Oracle (Oracle (ORCL)) reported its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, and the numbers were solid — revenue and earnings both came in ahead of expectations. But the market wasn't thrilled: shares slipped about 4% in after-hours trading. Let's dig into the details.

The Numbers

Oracle posted Q4 revenue of roughly $19.18 billion, edging past the analyst consensus of $19.10 billion. Adjusted earnings per share rose 24% year-over-year to $2.11, beating the $1.96 estimate. Total revenue grew 21% from a year ago, with cloud revenue leading the charge — up 47% to $9.9 billion.

Breaking down the cloud segment: cloud infrastructure revenue soared 93% to $5.8 billion, while cloud applications grew 10% to $4.1 billion. Software revenue slipped 2% to $6.8 billion, services rose 13% to $1.5 billion, and hardware increased 9% to $900 million.

One standout metric: remaining performance obligations (RPO) hit $638 billion at quarter-end, up a staggering 363% year-over-year. That's a huge backlog of future revenue, and Oracle attributed it to "the growing demand for cloud infrastructure for AI training and inferencing."

Cash and Capital Plans

Oracle ended the quarter with about $31.29 billion in cash and equivalents. The company said it expects to raise approximately $40 billion in fiscal 2027 through a mix of debt and equity, including the previously announced $20 billion at-the-market equity issuance. That's a lot of capital, but it signals confidence in the growth trajectory.

The board also declared a quarterly cash dividend of 50 cents per share, payable July 24 to shareholders of record as of July 10.

Guidance

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Oracle expects revenue growth of 27% to 29%, with total cloud revenue growing between 57% and 63%. Adjusted earnings are forecast at $1.72 to $1.76 per share, above the $1.68 consensus.

For the full fiscal 2027, Oracle affirmed its revenue outlook of $90 billion (versus estimates of $88.9 billion) and guided for adjusted earnings of $8.05 per share (versus $8.01 expected). The company also noted that its new AI patient care management system should push Oracle Health's growth rate into double digits this year.

Oracle typically provides more color on its earnings call, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET today.

Price Action

Oracle shares were down 4.23% in after-hours trading at $194.94 at the time of writing. The dip may reflect profit-taking after a strong run, or perhaps some disappointment that the beat wasn't bigger. But with cloud infrastructure nearly doubling and a massive RPO backlog, the long-term story remains intact.