How to Invest in Oracle

How to buy Oracle stock

Anyone can buy shares of Oracle. The technology company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ORCL. You can easily purchase shares through a brokerage account. Here's a six-step guide to show you how to invest in stocks.

1. Open your brokerage account: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

Should I invest in Oracle?

Before buying Oracle shares, you should consider whether the stock is right for your situation. Here are some reasons you might want to invest in Oracle:

• You're seeking a solidly profitable technology company with AI-powered upside potential.
• You want to invest in companies with significant insider ownership.
• You want a company that can supply some modest dividend income.
• Buying Oracle would help diversify your portfolio.
• You think Oracle's AI investments will drive accelerated growth in the coming years.
• You want to invest in a company with a history of producing solid total returns.

On the other hand, here are some reasons you might decide not to invest in the technology company:

• You already own several technology stocks.
• You're seeking companies earlier in their growth cycle than Oracle.
• You want more dividend income than Oracle currently provides.
• You're not a fan of Oracle's founder and Chairman, Larry Ellison.
• You're seeking a company with higher total return potential than Oracle.
• You're concerned about the company's competitive position and whether it can maintain its technological edge against start-ups vying for a piece of its market share.

Is Oracle profitable?

Analyzing a company's profitability is a key aspect of investment research. Earnings tend to drive a company's stock price over the long term.

Oracle is a very profitable company. In its fiscal 2024 third quarter, it reported $13.3 billion in revenue (up 7% from the prior year) and $3.8 billion in net income. Meanwhile, its non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) operating income was $5.8 billion, or $1.41 per share, up 12% and 16%, respectively.

The company also generates lots of cash. Over the last 12 months, it produced $18.2 billion in operating cash flow and $12.3 billion in free cash flow. Oracle uses its strong cash flow to invest in its business, maintain a strong balance sheet, and return money to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

The company expects its profits to continue growing. It aims to grow its annual earnings per share by more than 10% per year through 2026, driven by rising revenue and improving margins.

Does Oracle pay a dividend?

Oracle has paid dividends to its shareholders since initiating a payout in 2009. As of mid-2024, the company paid a quarterly rate of $0.40 per share. That gave the software company a 1.4% dividend yield at the time, which was right in line with the S&P 500's dividend yield. The company has increased its dividend steadily over the years:

With its profits likely to grow, Oracle could continue increasing its dividend in the future, which should appeal to investors seeking a solid and growing dividend yield.

ETFs with exposure to Oracle

Many investors prefer to be more passive. They don't want to pick a portfolio of stocks they must manage actively. Thanks to the wide availability of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it's easy to be a passive investor these days. Many ETFs allow you to gain some passive exposure to a company through a thematic strategy or broad market index.

Will Oracle stock split?

As of mid-2024, Oracle didn't have an upcoming stock split. Its stock price wasn't too much more than $100 a share at the time, which is reasonably accessible for most investors, so it probably won't split its stock anytime soon. The cloud company has split its stock several times throughout its history:

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