There are several stocks that are now worth at least $1 trillion. This includes Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Tesla, which are together known as the "Magnificent Seven." There are others now part of the trillion-dollar club, but these are among the more notable names.
The list may get even bigger in the years ahead, as many businesses are growing and benefiting from feverish spending on artificial intelligence (AI). There's one unstoppable company that's doing well due to that trend, and which looks set to join the club in the near future: Oracle (ORCL +2.93%). Here's why it may not be too late to invest in this promising tech stock.
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Oracle has become a key player in the AI boom
For years, Oracle has been known as a big name in databases and providing companies with the critical backend services and infrastructure they need to manage all their data. It still serves that purpose today, plus it also offers key products and services, which help its customers manage AI workloads.
Its new Oracle AI World, for instance, will allow its customers to use large language models to analyze existing databases. The big advantage with Oracle is that unlike many big tech companies, it's agnostic to the whole chatbot market; it isn't developing one of its own, and it's there to simply provide customers with the AI-powered products and services they need. It also has AI agents that can help to automate tasks and add efficiency.
And its efforts have been paying off. Last month, the company reported its latest quarterly results (for the period ending Aug. 31) and demand remains robust, with CEO Safra Catz noting that it "signed four multibillion-dollar contracts with three different customers in Q1." It expects even more large contracts to be signed in the future. And its contract backlog has skyrocketed by 359% year over year, totaling $455 billion.
Oracle's quarterly revenue totaled $14.9 billion and rose 12% year over year. Its cloud segment led the way, as sales in that business unit came in at $7.2 billion and were up by 28%.
The company also generates terrific profit margins, as its net income during the period was $2.9 billion, which is comparable to what it generated in the prior-year period. The bottom line would have been larger, however, if not for an increase in restructuring expenses, as the company has been reducing its workforce in an effort to improve efficiency.
Why a $1 trillion valuation may be just an inevitability at this point
Oracle's market cap as of the end of Monday was around $820 billion. For it to hit a $1 trillion valuation, it would need to rise by another 22% from that. In just the past year, its shares have soared more than 70%. And with tech companies continuing to invest heavily into AI, Oracle looks poised to benefit from those growth opportunities.
It may not happen soon, and it could take a couple of years, as the stock has already risen so fast. It's currently trading around its all-time highs, and its price-to-earnings multiple of 66 doesn't look cheap at all. As a result, growth investors may be thinking twice about the stock, and that could lead to limited gains, at least in the short term.
But with so much growth still out there, it may truly be an inevitability before Oracle reaches $1 trillion. According to analysts from the MarketsandMarkets, the global cloud AI market is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 32.4% until 2029. It's a staggering level of growth, with Oracle right in the middle of it all.
NYSE: ORCL
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Oracle's still a good buy today
Although you may be tempted to pass on Oracle's stock because its valuation is a bit rich, over the long term, there's still much more runway for it to become more valuable. The important role it plays in tech makes it a solid investment, particularly due to its close relationship with other tech giants.
Oracle's solid fundamentals and AI-powered growth makes it a great investment to add to your portfolio today, especially if you're looking for an AI stock that still has a lot of upside left.
