retain certain of our talented employees and align their interests with the interests of existing stockholders.We recognize that stock-based awards dilute existing stockholders and have sought to control the number of stock-based awards granted while providing competitive compensation packages. Consistent with these dual goals, our cumulative potential dilution since June 1, 2021 has been an annualized rate of 2.1% per year. The potential dilution percentage is calculated as the average annualized new stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of stock-based awards forfeited by employees leaving the company, divided by the weighted-average outstanding shares during the calculation period. This maximum potential dilution will only result if all stock-based awards vest and, if applicable, are exercised. Of the outstanding stock options as of May 31, 2024, which generally have a ten-year exercise period, all have exercise prices lower than the market price of our common stock on such date. In recent years, our stock repurchase program has substantially offset the dilutive effect of our stock-based compensation program. However, we may modify the levels of our stock repurchases in the future depending on a number of factors, including the amount of cash we have available for acquisitions, to pay dividends, to repay or repurchase indebtedness or for other purposes. As of May 31, 2024, the maximum potential dilution from all outstanding stock-based awards, regardless of when granted and regardless of whether vested or unvested, was 6.9%.
During fiscal 2024, the Compensation Committee reviewed and approved the annual organization-wide stock-based award grants to selected employees; all stock-based award grants to senior officers; and any individual grant of RSUs with a value of $5 million or greater. Each member of a separate executive officer committee, referred to as the Plan Committee, was allocated a fiscal 2024 equity budget that could be used throughout the fiscal year to grant equity subject to certain limitations established by the Compensation Committee.
Stock-based awards activity from June 1, 2021 through May 31, 2024 is summarized as follows (shares in millions):
Stock-based awards outstanding as of May 31, 2021
217Stock-based awards granted and assumed195Stock-based awards vested and issued and, if applicable, exercised(195)
Forfeitures, cancellations and other, net(28)Stock-based awards outstanding as of May 31, 2024
189Annualized stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of forfeitures and cancellations56Annualized stock repurchases(71)Shares outstanding as of May 31, 2024
2,755
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding from June 1, 2021 through May 31, 2024
2,713
Stock-based awards outstanding as a percent of shares outstanding as of May 31, 2024
6.9%
Total in the money stock-based awards outstanding (based on the closing price of our common stock on the last trading day of fiscal 2024) as a percent of shares outstanding as of May 31, 2024
6.9%
Annualized stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of forfeitures and cancellations and before stock repurchases, as a percent of weighted-average shares outstanding from June 1, 2021 through May 31, 2024
2.1%
Annualized stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of forfeitures and cancellations and after stock repurchases, as a percent of weighted-average shares outstanding from June 1, 2021 through May 31, 2024
-0.6%Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For information with respect to recent accounting pronouncements, and the impact of these pronouncements on our consolidated financial statements, see Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
FY 2025-05-31 (later)
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis o f Financial Condition and Results of OperationsWe begin Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations with an overview of our businesses and significant trends. This overview is followed by a summary of our critical accounting estimates that we believe are important to understanding significant assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results. We then provide a more detailed analysis of our results of operations and financial condition for fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2024. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023 can be found in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, as filed with the SEC on June 20, 2024, which is available free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our Investor Relations website at www.oracle.com/investor.Business Overview
Oracle provides products and services that address enterprise IT needs. Our products and services include enterprise applications and infrastructure offerings that are delivered worldwide through a variety of flexible and interoperable IT deployment models. These models include on-premise, cloud-based and hybrid deployments (an approach that combines both on-premise and cloud-based deployments). Accordingly, we offer choice and flexibility to our customers and facilitate the product, service and deployment combinations that best suit our customers’ needs. Through our worldwide sales force and Oracle Partner Network, we sell to customers all over the world including businesses of many sizes, government agencies, educational institutions and resellers.We have three businesses: cloud and license; hardware; and services; each of which comprises a single operating segment. The descriptions set forth below as a part of this Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the information contained within Item 1 Business and Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report provide additional information related to our businesses and operating segments and align to how our chief operating decision makers (CODMs), which are our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer, view our operating results and allocate resources.Cloud and License BusinessOur cloud and license business, which represented 86% and 84% of our total revenues in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively, markets, sells and delivers a broad spectrum of enterprise applications and infrastructure technologies through our cloud and license offerings. Revenue streams included in our cloud and license business are:• Cloud services and license support revenues, which include:
o cloud services revenues, which are earned by providing customers access to Oracle Cloud applications and infrastructure technologies via cloud-based deployment models that Oracle develops, provides unspecified updates and enhancements for, deploys, hosts, manages and supports and that customers access by entering into a subscription agreement with us for a stated period. Oracle Cloud Services arrangements generally: are billed in advance of the cloud services being delivered; have durations of one to four years; are renewed at the customer’s option; and are recognized as revenues ratably over the contractual period of the cloud contract or, in the case of usage model contracts, as the cloud services are consumed over time; ando license support revenues, which are earned by providing Oracle license support services to customers that have elected to purchase support services in connection with the purchase of Oracle applications and infrastructure software licenses for use in cloud, on-premise and other IT environments. Substantially all license support customers renew their support contracts with us upon expiration in order to continue to benefit from technical support services and the periodic issuance of unspecified updates and enhancements, which current license support customers are entitled to receive. License support contracts are generally: priced as a percentage of the net fees paid by the customer to purchase a cloud license and/or on-premise license; billed in advance of the support services being performed; renewed at the customer’s option; and recognized as revenues ratably over the contractual period that the support services are provided, which is generally one year.
37Table of Contents• Cloud license and on-premise license revenues, which include revenues from the licensing of our software products including Oracle Applications, Oracle Database, Oracle Middleware and Java, among others, which our customers deploy within cloud-based, on-premise or other IT environments. Our cloud license and on-premise license transactions are generally perpetual in nature and are generally recognized as revenues up front at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer to download and use. Revenues from usage-based royalty arrangements for distinct cloud licenses and on-premise licenses are recognized at the point in time when the software end user usage occurs. The timing of a few large license transactions can substantially affect our quarterly license revenues due to the point-in-time nature of revenue recognition for license transactions, which is different than the typical revenue recognition pattern for our cloud services and license support revenues in which revenues are recognized over time. Cloud license and on-premise license customers have the option to purchase and renew license support contracts, as further described above.Providing choice and flexibility to our customers as to when and how they deploy Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies are important elements of our corporate strategy. In recent periods, customer demand for our applications and infrastructure technologies delivered through our Oracle Cloud Services has increased. To address customer demand and enable customer choice, we have certain programs for customers to pivot their applications and infrastructure software licenses and the related license support to the Oracle Cloud for new deployments and to migrate to and expand with the Oracle Cloud for their existing workloads. The proportion of our cloud services revenues relative to our total revenues has increased and we expect this trend to continue. Cloud services revenues represented 43%, 37% and 32% of our total revenues during fiscal 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Our cloud and license business’ revenue growth is affected by many factors, including the strength of general economic and business conditions, including the effects of inflation, tariffs and trade policy, geopolitical conditions and other macroeconomic factors on customer demand; governmental budgetary constraints; the strategy for and competitive position of our offerings; customer satisfaction with our offerings; the continued renewal of our cloud services and license support customer contracts by the customer contract base; substantially all customers continuing to purchase license support contracts in connection with their license purchases; the pricing of license support contracts sold in connection with the sales of licenses; the pricing, amounts and volumes of licenses and cloud services sold; our ability to manage Oracle Cloud capacity requirements to meet existing and prospective customer demand; and foreign currency rate fluctuations.On a constant currency basis, we expect that our total cloud and license revenues generally will continue to increase due to:
• expected growth in our cloud services offerings; and
• continued demand for our cloud license and on-premise license and license support offerings.
We believe these factors should contribute to future growth in our cloud and license business’ total revenues, which should enable us to continue to make investments in research and development and our cloud operations to develop, improve, increase the capacity of and expand the geographic footprint of our cloud and license products and services.Our cloud and license business’ margin has historically trended upward over the course of the four quarters within a particular fiscal year due to the historical upward trend of our cloud and license business’ revenues over those quarterly periods and because the majority of our costs for this business are generally fixed in the short term. The historical upward trend of our cloud and license business’ revenues over the course of the four quarters within a particular fiscal year is primarily due to the addition of new cloud services and license support contracts to the customer contract base, which we generally recognize as revenues ratably or based upon customer usage over the respective contractual terms and the renewal of existing customers’ cloud services and license support contracts over the course of each fiscal year, which we generally recognize as revenues in a similar manner; and the historical upward trend of our cloud license and on-premise license revenues, which we generally recognize at a point in time upon delivery; in each case over those four fiscal quarterly periods. Our margin for this business may be adversely impacted due to increases in supply chain and energy costs, the impact of tariffs and trade policy and other factors.
38Table of ContentsHardware BusinessOur hardware business, which represented 5% and 6% of our total revenues in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively, provides a broad selection of enterprise hardware products and hardware-related software products including Oracle Engineered Systems, servers, storage, industry-specific hardware offerings, operating systems, virtualization, management and other hardware-related software and related hardware support. Each hardware product and its related software, such as an operating system or firmware, are highly interdependent and interrelated and are accounted for as a combined performance obligation. The revenues for this combined performance obligation are generally recognized at the point in time that the hardware product and its related software are delivered to the customer and ownership is transferred to the customer. We expect to continue to make investments in research and development to improve existing hardware products and services and to develop new hardware products and services. The majority of our hardware products are sold through indirect channels, including independent distributors and value-added resellers. Our hardware support offerings provide customers with unspecified software updates for software components that are essential to the functionality of our hardware products and associated software products. Our hardware support offerings can also include product repairs, maintenance services and technical support services. Hardware support contracts are entered into and renewed at the option of the customer, are generally priced as a percentage of the net hardware products fees and are generally recognized as revenues ratably as the hardware support services are delivered over the contractual terms.We generally expect our hardware business to have lower operating margins as a percentage of revenues than our cloud and license business due to the incremental costs we incur to produce and distribute these products and to provide support services, including direct materials and labor costs.Our quarterly hardware revenues are difficult to predict. Our hardware revenues, cost of hardware and hardware operating margins that we report are affected by many factors, including our manufacturing partners’ abilities to timely and cost-effectively manufacture or deliver a few large hardware transactions; our strategy for and the pricing and position of our hardware products relative to competitor offerings; customer demand for competing offerings, including cloud infrastructure offerings; the strength of general economic and business conditions, including the effects of inflation, tariffs and trade policy, geopolitical conditions and other macroeconomic factors on customer demand; governmental budgetary constraints; whether customers decide to purchase hardware support contracts at or in close proximity to the time of hardware product sale; the percentage of our hardware support contract customer base that renews its support contracts; the effect of tariffs and other trade barriers on our costs, and our ability to pass such costs on to customers; the geographic locations of our customers; the close association between hardware products, which have a finite life, and customer demand for related hardware support as hardware products age; customer decisions to either maintain or upgrade their existing hardware infrastructure to newly developed technologies that are available; and foreign currency rate fluctuations.Services BusinessOur services business, which represented 9% and 10% of our total revenues in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively, helps customers and partners maximize the performance of their investments in Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies. We believe that our services are differentiated based on our focus on Oracle technologies, extensive experience, broad sets of intellectual property and best practices. Our services offerings include consulting services and advanced customer services. Our services business has lower margins than our cloud and license and hardware businesses. Our services revenues are affected by many factors including our strategy for, and the competitive position of, our services; customer demand for our cloud and license and hardware offerings and the related services that we may market and sell in connection with these offerings; general economic conditions; governmental budgetary constraints; personnel reductions in our customers’ IT departments; tighter controls over customer discretionary spending; and foreign currency rate fluctuations.AcquisitionsOur selective and active acquisition program is another important element of our corporate strategy. Historically, we have invested billions of dollars to acquire a number of complementary companies, products, services and
39Table of Contentstechnologies. As compelling opportunities become available, we may acquire companies, products, services and technologies in furtherance of our corporate strategy.We believe that we can fund our future acquisitions with our internally available cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances, cash generated from operations, additional borrowings or from the issuance of additional securities. We estimate the financial impact of any potential acquisition with regard to earnings, operating margin, cash flows and return on invested capital targets, among others, before deciding to move forward with an acquisition.
Investment in Ampere Computing Holdings LLCFrom time to time since 2017, we have made investments in Ampere, a related party entity, in the form of equity and convertible debt instruments. The total carrying value of our investments in Ampere, after accounting for losses under the equity method of accounting, was $1.6 billion and $1.5 billion as of May 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Our equity investments in Ampere represent an ownership interest of approximately 29% as of May 31, 2025 and 2024. We also own convertible debt investments in Ampere which, under the terms of an agreement with Ampere and other co-investors, will mature in June 2026 and are convertible into equity securities at the holder’s option under certain circumstances. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, we invested an aggregate of $341 million in convertible debt instruments issued by Ampere. In accordance with the terms of an agreement with other co-investors, we are also a counterparty to certain put (exercisable by a co-investor) and call (exercisable by Oracle) options at prices of approximately $500 million to $1.5 billion, respectively, to acquire additional equity interests in Ampere from our co-investors through January 2027.
On March 19, 2025, SoftBank Group Corp. announced that it had entered into an agreement with Ampere and its equity holders to acquire all of the equity interests of Ampere. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. When the Ampere Acquisition closes, we will cease to be an investor in Ampere. During the period prior to the closing of the Ampere Acquisition, the amount of our investments in Ampere could increase for a variety of reasons and we will continue to recognize our share of loss in Ampere’s net earnings until the closure of the acquisition.Critical Accounting EstimatesOur consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which requires us to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that can affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosures. Critical accounting estimates are those estimates that involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty and have had, or are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. We believe that the estimates, judgments and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable based upon information available to us at the time that these estimates, judgments and assumptions are made. To the extent that there are differences between these estimates, judgments or assumptions and actual results, our financial statements will be affected. We have critical accounting estimates in the areas of income taxes and non-marketable investments. Refer to Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more discussion of our significant accounting policies.Income TaxesJudgment is required in determining our worldwide income tax provision. In the ordinary course of a global business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax outcome is uncertain. Some of these uncertainties arise as a consequence of revenue sharing and cost reimbursement arrangements among related entities, the process of identifying items of revenues and expenses that qualify for preferential tax treatment and the segregation of foreign and domestic earnings and expenses to avoid double taxation. Although we believe that our estimates are reasonable, the final tax outcome of these matters could be different from that which is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and accruals. Such differences could have a material effect on our income tax provision and net income in the period in which such determination is made.
40
Table of ContentsWe record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In order for us to realize our deferred tax assets, we must be able to generate sufficient taxable income in those jurisdictions where the deferred tax assets are located. We consider future growth, forecasted earnings, future taxable income, the mix of earnings in the jurisdictions in which we operate, historical earnings, taxable income in prior years, if carryback is permitted under the law, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies in determining the need for a valuation allowance. In the event we were to determine that we would not be able to realize all or part of our net deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets valuation allowance would be charged to earnings in the period in which we make such a determination, or goodwill would be adjusted at our final determination of the valuation allowance related to an acquisition within the measurement period. If we later determine that it is more likely than not that the net deferred tax assets would be realized, we would reverse the applicable portion of the previously provided valuation allowance as an adjustment to our provision for income taxes at such time.
We calculate our current and deferred tax provision based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the actual results reflected in income tax returns filed during the subsequent year. Adjustments based on filed returns are generally recorded in the period when the global tax implications are known, which can materially impact our effective tax rate.The amount of income tax we pay is subject to ongoing audits by federal, state and foreign tax authorities, which often result in proposed assessments. Our estimate of the potential outcome for any uncertain tax issue may require certain judgments.
We account for uncertain tax issues pursuant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 740, Income Taxes , which contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained in an audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. Although we believe that we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given with respect to the final outcome of these matters. We adjust reserves for our uncertain tax positions due to changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit, judicial rulings and refinement of estimates or realization of earnings or deductions that differ from our estimates. To the extent that the final outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences generally will impact our provision for income taxes in the period in which such a determination is made. Our provisions for income taxes include the impact of reserve provisions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate and also include the related interest and penalties.Non-Marketable InvestmentsWe assess our non-marketable debt and equity investments for credit losses and impairment on a quarterly basis and as facts and circumstances change. Our analysis includes an assessment of various qualitative and quantitative factors, including the investee’s historical financial results, current financial projections, rate of cash usage and assumptions regarding product acceptance and opportunity within the market. This analysis requires significant judgment in evaluating underlying factors. In some instances, investee specific information available to us to make this assessment may be limited or may be available on a delayed basis. If the investment is determined to be impaired, we adjust the carrying amount of such investment to its estimated fair value by recognizing a charge, which is included in non-operating income (expenses), net in our consolidated statements of operations. Estimating the fair value of an investment upon impairment involves a significant level of estimation, uncertainty and judgment. We may incur future losses due to impairments, which could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position.
41
Table of ContentsResults of Operations
Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information
In our results of operations discussion below, we provide an overview of our total consolidated revenues, total consolidated operating expenses and total consolidated operating margin, all of which are presented on a GAAP basis. We also present a GAAP-based discussion below for substantially all of the other expense items as presented in our consolidated statements of operations that are not directly attributable to our three businesses.
In addition, we discuss below the results of each of our three businesses—cloud and license, hardware and services—which are our operating segments as defined pursuant to ASC 280, Segment Reporting . The financial reporting for our three businesses that is presented below is presented in a manner that is consistent with that used by our CODMs. Our operating segment presentation below reflects revenues, direct costs and sales and marketing expenses that correspond to and are directly attributable to each of our three businesses. We also utilize these inputs to calculate and present a segment margin for each of our three businesses in the discussion below.Consistent with our internal management reporting processes, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses, stock-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets, certain other expense allocations, acquisition related and other expenses, restructuring expenses, interest expense, non-operating income (expenses), net and provision for income taxes are not attributed to our three operating segments because our management does not view the performance of our three businesses including such items and/or it is impracticable to do so. Refer to “Supplemental Disclosure Related to Certain Charges” below for additional discussion of certain of these items and Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for a reconciliation of the summations of total segment margin as presented in the discussion below to total income before income taxes as presented per our consolidated statements of operations for fiscal 2025 and 2024.Constant Currency PresentationOur international operations have provided, and are expected to continue to provide, a significant portion of each of our businesses’ revenues and expenses. As a result, each of our businesses’ revenues and expenses and our total revenues and expenses will continue to be affected by changes in the U.S. Dollar against major international currencies. In order to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed, excluding the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations, we compare the percent change in the results from one period to another period in this Annual Report using constant currency. To present this information, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than U.S. Dollars are converted into U.S. Dollars at constant exchange rates (i.e., the rates in effect on May 31, 2024, which was the last day of our prior fiscal year) rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. For example, if an entity reporting in Euros had revenues of 1.0 million Euros from products sold on May 31, 2025 and 2024, our financial statements would reflect reported revenues of $1.13 million in fiscal 2025 (using 1.13 as the applicable average exchange rate for the period) and $1.09 million in fiscal 2024 (using 1.09 as the applicable average exchange rate for the period). The constant currency presentation, however, would translate the fiscal 2025 results using the fiscal 2024 exchange rate and indicate, in this example, no change in revenues between the periods compared. In each of the tables below, we present the percent change based on actual, unrounded results in reported currency and in constant currency.
42
Table of ContentsTotal Revenues and Operating Expenses
Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Total Revenues by Geography :
Americas
$36,339
10%
11%$33,122EMEA (1)14,0258%7%
13,030Asia Pacific7,0353%5%
6,809Total revenues57,399
8%
9%52,961Total Operating Expenses
39,7216%
6%37,608Total Operating Margin
$17,678
15%16%
$15,353Total Operating Margin %31%29%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas63%62%EMEA
25%25%Asia Pacific12%13%Total Revenues by Business :
Cloud and license
$49,230
11%
11%$44,464Hardware2,936
-4%
-4%3,066Services5,233
-4%-3%5,431Total revenues
$57,399
8%
9%$52,961% Revenues by Business :
Cloud and license86%84%Hardware5%6%Services9%10%(1) Comprised of Europe, the Middle East and AfricaTotal revenues increased by $4.4 billion in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to a $4.8 billion increase in cloud and license revenues, partially offset by a $198 million decrease in services revenues and a $130 million decrease in hardware revenues, in each case during fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. Excluding the unfavorable effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations of 1% in fiscal 2025 on total revenues, the constant currency increase in our cloud and license business revenues was primarily due to growth in our cloud services revenues as customers purchased our applications and infrastructure technologies and also renewed their related cloud contracts. In constant currency, applications cloud services and license support and infrastructure cloud services and license support contributed 26% and 74%, respectively, of the growth in cloud services and license support revenues in fiscal 2025. In our hardware business, the constant currency decrease in revenues in fiscal 2025 was due to the emphasis we placed on the marketing and sale of our growing cloud-based infrastructure technologies. In our services business, the constant currency decrease in revenues in fiscal 2025 was attributable to a decrease in revenues from each of our primary services offerings. The Americas, the EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions contributed 74%, 19% and 7%, respectively, to the constant currency total revenue growth during fiscal 2025.
Total GAAP operating expenses increased by $2.1 billion in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. The increase in GAAP operating expenses in reported currency during fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 was primarily due to a $2.1 billion increase in cloud services and license support expenses primarily due to higher infrastructure expenses and higher employee-related expenses, including higher expenses relating to stock-based compensation, that were incurred to support the growth in our cloud services revenues; a $945 million increase in research and development expenses primarily due to an $813 million increase in employee-related expenses, including higher stock-based compensation expenses, and a $112 million increase in infrastructure expenses; a $377 million increase in sales and marketing expenses; and a $54 million increase in general and administrative expenses primarily due to higher employee-related expenses, including higher stock-based compensation expenses. These increases in GAAP operating expenses in reported currency during fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 were partially offset by a $703 million decrease in expenses for the amortization of intangible assets as certain of our assets were fully amortized; a $249 million decrease in services expenses primarily due to decreases in external contractor and employee-related expenses; a $239 million decrease in acquisition related and other expenses due to lower asset impairment and litigation-related charges; a $109 million decrease in hardware expenses due to lower hardware product and support costs; and a $105 million decrease in restructuring expenses.
43Table of ContentsIn constant currency, our total operating margin and total operating margin as a percentage of revenues increased in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to higher revenues.Supplemental Disclosure Related to Certain Charges
To supplement our consolidated financial information, we believe that the following information is helpful to an overall understanding of our past financial performance and prospects for the future.
Our operating results reported pursuant to GAAP included the following business combination accounting adjustments and expenses related to acquisitions and certain other expenses, including stock-based compensation, that affected our GAAP net income:
Year Ended May 31,
(in millions)20252024Amortization of intangible assets (1)
$2,307$3,010Acquisition related and other (2)75314Restructuring (3)299404Stock-based compensation, operating segments (4)1,5971,382Stock-based compensation, R&D and G&A (4)3,0772,592Income tax effects (5)(2,514
)(2,459
)$4,841$5,243
(1) Represents the amortization of intangible assets, all of which were acquired in connection with our acquisitions. As of May 31, 2025, estimated future amortization related to intangible assets was as follows (in millions):Fiscal 2026$1,639
Fiscal 2027
672
Fiscal 2028
635
Fiscal 2029
561Fiscal 2030
522Thereafter558Total intangible assets, net
$4,587
(2) Acquisition related and other expenses consist of personnel-related costs for transitional and certain other employees, certain business combination adjustments including certain adjustments after the measurement period has ended and certain other operating items, net.
(3) Restructuring expenses in fiscal 2025 and 2024 primarily related to employee severance in connection with the Fiscal 2024 Oracle Restructuring Plan (2024 Restructuring Plan). Additional information regarding certain of our restructuring plans is provided in management’s discussion below under “Restructuring Expenses,” and in Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.(4) Stock-based compensation was included in the following operating expense line items of our consolidated statements of operations (in millions):
Year Ended May 31,20252024Cloud services and license support
$609$525Hardware2923Services202167Sales and marketing757667Stock-based compensation, operating segments1,5971,382Research and development2,6382,225General and administrative439367Total stock-based compensation
$4,674$3,974
(5) For fiscal 2025 and 2024, the applicable jurisdictional tax rates applied to our income before income taxes after excluding the tax effects of items within the table above such as for stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring and certain acquisition related and other items, and after excluding the net deferred tax effects associated with a previously recorded income tax benefit that resulted from a partial realignment of our legal entity structure. These adjustments resulted in an effective tax rate of 19.7%, instead of 12.1%, for fiscal 2025 and 19.2%, instead of 10.9%, for fiscal 2024, which in each case represented our effective tax rates as derived per our consolidated statements of operations.
44Table of ContentsCloud and License Business
Our cloud and license business engages in the sale and marketing of our applications and infrastructure technologies that are delivered through various deployment models and include: Oracle Cloud Services offerings; Oracle cloud license and on-premise license offerings; and Oracle license support offerings. Our cloud services deliver applications and infrastructure technologies on a subscription basis via cloud-based deployment models that we develop, provide unspecified updates and enhancements for, deploy, host, manage and support. Revenues for our cloud services are generally recognized ratably over the contractual term, which is generally one to four years, or in the case of usage model contracts, as the cloud services are consumed. Cloud license and on-premise license revenues represent fees earned from granting customers licenses, generally on a perpetual basis, to use our database and middleware and our applications software products within cloud and on-premise IT environments and are generally recognized up front at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer to download and use. License support revenues are typically generated through the sale of applications and infrastructure software license support contracts related to cloud licenses and on-premise licenses; are purchased by our customers at their option; and are generally recognized as revenues ratably over the contractual term, which is generally one year. We continue to place significant emphasis, both domestically and internationally, on direct sales through our own sales force. We also continue to market certain of our offerings through indirect channels. Costs associated with our cloud and license business are included in cloud services and license support expenses and sales and marketing expenses. These costs are largely personnel- and infrastructure-related and include the cost of providing our cloud services and license support offerings, salaries and commissions earned by our sales force for the sale of our cloud and license offerings and marketing program costs.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Cloud and License Revenues :
Americas
$31,714
12%
13%
$28,196EMEA
11,7739%
9%10,771Asia Pacific5,743
4%6%5,497Total revenues49,230
11%
11%44,464Expenses :
Cloud services and license support (1)10,827
23%
24%8,783Sales and marketing (1)7,473
4%
5%7,167Total expenses (1)18,300
15%
15%15,950Total Margin
$30,930
8%9%$28,514Total Margin %63%64%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas
64%64%EMEA
24%
24%
Asia Pacific
12%12%Revenues by Offerings :
Cloud services
$24,50624%24%$19,774License support19,5230%0%
19,609Cloud license and on-premise license5,201
2%
3%5,081Total revenues
$49,230
11%
11%$44,464Cloud Services and License Support Revenues by Ecosystem :
Applications cloud services and license support
$19,383
7%
7%$18,172Infrastructure cloud services and license support24,646
16%
17%21,211Total cloud services and license support revenues
$44,02912%12%$39,383(1) Excludes stock-based compensation and certain expense allocations. Also excludes amortization of intangible assets and certain other GAAP-based expenses, which were not allocated to our operating segment results for purposes of reporting to and review by our CODMs, as further described under “Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information” above.45Table of ContentsOur cloud and license business’ total revenues increased by $4.8 billion in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 primarily due to a $4.7 billion increase in cloud services revenues as customers purchased our applications and infrastructure technologies and renewed their related cloud contracts and a $120 million increase in cloud license and on-premise license revenues. These increases were partially offset by an $86 million decrease in license support revenues in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. In constant currency, applications cloud services and license support and infrastructure cloud services and license support contributed 26% and 74%, respectively, of the growth in cloud services and license support revenues in fiscal 2025. The Americas, the EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions contributed 75%, 19% and 6%, respectively, to the constant currency revenue growth for this business during fiscal 2025.
Total cloud and license business’ expenses increased by $2.4 billion in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. Excluding the favorable effects of currency rate fluctuations of less than 1% in fiscal 2025, the constant currency increase in expenses in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 was primarily due to a $1.6 billion increase in infrastructure expenses; a $359 million increase in employee-related expenses for employees engaged in cloud services delivery; and a $350 million increase in sales and marketing expenses to support the increase in our cloud services revenues. Our cloud services and license support expenses have grown in recent periods, and we expect this trend to continue during fiscal 2026 as we increase our existing data center capacity and establish data centers in new geographic locations in order to meet current and expected customer demand.
Excluding the effects of currency rate fluctuations, our cloud and license business’ total margin increased in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to increases in total revenues for this business. Total margin as a percentage of revenues in constant currency decreased in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to an increase in total expenses for this business.Hardware BusinessOur hardware business’ revenues are generated from the sales of our Oracle Engineered Systems, server, storage and industry-specific hardware offerings. The hardware product and related software, such as an operating system or firmware, are highly interdependent and interrelated and are accounted for as a combined performance obligation. The revenues for this combined performance obligation are generally recognized at the point in time that the hardware product is delivered to the customer and ownership is transferred to the customer. Our hardware business also earns revenues from the sale of hardware support contracts purchased by our customers at their option and that are generally recognized as revenues ratably as the hardware support services are delivered over the contractual term, which is generally one year. The majority of our hardware products are sold through indirect channels such as independent distributors and value-added resellers and we also market and sell our hardware products through our direct sales force. Operating expenses associated with our hardware business include the cost of hardware products, which consists of expenses for materials and labor used to produce these products by our internal manufacturing operations or by third-party manufacturers, warranty and related expenses and the impact of periodic changes in inventory valuation, including the impact of inventory determined to be excess and obsolete; the cost of materials used to repair customer products with eligible support contracts; the cost of labor and infrastructure to provide support services; and sales and marketing expenses, which are largely personnel-related and include variable compensation earned by our sales force for the sales of our hardware offerings.
46
Table of ContentsYear Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Hardware Revenues :
Americas
$1,441
-4%
-3%$1,494EMEA893
-3%
-3%921Asia Pacific602
-8%
-7%651Total revenues2,936
-4%
-4%3,066Expenses :
Hardware products and support (1)742
-13%
-12%855Sales and marketing (1)276
-7%
-6%296Total expenses (1)1,018
-12%
-11%1,151Total Margin
$1,918
0%
1%$1,915Total Margin %65%62%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas
49%49%EMEA
30%30%Asia Pacific
21%21%(1) Excludes stock-based compensation and certain expense allocations. Also excludes amortization of intangible assets and certain other GAAP-based expenses, which were not allocated to our operating segment results for purposes of reporting to and review by our CODMs, as further described under “Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information” above.Total hardware revenues decreased by $130 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. Excluding the unfavorable impact of currency rate fluctuations of less than 1% in fiscal 2025, the decrease in hardware revenues was primarily due to our continued emphasis on the marketing and sale of our cloud-based infrastructure technologies, which resulted in reduced sales volumes of certain of our hardware product lines and also impacted the volume of hardware support contracts sold in recent periods. Geographically, we experienced constant currency hardware revenue declines in all regions in fiscal 2025.
Total hardware expenses decreased by $133 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. The decrease in hardware expenses aligned with lower hardware revenues. Excluding the favorable currency rate fluctuations effect of 1% in fiscal 2025, the constant currency decrease in hardware expenses during fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 was due to a $106 million decrease in hardware product and support costs and an $18 million decrease in sales and marketing expenses.
In constant currency, our hardware business’ total margin and total margin as a percentage of revenues increased in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to lower total expenses for this business.Services BusinessOur services offerings are designed to help maximize the performance of customer investments in Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies and include our consulting services and advanced customer services offerings. Services revenues are generally recognized over time as the services are performed. The cost of providing our services consists primarily of personnel-related expenses, technology infrastructure expenditures, facilities expenses and external contractor expenses.
47
Table of ContentsYear Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Services Revenues :
Americas
$3,184-7%-6%$3,432EMEA1,359
2%
1%1,338Asia Pacific690
4%6%661Total revenues5,233
-4%-3%5,431Total Expenses (1)4,240
-6%
-6%4,515Total Margin
$993
8%
9%$916Total Margin %19%17%% Revenues by Geography :
Americas61%63%EMEA26%25%Asia Pacific13%12%(1) Excludes stock-based compensation and certain allocations. Also excludes certain other GAAP-based expenses, which were not allocated to our operating segment results for purposes of reporting to and review by our CODMs, as further described under “Presentation of Operating Segment Results and Other Financial Information” above.Total services revenues decreased by $198 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. Excluding the effects of unfavorable currency rate fluctuations of 1% in fiscal 2025, the decrease in total services revenues in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 was due to a decrease in revenues in each of our primary services offerings. The constant currency decrease in services revenues in the Americas region was partially offset by a constant currency increase in services revenues in the EMEA and the Asia Pacific regions in fiscal 2025.
Total services expenses decreased by $275 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. Excluding the favorable effects of currency rate fluctuations of less than 1% in fiscal 2025, the constant currency decrease in services expenses in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 was primarily due to a $158 million decrease in external contractor expenses and an $81 million decrease in employee-related expenses.
In constant currency, our services business’ total margin and total margin as a percentage of revenues increased in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to lower total expenses for this business.
Research and Development Expenses : Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenditures. We intend to continue to invest significantly in our research and development efforts because, in our judgment, they are essential to maintaining our competitive position.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Research and development (1)
$7,222
8%
9%$6,690Stock-based compensation2,638
19%
19%2,225Total expenses
$9,860
11%
11%$8,915% of Total Revenues
17%
17%
(1) Excluding stock-based compensationTotal research and development expenses increased by $945 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. Excluding the favorable effects of currency rate fluctuations of less than 1% in fiscal 2025, the increase in research and development expenses was primarily due to an increase in employee-related expenses, including higher stock-based compensation expenses.
48Table of ContentsGeneral and Administrative Expenses : General and administrative expenses primarily consist of personnel-related expenditures for IT, finance, legal and human resources support functions.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024General and administrative (1)
$1,163
-2%
-1%$1,181Stock-based compensation439
20%
20%367Total expenses
$1,602
3%
4%$1,548% of Total Revenues
3%
3%
(1) Excluding stock-based compensationTotal general and administrative expenses increased by $54 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024. Excluding the favorable effects of currency rate fluctuations of 1% in fiscal 2025, the increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to higher stock-based compensation expenses.
Amortization of Intangible Assets : Substantially all our intangible assets were acquired through our business combinations. We amortize our intangible assets over, and monitor the appropriateness of, the estimated useful lives of these assets. We also periodically review these intangible assets for potential impairment based upon relevant facts and circumstances. Refer to Note 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information regarding our intangible assets and related amortization.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Developed technology
$642
-5%
-5%$676Cloud services and license support agreements and related relationships714
-30%
-30%1,026Cloud license and on-premise license agreements and related relationships462
-1%
-1%467Other489
-42%
-42%841Total amortization of intangible assets
$2,307
-23%
-23%$3,010
Amortization of intangible assets decreased by $703 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to a reduction in expenses associated with certain of our intangible assets that became fully amortized.
Acquisition Related and Other Expenses : Acquisition related and other expenses consist of personnel-related costs for transitional and certain other employees, certain business combination adjustments, including adjustments after the measurement period has ended, and certain other operating items, net.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024
Transitional and other employee-related costs$3
-81%
-81%$19Business combination adjustments, net(26
)
125%
125%(12
)Other, net98
-68%
-68%307Total acquisition related and other expenses
$75
-76%
-76%$314
Acquisition related and other expenses decreased by $239 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 due to a $209 million decrease in other expenses related to certain asset impairment and litigation-related charges and a $30 million total decrease in transitional and other employee-related costs and business combination adjustments, net.
49Table of ContentsRestructuring Expenses : Restructuring expenses resulted from the execution of management-approved restructuring plans that were generally developed to improve our cost structure and/or operations, often in conjunction with our acquisition integration strategies and/or other strategic initiatives. Restructuring expenses consist of employee severance costs, contract termination costs and certain other exit costs to improve our cost structure prospectively. For additional information regarding our restructuring plans, see Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Restructuring expenses
$299
-26%
-26%$404
Restructuring expenses in fiscal 2025 and 2024 primarily related to the 2024 Restructuring Plan, which is substantially complete. Our management approved, committed to and initiated the 2024 Restructuring Plan in order to restructure and further improve efficiencies in our operations. We may incur additional restructuring expenses in future periods due to the initiation of new restructuring plans or from changes in estimated costs associated with existing restructuring plans.The majority of the initiatives undertaken by the 2024 Restructuring Plan were effected to implement our continued emphasis in developing, marketing, selling and delivering our cloud-based offerings. Certain of the cost savings realized pursuant to the 2024 Restructuring Plan initiatives were offset by investments in resources and geographies that we believe better address the development, marketing, sale and delivery of our cloud-based offerings, including investments in the development and delivery of our second-generation cloud infrastructure.
Interest Expense :
Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Interest expense
$3,578
2%
2%$3,514
Interest expense increased in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 primarily due to the issuance of $14.0 billion of senior notes in fiscal 2025, partially offset by lower interest expense due to scheduled repayments of borrowings made during fiscal 2025 and 2024.
Non-Operating Income (Expenses), net : Non-operating income (expenses), net consists primarily of interest income, net foreign currency exchange losses, the noncontrolling interests in the net profits of our majority-owned subsidiaries (primarily Oracle Financial Services Software Limited and Oracle Corporation Japan), net losses related to marketable and non-marketable investments, including losses attributable to equity method investments (primarily Ampere) and net other income and expenses, including net unrealized gains and losses from our investment portfolio related to our deferred compensation plan and non-service net periodic pension income and losses.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Interest income
$578
28%
28%$451Foreign currency losses, net(147
)
-35%
-37%(228
)Noncontrolling interests in income(184
)
-1%
-1%(186
)Losses from marketable and non-marketable investments, net
(278)-8%
-8%(303
)Other income, net
91
-46%
-46%168Total non-operating income (expenses), net
$
60*
*$
(98
)*
Not meaningful50Table of ContentsOur non-operating income (expenses), net increased by $158 million in reported currency in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 primarily due to a $127 million increase in interest income, an $81 million decrease in foreign currency losses and a $25 million decrease in losses from marketable and non-marketable investments. These contributors to the increase in non-operating income (expenses), net were partially offset by a $77 million decrease in other income, net, which was primarily attributable to lower gains associated with an investment portfolio that we held for our employee deferred compensation plan, and for which an equal and offsetting amount was recorded to our operating expenses during the same period.
Provision for Income Taxes : Our effective income tax rates for each of the periods presented were the result of the mix of income earned and losses incurred in various tax jurisdictions that apply a broad range of income tax rates. Refer to Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for a discussion regarding the differences between the effective income tax rates as presented for the periods below and the U.S. federal statutory income tax rates that were in effect during these periods. Future effective tax rates could be adversely affected by an unfavorable shift of earnings weighted to jurisdictions with higher tax rates, by unfavorable changes in tax laws and regulations, by adverse rulings in tax-related litigation, or by shortfalls in stock-based compensation realized by employees relative to stock-based compensation that was recorded for book purposes, among others.Year Ended May 31,
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)2025Actual
Constant2024Provision for income taxes
$1,717
35%
36%$1,274Effective tax rate12.1%10.9%Provision for income taxes increased in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 primarily due to an unfavorable jurisdictional mix of earnings of $380 million, the absence of the realization of a one-time tax attribute of $238 million, higher income before provision for income taxes of $195 million and the absence of the revaluation benefit of net deferred tax assets due to a change in tax rate of $105 million, partially offset by a combination of the absence of changes in unrecognized tax benefits of $233 million and an increase in tax benefits related to stock-based compensation of $223 million.Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of May 31,
(Dollars in millions)2025Change2024Working capital
$(8,064)-10%$(8,990)
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
$11,2035%
$10,661
Working capital : The increase in working capital as of May 31, 2025 in comparison to May 31, 2024 was primarily due to favorable impacts from net income and proceeds from the issuance of senior notes, net of issuance costs, of $13.9 billion (refer to Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information) during fiscal 2025. This increase was partially offset by $21.2 billion of cash used for capital expenditures; $4.9 billion of long-term borrowings that were reclassified to current liabilities; $4.7 billion of cash used to pay dividends to our stockholders; $600 million of cash used for repurchases of our common stock; $294 million of cash used for purchases, net of sales and maturities of non-current investments; and $247 million of net cash used for our employee stock programs during fiscal 2025. Our working capital may be impacted by some or all of the aforementioned factors in future periods, the amounts and timing of which are variable.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities : Cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of deposits held at major banks, money market funds and other securities with original maturities of 90 days or less. Marketable securities consist primarily of time deposits with original maturities at the time of purchase greater than 90 days. The increase in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of May 31, 2025 in comparison to May 31, 2024 was primarily due to cash inflows from our operations; proceeds from the issuance of senior notes, net of issuance
51Table of Contentscosts, of $13.9 billion and the issuance of commercial paper, net of repayments, of $1.9 billion during fiscal 2025 (refer to Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information); and $1.1 billion of cash inflows from other financing activities, net. This increase was partially offset by $21.2 billion of cash used for capital expenditures; $10.2 billion of cash used for scheduled repayments of borrowings; $4.7 billion of cash used to pay dividends to our stockholders; $600 million of cash used for repurchases of our common stock; $496 million of cash used for purchases, net of sales and maturities of investments; and $247 million of net cash used for our employee stock programs during fiscal 2025. Our cash and cash equivalents may be impacted by some or all of the aforementioned factors in future periods, the amounts and timing of which are variable.Year Ended May 31,
(Dollars in millions)2025Change2024Net cash provided by operating activities
$20,821
12%$18,673Net cash used for investing activities
$(21,711)195%$(7,360)Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities$1,098
*
$(10,554
)
*Not meaningfulCash flows from operating activities : Our largest source of operating cash flows is cash collections from our customers following the purchase and renewal of their cloud services and license support agreements. Customers for these cloud services and license support agreements are generally billed in advance of services being provided. Over the course of a fiscal year, we also generate cash from the sales of new licenses, hardware offerings and other services. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are typically for employee-related expenditures, material and manufacturing costs related to the production of our hardware products, taxes, interest payments and leased facilities.
Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $2.1 billion in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 primarily due to higher net income adjusted for certain non-cash charges, partially offset by certain cash unfavorable working capital changes, net.
Cash flows from investing activities : The changes in cash flows from investing activities primarily relate to our investments in capital assets primarily to support the growth in our cloud and license business and acquisitions, purchases, maturities and sales of our investments in marketable securities and other instruments.
Net cash used for investing activities increased by $14.4 billion in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 primarily due to the increase in capital expenditures.Cash flows from financing activities : The changes in cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to borrowings and repayments related to our debt instruments, stock repurchases, dividend payments and net proceeds related to employee stock programs.Net cash provided by financing activities was $1.1 billion in fiscal 2025 compared to the net cash used for financing activities of $10.6 billion in fiscal 2024. The increase in net cash provided by financing activities in fiscal 2025 relative to fiscal 2024 was primarily due to proceeds from the issuance of senior notes, net of issuance costs, of $13.9 billion; higher issuances of commercial paper notes of $2.1 billion, net of repayments; lower net cash used for our employee stock programs of $1.1 billion; higher net cash provided by other financing activities of $1.1 billion; and lower net cash used for repurchases of common stock of $602 million. These increases were partially offset by higher scheduled repayments of borrowings of $6.7 billion and higher dividend payments of $352 million. Further, during fiscal 2025, we refinanced our term loan credit agreement that we entered into in fiscal 2023 (Term Loan Credit Agreement), which resulted in no net impact on financing cash flows for the period reported.
52
Table of ContentsFree cash flow : To supplement our statements of cash flows presented on a GAAP basis, we use non-GAAP measures of cash flows on a trailing 4-quarter basis to analyze cash flows generated from our operations. We believe that free cash flow is also useful as one of the bases for comparing our performance with that of our competitors. The presentation of non-GAAP free cash flow is not meant to be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income as an indicator of our performance, or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. We calculate free cash flow as follows:
Year Ended May 31,
(Dollars in millions)2025Change2024Net cash provided by operating activities
$20,821
12%$18,673Capital expenditures(21,215
)
209%(6,866
)Free cash flow
$(394
)
*$11,807Net income
$12,443$10,467Net cash provided by operating activities as a percent of net income167%178%Free cash flow as percent of net income-3%113%*
Not meaningfulRecent Financing Activities :Cash Dividends : In fiscal 2025, we declared and paid aggregate cash dividends of $1.70 per share of outstanding common stock that totaled $4.7 billion. In June 2025, our Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share of our outstanding common stock payable on July 24, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on July 10, 2025. Future declarations of dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to the final determination of our Board.
Term Loan Credit Agreements : On June 10, 2024, we terminated the Term Loan Credit Agreement and repaid the principal amount outstanding together with interest accrued up to the date of repayment. Simultaneously, we borrowed up to the maximum commitment amount of $5.6 billion pursuant to a term loan credit agreement (Term Loan Credit Agreement 2) executed on the same date. In fiscal 2025, we made scheduled repayments totaling $211 million of the Term Loan Credit Agreement 2. Refer to Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional details about our borrowings, including the repayment terms of the Term Loan Credit Agreement 2. Any remaining unpaid principal balance under the Term Loan Credit Agreement 2 will become fully due and payable on August 16, 2027, unless the termination date of the Term Loan Credit Agreement 2 is extended.
Senior Notes : During fiscal 2025, we issued $14.0 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes composed of the following:
• $500 million aggregate principal amount of floating rate notes due August 2028;
• $1.5 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.80% senior notes due August 2028;
• $1.5 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.20% senior notes due September 2029;
• $1.25 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.25% senior notes due February 2032;
• $1.75 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.70% senior notes due September 2034;
• $1.75 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.50% senior notes due August 2035;
• $1.75 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.375% senior notes due September 2054;
• $1.75 billion aggregate principal amount of 6.00% senior notes due August 2055;
• $1.25 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.50% senior notes due September 2064; and
• $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of 6.125% senior notes due August 2065.
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We issued the senior notes to repay all or a portion of senior notes due between November 2024 and July 2026, and to pay accrued interest and any related premiums, fees and expenses in connection therewith; to make scheduled payments of principal and interest on borrowings under our Term Loan Credit Agreement 2; to repay all or a portion of commercial paper notes outstanding; and to use any remaining net proceeds from the borrowing for general corporate purposes, which may include stock repurchases, payment of cash dividends on our common stock, repayment of other indebtedness and future acquisitions. Refer to Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information.
Common Stock Repurchase Program : Our Board has approved a program for us to repurchase shares of our common stock. As of May 31, 2025, approximately $6.4 billion remained available for stock repurchases pursuant to our stock repurchase program. We repurchased 3.9 million shares for $600 million, 10.6 million shares for $1.2 billion and 17.0 million shares for $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our stock repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date and the pace of our repurchase activity will depend on factors such as our working capital needs, our cash requirements for acquisitions and dividend payments, our debt repayment obligations or repurchases of our debt, our stock price and economic and market conditions. Our stock repurchases may be effected from time to time through open market purchases or pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Our stock repurchase program may be accelerated, suspended, delayed or discontinued at any time.
Contractual Obligations : Our largest contractual obligations as of May 31, 2025 consisted of:• principal payments related to our senior notes and other borrowings that were included in our consolidated balance sheet and the related periodic interest payments;
• routine tax payments including those that are payable pursuant to the transition tax under the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that were included in our consolidated balance sheet;• lease liabilities that were included in our consolidated balance sheet;
• lease commitments that have not yet commenced and were not included in our consolidated balance sheet; and• other contractual commitments associated with agreements that are enforceable and legally binding.In addition, as of May 31, 2025, we had $12.0 billion of gross unrecognized income tax benefits, including related interest and penalties, recorded on our consolidated balance sheet, the nature of which is uncertain with respect to settlement or release with the relevant tax authorities, although we believe it is reasonably possible that certain of these liabilities could be settled or released during fiscal 2026. We are involved in claims and legal proceedings, which are inherently uncertain with respect to outcomes, estimates and assumptions that we make as of each reporting period, are inherently unpredictable, and many aspects are out of our control. Notes 6, 9, 12 and 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report include additional information regarding our most material contractual obligations and contingencies.
We believe that our current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances, cash generated from operations and our borrowing arrangements will be sufficient to meet our working capital, capital expenditures and contractual obligations requirements. In addition, we believe that we could fund our future acquisitions, dividend payments and repurchases of common stock or debt with our internally available cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, cash generated from operations, additional borrowings or from the issuance of additional securities.Stock-Based Awards
Our stock-based compensation program is a key component of the compensation package we provide to attract and retain certain of our talented employees and align their interests with the interests of existing stockholders.We recognize that stock-based awards dilute existing stockholders and have sought to control the number of stock-based awards granted while providing competitive compensation packages. Consistent with these dual goals, our cumulative potential dilution since June 1, 2022 has been an annualized rate of 1.7% per year. The potential dilution percentage is calculated as the average annualized new stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of
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stock-based awards forfeited by employees leaving the company, divided by the weighted-average outstanding shares during the calculation period. This maximum potential dilution will only result if all stock-based awards vest and, if applicable, are exercised. Of the outstanding stock options as of May 31, 2025, which generally have a ten-year exercise period, all have exercise prices lower than the market price of our common stock on such date. In recent years, our stock repurchase program has partially offset the dilutive effect of our stock-based compensation program. However, we may modify the levels of our stock repurchases in the future depending on a number of factors, including the amount of cash we have available for acquisitions, to pay dividends, to repay or repurchase indebtedness or for other purposes. As of May 31, 2025, the maximum potential dilution from all outstanding stock-based awards, regardless of when granted and regardless of whether vested or unvested, was 5.6%.
During fiscal 2025, the Compensation Committee reviewed and approved the annual organization-wide stock-based award grants to selected employees; all stock-based award grants to senior officers; and any individual grant of RSUs with a value of $5 million or greater. Each member of a separate executive officer committee, referred to as the Plan Committee, was allocated a fiscal 2025 equity budget that could be used throughout the fiscal year to grant equity subject to certain limitations established by the Compensation Committee.
Stock-based awards activity from June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2025 is summarized as follows (shares in millions):
Stock-based awards outstanding as of May 31, 2022
225Stock-based awards granted and assumed168Stock-based awards vested and issued and, if applicable, exercised(209)
Forfeitures, cancellations and other, net(26)Stock-based awards outstanding as of May 31, 2025
158Annualized stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of forfeitures and cancellations48Annualized stock repurchases(11)Shares outstanding as of May 31, 2025
2,807
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding from June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2025
2,743
Stock-based awards outstanding as a percent of shares outstanding as of May 31, 2025
5.6%
Total in the money stock-based awards outstanding (based on the closing price of our common stock on the last trading day of fiscal 2025) as a percent of shares outstanding as of May 31, 2025
5.6%
Annualized stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of forfeitures and cancellations and before stock repurchases, as a percent of weighted-average shares outstanding from June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2025
1.7%
Annualized stock-based awards granted and assumed, net of forfeitures and cancellations and after stock repurchases, as a percent of weighted-average shares outstanding from June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2025
1.3%Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For information with respect to recent accounting pronouncements, and the impact of these pronouncements on our consolidated financial statements, see Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.