Oracle

Oracle in brief

• Rank: #56 of 100 in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026; #12 of 17 in Technology & Digital.
• WCRC Power Score: 72.40 out of 100.
• Founded: 1977, by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.
• Owner: Oracle Corporation, Austin, Texas.
• Leadership: Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia, Co-CEOs.
• Latest revenue: $67.4bn revenue (FY2026, year to May, +17.4%), as per company filings.

What makes Oracle powerful

Oracle's power comes from its database, which businesses trust with their most critical data, and from a cloud business that AI demand is transforming. At the end of its fiscal year in May 2026, Oracle had $638 billion in remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted future revenue. That was up 363% from a year earlier and up $85 billion in a single quarter.

Its cloud infrastructure unit is growing fast. It grew 77% in fiscal 2026, and growth sped up to 93% in the final quarter. Oracle's Multicloud AI Database grew 404% in the fourth quarter, which the company calls its fastest-growing business ever. Total cloud revenue grew 39% for the year. That mix of long-held customer trust and new scale has made Oracle a central supplier in the race to build computing capacity for artificial intelligence.

Oracle's Multicloud AI Database grew 404% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which Oracle called its fastest-growing business ever.

Why Oracle ranks #56

Oracle sits at #56 with a WCRC Power Score of 72.40, a whisker behind Qualcomm and Gillette and just ahead of Ford and GE Aerospace. Its digital and financial strength stands out, backed by a huge contract backlog. Its positioning and recall among consumers are lower, since most people never use its products directly. Concerns about debt weigh on its governance standing, which keeps it behind Qualcomm, while its fast growth keeps it ahead of Ford.

The Achilles' heel

Oracle's Achilles' heel is the cost of its AI build-out. Its capital spending reached about $55.7 billion in fiscal 2026, leaving free cash flow at negative $23.7 billion. To fund it, Oracle expects to raise about $40 billion in fiscal 2027 through debt and equity, including a previously announced $20 billion at-the-market share sale. If AI customers slow their spending, that bill could become a heavy burden.

The 2026 story

Oracle's 2026 has been defined by scale. On June 10 it reported fiscal 2026 results showing remaining performance obligations of $638 billion, up $85 billion in a single quarter. It set a fiscal 2027 target of $8.05 in adjusted earnings per share and forecast total cloud revenue growth of 58% to 64% for the first quarter of fiscal 2027. It also said it did not expect to issue more debt in calendar 2026. On September 10 its first-quarter results lifted remaining performance obligations again, to $664 billion.

Pillar profile

Provisional desk scores out of 100, for the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit to validate.

Versus its nearest rivals

Questions people ask

Also featured in

• Most powerful Technology & Digital brands
• Most powerful brands in Texas

Key facts

Sources

• Annual report (Form 10-K) and financial results of Oracle Corporation filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Company website, official announcements and press releases
• Published interviews and statements by the leadership
• WCRC Business Intelligence Unit research: consumer sentiment, ratings and reviews, search demand, media and social data