Oracle defends AI data center timeline

Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk defended the pace of the company's artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion during an earnings call on Thursday, 10 September 2026. Magouyrk stated that relying on every project deliverable to meet its deadline represents a bad plan, adding that Oracle brings facilities online in phases across multiple quarters.

The remarks followed permit issues at Oracle's New Mexico data center, a component of its Stargate buildout with OpenAI. The New Mexico State Land Office twice denied a permit for a natural gas pipeline required for the site, pushing its operational target date to February 2027. Magouyrk said construction remains on track as Oracle adopts Bloom Energy fuel cells for local power generation.

For the first quarter, Oracle posted earnings of $1.92 per share, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.74 by 10.34%. Revenue reached $19.35 billion, topping Wall Street expectations of $19.14 billion. Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson, had previously cited project delays as a potential headwind heading into the results.

Oracle also raised its fiscal adjusted earnings guidance to $8.10 per share from $8.05 per share, compared with an analyst projection of $8.07 per share. Management now forecasts annual revenue above $90 billion, ahead of the $89.79 billion consensus estimate.