ORACLE CORP
For the period ended May 31, 2026. Filed Jun 22, 2026.
View on SEC.govAbout this filing
A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.
FY2026 · Filed Jun 22, 2026
What changed in Risk Factors?
Read the current filingPrevious report: 10-K
Period ended 2025-05-31; filed 2025-06-18.
0000950170-25-087926
Item 1A. Risk FactorsCurrent report: 10-K
Period ended 2026-05-31; filed 2026-06-22.
0001193125-26-277521
Item 1A. Risk FactorsThe baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.
Compared 140 previous paragraphs and 196 current paragraphs.
76 unchanged; 60 reworded; 28 added; 4 removed; 0 previous and 32 current paragraphs rearranged.
Tables are not compared: 0 previous and 0 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.
A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.
Added paragraphs (28)
Current report
We are subject to business, financial and reputational risks related to cybersecurity incidents and data breaches.
Current report
If our accounting estimates and judgments turn out to be inaccurate, our future financial results could fall short of expectations, which could have a material adverse effect on our stock price.
Current report
Conversion of our 6.50% Series D Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock (Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock) and our depositary shares, or the payment of dividends on Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock in shares of common stock, or the issuance of shares of our common stock under the At the Market (ATM) Program will dilute the ownership interest of the holders of our common stock.
Current report
The ATM Program, the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock or our depositary shares may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, and we cannot guarantee that our ATM Program will be fully implemented.
Current report
Our common stock ranks junior to our Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock with respect to the payment of dividends and amounts payable in the event of our liquidation, winding-up or dissolution.
Current report
Significant events in certain geographic locations could adversely affect our operating results and disrupt our business.
Current report
AI technologies are rapidly changing and present evolving legal, regulatory and ethical issues, including claims of bias, discrimination, a perceived lack of transparency, as well as sometimes unpredictable behaviors or inadvertent use or incorporation in model training or outputs of copyrighted or other protected material, such as personal and patient health information, any of which could expose us or our customers to reputational or legal risk and inhibit adoption of our AI products. Moreover, AI models and training approaches may contain errors or limitations. The data used to develop or operate AI systems may be overly broad, incomplete, or include biased or inaccurate information, which could result in outputs that are offensive, unlawful, inaccurate or otherwise harmful. If we enable or offer AI products that draw controversy due to their perceived or actual impact on society, or if we are unable to develop, implement and maintain effective internal policies and frameworks relating to the responsible development and use of AI, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm or legal liability.
Current report
If we are unable to secure data center capacity at affordable rates or do not accurately plan for and manage our infrastructure capacity requirements, our profitability may decline. To grow our OCI business, which requires increased computing capacity, we must incur significant capital and operating expenditures to increase our existing data center capacity and to establish data centers in new geographic locations. In connection with these investments, we have entered, and expect to continue to enter, into long-term lease commitments with third-party data center providers and other significant commitments with suppliers of chips and other data center infrastructure. If we underestimate customer demand or our data center capacity needs, we may face shortages of available infrastructure, limiting our ability to support customer growth and potentially causing us to lose business to competitors. Conversely, if we overestimate customer demand or any of our key customers are unable to pay or otherwise perform under their contracts with us, we could be locked into multi-year commitments for excess data center space and related capital expenditures, as well as associated financings, without receiving corresponding revenue. In addition, the terms, renewal options and pricing adjustments in our long-term data center leases typically do not align with the duration and pricing of customer contracts, and if customers do not renew their contracts, we may be unable to re-lease, repurpose or assign such capacity on acceptable terms, if at all. Our business is, and may continue to be, exposed to risks of customer non-payment and non-performance. Our customer base and our policies and procedures to manage our exposure to credit risk, including through receipt of prepayments under some of our committed contracts, credit analysis and monitoring procedures, cannot fully eliminate customer credit risk, and to the extent our policies and procedures prove to be inadequate, it could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, some of our customers may be highly leveraged and subject to their own operating and regulatory risks and, even if our credit review and analysis mechanisms work properly, we may experience risks of non-payment and non-performance in our dealings with such parties. In certain OCI offerings, we are more concentrated among a number of large customers, which could increase these risks.
Current report
Our data center expansion depends on access to suitable, permitted build sites; reliable and predictable power sources; networking hardware; and server availability, including graphics processing units, memory devices and other critical components. Data centers in geographies that we rely on may be unavailable on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Government-imposed limits or moratoria on data center construction in a given market could hinder our ability to execute our expansion plans or prevent us from completing planned data center projects. Even where suitable sites and capacity are available, our data center expansion plans are complex and subject to execution risks, including, among others, delays or cost increases related to design, engineering, permitting, construction, utility interconnection, equipment delivery and contractor performance. Our ability to build and operate data centers also may be affected by existing and evolving laws, regulations and policies relating to land use and zoning, environmental permitting, energy usage, grid reliability, greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, building codes, health and safety, tax incentives and data localization. These requirements, or changes in their interpretation or enforcement, could increase our capital and operating costs, delay or prevent planned projects, limit where or how we build or operate data centers, or adversely affect our ability to meet customer commitments and anticipated demand.
Current report
In addition, we depend on third parties to develop and deliver certain data center capacity and related infrastructure, and their inability to obtain financing, complete construction on schedule or manage construction cost overruns could delay the availability of data center space or increase our costs. We have faced, and may continue to face, challenges with securing reliable and cost-effective power sources for our data center energy demands, which are constrained globally due to the significant increase in demand for and limited availability of energy to power AI compute. These constraints on available power sources could disrupt operations at affected data centers or restrict our capacity to grow, adversely impacting our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects. In addition, power prices can be volatile, including due to extreme weather events and market structure in certain regions, and increases in energy costs can adversely affect our margins, particularly where customer pricing is fixed or committed. We also may enter into long-term power supply arrangements, including power purchase agreements or similar arrangements, that may extend beyond customer contract terms and expose us to counterparty risk, pricing risk and potential collateral or credit support requirements. We also may be unable to secure sufficient energy resources on acceptable terms to meet customer expectations or our sustainability goals. These investments and commitments may require significant cash outlays before, or in excess of, the revenues or cash flows generated by the related capacity, which could adversely affect our cash flows, increase our need for external financing or require us to reduce, delay or reprioritize other investments.
Current report
introduction of additional compliance obligations or new risks, including with respect to increased privacy and data collection concerns, content moderation and censorship, and system outages;
Current report
The U.S. federal and state governments, as well as governments of countries around the world and organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), continually consider and make changes to relevant tax, accounting and other laws, treaties, regulations, guidance and interpretations. For example, countries outside the U.S. may change their tax laws in a manner that could negatively affect us by increasing taxes imposed on our international revenue streams, operations and cross-border transactions, including by imposing taxes targeted at digital technology businesses and changing their withholding tax rules. Further, certain governments and the OECD continue to consider the impacts of digital technologies and business models on the existing international tax framework and rules and may propose or enact changes to tax laws, treaties and guidance or introduce new tax measures that would increase the level of income or other taxes on our international revenues and profits. If U.S. or other tax authorities make any of such changes or successfully challenge how or where our profits are currently recognized, our overall tax liabilities could increase. Such possible unfavorable tax changes also create the potential for added volatility in our quarterly provision for income taxes.
Current report
the potential for worsening trade and economic relations between the U.S. and China, including the imposition of additional tariffs, export controls, sanctions, retaliatory measures or other trade restrictions;
Current report
losses arising from bank failures, uninsured or underinsured deposit balances, fraud, theft, employee misconduct, or errors in initiating or processing payments or fund transfers;
Current report
The federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) prohibits us from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or providing remuneration (including any kickback or price concession) in exchange for referrals or the purchase, order, or recommendation of any products or services which are paid for by federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has stated that kickbacks have led to overutilization and increased costs of healthcare services, corruption of medical decision making, steering patients away from valid services or therapies and unfair, non-competitive service delivery. Certain of our products and services may now, or in the future, be subject to the AKS, the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and other fraud and abuse laws. In addition, a claim including products or services resulting from a violation of AKS constitutes a violation of the FCA. Companies can be held liable under the FCA even when they do not submit claims directly to government payors if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims. The FCA also permits a private individual acting as a “whistleblower” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the FCA and to share in any monetary recovery. The federal government has used the FCA to prosecute a wide variety of alleged false claims and fraud allegedly perpetrated against federal and state healthcare programs, including a variety of coverage, reimbursement, billing and coding errors, fraud and conduct.
Current report
The healthcare industry is regularly subject to negative publicity, including as a result of governmental investigations, adverse media coverage and political debate concerning industry regulation. We have been, and in the future may become involved in routine, regular and special governmental inquiries, audits, reviews and assessments. Negative publicity may damage our reputation and expose us to regulatory scrutiny.
Current report
There are risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness. As of May 31, 2026, we had an aggregate of $129.5 billion of outstanding indebtedness that will mature between calendar year 2026 and calendar year 2066. We may incur additional indebtedness from time to time to finance capital expenditures, future investments or acquisitions, to finance the payment of cash dividends on or repurchases of our common stock, to refinance existing debt or for other purposes. Future financing or funding needs could differ from our projections. Our ability to pay interest and repay the principal for our indebtedness is dependent upon our ability to manage our business operations, generate sufficient cash flows to service such debt and the other factors discussed in this Risk Factors section. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage any of these risks successfully. The incurrence of additional indebtedness will also result in increased fixed obligations and increased interest expense and could also include covenants or other restrictions that may impede our ability to manage our operations. Some of our indebtedness may bear interest at variable rates, and increases in interest rates could increase our debt service obligations. In addition, changes in interest rates could adversely affect the economics of certain long-term commitments or customer arrangements, particularly where pricing is fixed or committed.
Current report
If our accounting estimates and judgments turn out to be inaccurate, our future financial results could fall short of expectations, which could have a material adverse effect on our stock price. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) requires management to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that can affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates, judgments and assumptions on information available to us at the time that they are made, as discussed in “Critical Accounting Estimates” under Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and in “Significant Accounting Policies” discussed in Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. For example, we make certain judgments related to revenue recognition and remaining performance obligations. While we believe these judgments and assumptions are reasonable under the circumstances, they are subject to uncertainties and actual results may differ.
Current report
Conversion of our Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock (and our depositary shares), or the payment of dividends on Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock in shares of common stock, or the issuance of shares of our common stock under the ATM Program will dilute the ownership interest of the holders of our common stock. The conversion of some or all of our shares of Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock and our depositary shares, or the payment of dividends on our Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock in the form of common stock or the issuance of shares of our common stock under the ATM Program will dilute the ownership interest of the holders of our common stock and may depress the market price of our common stock.
Current report
The ATM Program, the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock or our depositary shares may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, and we cannot guarantee that our ATM Program will be fully implemented. The market price of our common stock is likely to be influenced by our ATM Program, the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock and our depositary shares. The market price of our common stock could become more volatile and could be depressed by: (1) investors’ anticipation of the potential sale or resale, as applicable, in the market of a substantial number of additional shares of common stock issued under the ATM Program or received upon conversion of the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock or our depositary shares; (2) possible sales of our common stock by investors who view the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock or our depositary shares as a more attractive means of equity participation in us than owning shares of common stock; and (3) any hedging or arbitrage trading activity involving the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock or our depositary shares and our common stock. Our ATM Program may not be fully implemented. Disruptions in equity markets, including reduced liquidity or changes in investor sentiment, could limit our ability to access equity financing on acceptable terms, or at all.
Current report
Our common stock ranks junior to our Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock with respect to the payment of dividends and amounts payable in the event of our liquidation, winding-up or dissolution. This means that, unless accumulated dividends have been paid or set aside for payment on all our outstanding Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock through the most recently completed dividend period, no dividends may be declared or paid on our common stock, subject to limited exceptions. Likewise, in the event of our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, winding-up or dissolution, no distribution of our assets may be made to holders of our common stock until we have paid to holders of our Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock a liquidation preference equal to $100,000 per share plus accumulated and unpaid dividends.
Removed paragraphs (4)
Previous report
business disruption and management distraction due to acquisition, transition or integration activities;
Previous report
Countries around the world continually consider and make changes to relevant tax, accounting and other laws, treaties, regulations, guidance and interpretations. For example, the U.S. Congress is considering extending tax provisions enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as making other changes to federal tax law, some of which could have an adverse impact on us. Various other legislative proposals, if enacted, could substantially raise U.S. income taxes on our domestic and international profits. Such unfavorable tax proposals create the potential for added volatility in our quarterly provision for income taxes and could have a material adverse impact on our future income tax provisions and effective tax rate.
Previous report
Other countries also continue to consider changes to their tax laws that could negatively affect us by increasing taxes imposed on our international revenue streams, operations and cross-border transactions, including the imposition of taxes targeted at digital technology businesses and changes in withholding tax rules. A project led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international association comprised of 38 countries including the U.S., over the last several years has resulted in changes to the basic design of the international tax system, including the implementation of a 15% minimum tax in over 50 countries, as well as proposed changes that would provide greater taxing rights to market jurisdictions where customers or users are located. There can be no assurance that these enacted changes, which are subject to ongoing OECD guidance and interpretations by the various adopting countries, and any contemplated changes, if implemented by countries, will not materially increase the level of income tax on our international profits.
Previous report
On March 19, 2025, SoftBank Group Corp. announced that it had entered into an agreement with Ampere and certain of its equity holders to acquire all of the equity interests of Ampere (the Ampere Acquisition). The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, that are beyond our control. If the Ampere Acquisition closes, we will cease to be an investor in Ampere. During the period prior to closing the Ampere Acquisition, the amount of our investments in Ampere could increase for a variety of reasons and we will continue to recognize our share of loss in Ampere’s net earnings until the closure of the acquisition. If the Ampere Acquisition does not close, we will continue to be exposed to the risk associated with our investments in Ampere as discussed above.
Reworded paragraphs (60)
Previous wording
We operate in rapidly changing economic and technological environments that present numerous risks, many of which are driven by factors that we cannot control or predict. The following discussion, as well as our discussion in Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, highlights some of these risks. The risks described below are not exhaustive and you should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties before investing in our securities.
Current wording
We operate in rapidly changing economic and technological environments that present numerous risks, many of which are driven by factors that we cannot control or predict. The following discussion, as well as our discussion in Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, highlights some of these risks. The risks described below are not exhaustive and you should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties before investing in our securities. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be insignificant also may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results in the future. If any of the following risks occur, our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
Previous wording
If we are unable to secure data center capacity at affordable rates or do not accurately plan for and manage our infrastructure capacity requirements, our profitability may decline. As a part of our Oracle Cloud strategy, we plan our investment levels based on estimates of future revenues and customer demand and future anticipated rates of growth. In recent periods, our cloud services and license support expenses have grown to meet current and expected demand for our cloud offerings, including investments to increase our existing data center capacity and to establish data centers in new geographic locations. In connection with these investments, we entered, and expect to continue to enter, into long-term lease commitments with third-party data center providers and other significant commitments with suppliers of chips and other data center infrastructure. If we underestimate customer demand or our data center capacity needs, we may face shortages of available infrastructure, limiting our ability to support customer growth and potentially causing us to lose business to competitors. Conversely, if we overestimate customer demand or our data center capacity needs, we could be locked into multi-year commitments for excess data center space, resulting in lower profitability and cash flows because our third-party data center vendors generally require us to pay significant contract termination fees to early exit such obligations. Data centers in geographies that we rely on may also be unavailable on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Moreover, we do not control the operation of these third-party data centers, and they may suffer interruptions in service from events beyond our control, including from acts of government, natural events, power loss, break-ins or misconduct by those third parties. We have faced, and may continue to face, rising costs for data center energy demands. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers to provide equipment and components required to outfit these data centers on a timely basis. Ongoing or future delays or the inability to meet customer demand could cause the loss of additional sales, delay our revenue recognition or increase our costs, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our business. We typically depreciate these assets over their estimated useful lives, which could be shortened should our cloud strategies change, which could adversely affect our profitability.
Current wording
If we are unable to secure data center capacity at affordable rates or do not accurately plan for and manage our infrastructure capacity requirements, our profitability may decline.
Previous wording
There are risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness. As of May 31, 2025, we had an aggregate of $92.6 billion of outstanding indebtedness that will mature between calendar year 2025 and calendar year 2065. Our ability to pay interest and repay the principal for our indebtedness is dependent upon our ability to manage our business operations, generate sufficient cash flows to service such debt and the other factors discussed in this Risk Factors section. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage any of these risks successfully.
Current wording
There are risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness.
Previous wording
Economic, political and market conditions can adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability, which in turn could adversely affect our stock price. Our business is influenced by a range of factors that are beyond our control and that we have no comparative advantage in forecasting. These include:
Current wording
Economic, political and market conditions can adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability, which in turn could adversely affect our stock price.
Previous wording
We may be unsuccessful in developing and selling new products and services, integrating acquired products and services and enhancing our existing products and services. Our industry is characterized by rapid technological advances, intense competition, changing delivery models, evolving standards in communications infrastructure, increasingly sophisticated customer needs and frequent new product introductions and enhancements. We have continued to refresh and release new offerings of our cloud products and services, but if we are unable to develop new or sufficiently differentiated products and services, enhance and improve our product offerings and support services in a timely manner or position and price our products and services to meet demand, customers may not purchase or subscribe to our license, hardware or cloud offerings or renew license support, hardware support or cloud subscriptions contracts. Renewals of these contracts are important to our future success. In addition, we cannot provide any assurance that the standards on which we choose to develop new products will allow us to compete effectively for business opportunities in emerging areas.
Current wording
We may be unsuccessful in developing and selling new products and services, integrating acquired products and services and enhancing our existing products and services. Our industry is characterized by rapid technological advances, intense competition, changing delivery models, evolving standards in communications infrastructure, increasingly sophisticated customer needs and frequent new product introductions and enhancements. We have continued to refresh and release new offerings of our cloud products and services, but if we are unable to develop new or sufficiently differentiated products and services, enhance and improve our product offerings and support services in a timely manner or position and price our products and services to meet demand, customers may not purchase or subscribe to our software, hardware or cloud offerings or renew software support, hardware support or cloud subscriptions contracts. Renewals of these contracts are important to our future success. In addition, we cannot provide any assurance that the standards on which we choose to develop new products will allow us to compete effectively for business opportunities in emerging areas.
Previous wording
infrastructure costs to deliver new or enhanced products and services take longer or result in greater costs than anticipated;
Current wording
it takes more time or costs more than anticipated to build out the infrastructure required to deliver new or enhanced products and services;
Previous wording
we are unable to accurately anticipate, plan for and manage future data center capacity needs in a timely manner to meet current or expected customer demand;
Current wording
we are unable to accurately anticipate, pay for, plan for and manage future data center capacity needs in a timely manner to meet current or expected customer demand;
Previous wording
sanctions, tariffs, export controls, geopolitical instability and related market disruptions or other regulatory, legislative or other trade and non-tariff barriers, including retaliatory measures, impede or prevent us from serving certain customers or restrict our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions;
Current wording
sanctions, tariffs, export controls, geopolitical instability, strained economic relationships between countries and related market disruptions or other regulatory, legislative or trade and non-tariff barriers, including retaliatory measures, impede or prevent us from serving certain customers based on their location, jurisdiction of incorporation, ownership, control or other ties to restricted jurisdictions, or restrict us or our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions;
Previous wording
inflation, trade policy, geopolitical conditions and other macroeconomic factors reduce customer demand for our products and services or cause us to be unable to meet current or expected customer demand;
Current wording
inflation, trade policy, geopolitical conditions and other macroeconomic factors reduce customer demand or their ability to pay for our products and services or cause us to be unable to meet current or expected customer demand;
Previous wording
In addition, our profitability and revenues could be adversely impacted if we lose one or more of our key customers for any reason, including as a result of any of the factors discussed above. Any such loss could also limit or reduce our growth in future periods.
Current wording
In addition, our profitability and revenues could be adversely impacted if we lose one or more of our key customers for any reason, including as a result of any of the factors discussed above, or if one or more of our key customers experiences insolvency, bankruptcy or other issues impacting their creditworthiness. Any such loss could also limit or reduce our growth in future periods.
Previous wording
Our AI products may not operate as anticipated, which could adversely affect our reputation, revenues and profitability. Machine learning and AI, including generative AI, agentic AI and LLMs, are increasingly driving innovations in technology, and AI technology and services are highly competitive and rapidly evolving. We have invested, and expect to continue to invest, significant resources to build and support our AI products. In addition, we rely on partners and suppliers to produce some of our AI products. If we are unable to introduce new AI products or if our AI products fail to operate as anticipated or as well as competing products or otherwise do not meet customer needs, or if our competitors’ AI products achieve higher market acceptance than ours, we may fail to recoup our investments in AI and our business and reputation may be harmed. Further, if we do not continue to invest significant resources to develop and support our AI products, we may fall behind technological developments and evolving industry standards, which would likewise harm our ability to compete. In addition, AI technologies are rapidly changing and present evolving legal, regulatory and ethical issues, including claims of bias, discrimination, a perceived lack of transparency, as well as sometimes unpredictable behaviors or improper use of copyrighted or other protected material, such as personal and patient health information, any of which could expose us or our customers to reputational or legal risk and inhibit adoption of our AI products. Regulatory uncertainty, including the lack of comprehensive federal legislation and a patchwork of existing and proposed frameworks and regulatory initiatives in numerous jurisdictions, may expose us to compliance challenges and uncertainties. Our failure to adapt to these changes, or any failure by our employees, contractors, partners, suppliers or agents to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our AI products or our related policies and procedures, could result in legal, financial and reputational consequences including, but not limited to, being required to adjust or limit our product offerings or our use of AI in certain jurisdictions to comply with new and evolving AI laws and regulations.
Current wording
Our AI products may not operate as anticipated, which could adversely affect our reputation, revenues and profitability. Machine learning and AI, including generative AI, agentic AI and LLMs, are increasingly driving innovations in technology, and AI technology and services are highly competitive and rapidly evolving. We are building AI into many of our product offerings and we are also making AI available for our customers to use in solutions that they build. We have made significant investments in AI initiatives, including investments in infrastructure and headcount, and we expect to continue to invest significant resources to build and support our AI products in support of our growth strategy. In addition, we rely on partners and suppliers to produce some of our AI products. If we are unable to introduce new AI products, or if our AI products fail to operate as anticipated or as well as competing products or otherwise do not meet customer needs, if our competitors’ AI products achieve higher market acceptance than ours, or if we incur costs higher than expected to build and support our AI products, we may fail to recoup our investments in AI and our business and reputation may be harmed. Further, if we do not continue to invest significant resources to develop and support our AI products, we may fall behind technological developments and evolving industry standards, which would likewise harm our ability to compete.
Previous wording
If we do not successfully execute our Oracle Cloud strategy, including our offerings of Oracle Cloud Services, our revenues and profitability may decline. We provide our cloud and other offerings to customers worldwide via a variety of deployment models, including via our cloud-based OCA and OCI offerings. As these business models continue to evolve, we may not be able to compete effectively, generate significant revenues or maintain the profitability of our cloud offerings. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of various cloud offering models by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our cloud and license offerings. If we do not successfully execute our cloud computing strategy or anticipate the cloud computing needs of our customers, our reputation as a cloud services provider could be harmed and our revenues and profitability could decline.
Current wording
If we do not successfully execute our Oracle Cloud strategy, including our offerings of Oracle Cloud, our revenues and profitability may decline. We provide our cloud and other offerings to customers worldwide via a variety of deployment models, including via our cloud-based OCA and OCI offerings. As these business models continue to evolve, we may not be able to compete effectively, generate significant revenues or maintain the profitability of our cloud offerings. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of various cloud offering models by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our cloud and software offerings. If we do not successfully execute our cloud computing strategy or anticipate the cloud computing needs of our customers, our reputation as a cloud services provider could be harmed and our revenues and profitability could decline.
Previous wording
As customer demand for our cloud offerings increases, we experience volatility in our reported revenues and operating results due to the differences in timing of revenue recognition between our cloud license and on-premise license and hardware product arrangements relative to our cloud offering arrangements. Customers predominantly purchase our cloud offerings on a subscription basis, and revenues from these offerings are generally recognized ratably or as services are consumed over the terms of the subscriptions. Consequently, any deterioration in sales activity associated with our cloud offerings may not be immediately observable in our consolidated statements of operations. This is in contrast to revenues associated with our license and hardware product arrangements, which are generally recognized in full at the time of delivery of the related licenses and hardware products. In addition, we may not be able to accurately anticipate customer transitions from or be able to sufficiently backfill reduced customer demand for our license, hardware and support offerings relative to the expected increase in customer adoption of and demand for our Oracle Cloud Services, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
Current wording
As customer demand for our cloud offerings increases, we experience volatility in our reported revenues and operating results due to the differences in timing of revenue recognition between our software license and hardware product arrangements relative to our cloud offering arrangements. Customers predominantly purchase our cloud offerings on a subscription basis, and revenues from these offerings are generally recognized ratably or as services are consumed over the terms of the subscriptions. Consequently, any deterioration in sales activity associated with our cloud offerings may not be immediately observable in our consolidated statements of operations. This is in contrast to revenues associated with our license and hardware product arrangements, which are generally recognized in full at the time of delivery of the related licenses and hardware products. In addition, we may not be able to accurately anticipate customer transitions from, or be able to sufficiently backfill reduced customer demand for, our software, hardware and support offerings relative to the expected increase in customer adoption of and demand for our Oracle Cloud, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
Previous wording
Our cloud offerings and hardware offerings are complex, and if we cannot successfully manage this complexity, including the sourcing of technologies and components, the results of these businesses will suffer. We depend on suppliers to develop, manufacture and deliver on a timely basis the necessary technologies and components for our hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, and there are some technologies and components that can only be purchased from a single vendor due to price, quality, technology, availability or other business constraints. Our supply chain operations are affected by industry consolidation and component constraints or shortages, natural disasters, political unrest (such as the tensions between China and Taiwan), public health crises, changes to trade laws or regulations, tariffs and customs controls, port stoppages, shipping interruptions or other transportation disruptions or slowdowns, and other factors affecting the countries or regions where these single source component vendors are located or where the products are being shipped. If disruption caused by one or more of the risks described above occurs, our cloud and license business and hardware business and related operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Current wording
Our cloud offerings and hardware offerings are complex, and if we cannot successfully manage this complexity, including the sourcing of technologies and components, the results of these businesses will suffer. We depend on suppliers to develop, manufacture and deliver on a timely basis the necessary technologies and components for our hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, and there are some technologies and components that can only be purchased from a single vendor due to price, quality, technology, availability or other business constraints. Our supply chain operations are affected by industry consolidation and component constraints or shortages, natural disasters, political unrest (such as conflicts in the Middle East and the tensions between China and Taiwan), public health crises, changes to trade laws or regulations, tariffs and customs controls, port stoppages, shipping interruptions or other transportation disruptions or slowdowns, and other factors affecting the countries or regions where these single source component vendors are located or where the products are being shipped. If disruption caused by one or more of the risks described above occurs, our cloud and software business and hardware business and related operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Previous wording
Supply chain shortages have in some instances resulted in increases to the costs of production of our hardware products that we may not be able to pass on to our customers. In addition, we have in some instances responded to such shortages by committing to higher purchases and balances of hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, relative to our historical positions. For example, industry supply capacity for AI accelerators, including graphics processing units, is competitive, and we at times have to accept less favorable terms with suppliers to avoid supply constraints. While this permits us to secure cloud infrastructure capacity, it has increased excess and obsolescence risk of such hardware products and could adversely impact our profitability and cash flows. We expect these factors will continue to impact us in the future.
Current wording
Supply chain shortages have in some instances resulted in increases to the costs of production of our hardware products that we may not be able to pass on to our customers. In addition, we have in some instances responded to such shortages by committing to higher purchases and balances of hardware products that we market and sell to our customers and that we use as a part of our cloud infrastructure to deliver our cloud offerings, relative to our historical positions. For example, industry supply capacity for AI accelerators, including graphics processing units, as well as memory devices, is competitive, and we at times have to accept less favorable terms with suppliers to minimize supply constraints. While this permits us to secure cloud infrastructure capacity, it has increased excess and obsolescence risk of such hardware products and could adversely impact our profitability and cash flows. We expect these factors will continue to impact us in the future. In addition, the actual useful lives, performance characteristics or failure rates of certain components may differ from our expectations, and we may incur unplanned repair, replacement or refreshment costs, including in some cases outside applicable warranty coverage. Delays in delivery of critical components could cause us to incur operating costs for data center capacity that is not yet revenue-generating and, in some cases, could subject us to penalties or other contractual remedies.
Previous wording
We outsource most of our manufacturing, assembly, delivery and technology of, and certain component designs for, our hardware products to a variety of companies, many of which are located outside the U.S. From time to time, these partners experience production problems or delays or cannot meet our demand for products on a timely or cost-effective basis, including as a result of changes to trade laws or regulations, tariffs, sanctions and export or import controls. Ongoing or future delays or cost increases in manufacturing could cause the loss of additional sales, delayed revenue recognition or an increase in our hardware products expenses, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our cloud and license business and hardware business. These challenges could arise if we alter our manufacturing strategies, suppliers, or locations.
Current wording
We outsource most of our manufacturing, assembly, delivery and technology of, and certain component designs for, our hardware products to a variety of companies, many of which are located outside the U.S. From time to time, these partners experience production problems or delays or cannot meet our demand for products on a timely or cost-effective basis, including as a result of changes to trade laws or regulations, tariffs, sanctions and export or import controls. Ongoing or future delays or cost increases in manufacturing could cause the loss of additional sales, delayed revenue recognition or an increase in our hardware products expenses, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our cloud and software business and hardware business. These challenges could arise if we alter our manufacturing strategies, suppliers, or locations. We also store inventory and equipment in third-party logistics, warehousing or staging facilities, and these assets may be subject to damage, theft, break-ins or other losses that may not be fully covered by insurance.
Previous wording
Our products and services may not function properly if we experience significant coding, manufacturing or configuration errors in our cloud, license and hardware offerings. Despite testing prior to the release and throughout the lifecycle of a product or service, our cloud, license and hardware offerings sometimes contain coding, manufacturing or configuration errors that can impact their function, performance and security, and result in other negative consequences. The detection and correction of any errors in released cloud, license or hardware offerings can be time consuming and costly. Errors in our cloud, license or hardware offerings, or errors embedded in third-party software products or services incorporated into our own products, can affect their ability to properly function, integrate or operate with other cloud, license or hardware offerings; result in service interruptions, delays or outages of our cloud offerings; create security vulnerabilities in our products or services; delay the development or release of new products or services or new versions of products or services; and adversely affect market acceptance of our products or services. If we experience any of these errors, or if there are delays in releasing our cloud, license or hardware offerings or new versions of these offerings, our sales could be affected and revenues could decline. In addition, we run Oracle’s business operations as well as cloud and other services that we offer to our customers on our products and networks. Therefore, any flaws could affect our and our customers’ abilities to conduct business operations and to ensure accuracy in financial processes and reporting, and may result in unanticipated costs and interruptions. Enterprise customers rely on our cloud, license and hardware offerings and related services to run their businesses, and errors in our cloud, license and hardware offerings and related services could expose us to product liability, performance and warranty claims as well as significant harm to our brand and reputation, which could impact our future sales.
Current wording
Our products and services may not function properly if we experience significant coding, manufacturing or configuration errors in our cloud, software and hardware offerings. Despite testing prior to the release and throughout the lifecycle of a product or service, our cloud, software and hardware offerings sometimes contain coding, manufacturing or configuration errors that can impact their function, performance and security, and result in other negative consequences. The detection and correction of any errors in released cloud, software or hardware offerings can be time consuming and costly. Errors in our cloud, software or hardware offerings, or errors embedded in third-party software products or services incorporated into our own products, can affect their ability to properly function, integrate or operate with other cloud, software or hardware offerings; result in service interruptions, delays or outages of our cloud offerings; create security vulnerabilities in our products or services; delay the development or release of new products or services or new versions of products or services; and adversely affect market acceptance of our products or services. If we experience any of these errors, or if there are delays in releasing our cloud, software or hardware offerings or new versions of these offerings, our sales could be affected and revenues could decline. In addition, we run Oracle’s business operations as well as cloud and other services that we offer to our customers on our products and networks. Therefore, any flaws could affect our and our customers’ abilities to conduct business operations and to ensure accuracy in financial processes and reporting, and may result in unanticipated costs and interruptions. Enterprise customers rely on our cloud, software and hardware offerings and related services to run their businesses, and errors in our cloud, software and hardware offerings and related services could expose us to product liability, performance and warranty claims as well as significant harm to our brand and reputation, which could impact our future sales.
Previous wording
If we are unable to compete effectively, the results of operations and prospects for our business could be harmed. We face intense competition in all aspects of our business. The nature of the IT industry creates a competitive landscape that is constantly evolving as firms emerge, expand or are acquired, as technology evolves and as delivery models change. Our enterprise cloud, license and hardware offerings compete directly with certain offerings from some of the largest and most competitive companies in the world, many of which have well-developed customer bases and strong brand recognition. In addition, due to the low barriers to entry in many of our market segments, new technologies and new, agile and growing competitors frequently emerge to challenge our offerings. We believe many vendors spend amounts in excess of what Oracle spends to develop and market applications and infrastructure technologies including databases, middleware products, application development tools, business applications, collaboration products and business intelligence, compute, storage and networking products, among others, which compete with Oracle applications and infrastructure offerings.
Current wording
If we are unable to compete effectively, the results of operations and prospects for our business could be harmed. We face intense competition in all aspects of our business. The nature of the IT industry creates a competitive landscape that is constantly evolving as firms emerge, expand or are acquired, as technology evolves and as delivery models change. Our enterprise cloud, software and hardware offerings compete directly with certain offerings from some of the largest and most competitive companies in the world, many of which have well-developed customer bases and strong brand recognition. In addition, due to the low barriers to entry in many of our market segments, new technologies and new, agile and growing competitors frequently emerge to challenge our offerings. We believe many vendors spend amounts in excess of what Oracle spends to develop and market applications and infrastructure technologies including databases, middleware products, application development tools, business applications, collaboration products and business intelligence, compute, storage and networking products, among others, which compete with Oracle applications and infrastructure offerings.
Previous wording
If our competitors offer deep discounts on certain products or services or develop products that the marketplace considers more valuable, we may need to lower prices, introduce pricing models and offerings or offer other terms that are less favorable to us to compete successfully. Any such changes may reduce revenues and margins and could adversely affect operating results. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of cloud delivery models offered by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our other cloud and license, hardware and services offerings, and we have incurred increased cloud delivery expenses as we expand our cloud operations and update our infrastructure, all of which could reduce our revenues and profitability. Our license support fees and hardware support fees are generally priced as a percentage of our net license fees and net new hardware products fees, respectively. Our competitors may offer lower pricing on their support offerings, which could put pressure on us to further discount our offerings. If we do not adapt our pricing models to reflect changes in customer use of our products, changes in customer demand or increased competition, our revenues could decrease.
Current wording
If our competitors offer deep discounts on certain products or services or develop products that the marketplace considers more valuable, we may need to lower prices, introduce pricing models and offerings or offer other terms that are less favorable to us to compete successfully. Any such changes may reduce revenues and margins and could adversely affect operating results. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of cloud delivery models offered by us and our competitors may unfavorably impact the pricing of our other cloud, software, hardware and services offerings, and we have incurred increased cloud delivery expenses as we expand our cloud operations and update our infrastructure, all of which could reduce our revenues and profitability. Our software support fees and hardware support fees are generally priced as a percentage of our net software license fees and net new hardware products fees, respectively. Our competitors may offer lower pricing on their support offerings, which could put pressure on us to further discount our offerings. If we do not adapt our pricing models to reflect changes in customer use of our products, changes in customer demand or increased competition, our revenues could decrease.
Previous wording
Any failure to offer high-quality technical support services may adversely affect our relationships with our customers and our financial results. Our customers depend on our support organization to resolve technical issues related to our applications and infrastructure offerings. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in customer demand for support services or resolve issues efficiently. Increased customer demand for these services, without corresponding revenues, could increase costs and adversely affect our operating results. Any failure to maintain high-quality technical support, or even the perception that our support is insufficient, could adversely affect our reputation, hinder our ability to sell and renew our applications and infrastructure offerings to existing and prospective customers, and negatively impact our business, operating results and financial position.
Current wording
Any failure to offer high-quality technical support services may adversely affect our relationships with our customers and our financial results. Our customers depend on our support organization to resolve technical issues related to our applications and infrastructure offerings. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in customer demand for support services or resolve issues efficiently. Increased customer demand for these services, without corresponding revenues, could increase costs and adversely affect our operating results. Any failure to maintain high-quality technical support, or even the perception that our support is insufficient, could adversely affect our reputation, negatively impact our relationships with our customers, hinder our ability to sell and renew our applications and infrastructure offerings to existing and prospective customers, and negatively impact our business, operating results and financial position.
Previous wording
Our periodic workforce restructurings and reorganizations can be disruptive. We periodically restructure or make other adjustments to our workforce in response to management changes, product changes, performance issues, changes in strategies, acquisitions and other internal and external considerations. These types of restructurings have resulted, and may in the future result, in increased restructuring costs and temporarily reduced productivity while employees adjust to the restructuring. These types of restructurings may also lead to shortages of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles, loss of valuable institutional knowledge and damage to employee morale and retention.
Current wording
Our periodic workforce restructurings and reorganizations can be disruptive. We have an existing restructuring plan in place under which we have made, and will continue to make, adjustments to our workforce in response to management changes, product changes, performance issues, changes in strategies, acquisitions and other internal and external considerations. We may initiate new restructuring plans in the future. In addition, the adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce.
Previous wording
Hiring freezes or slowdowns can also result in decreased productivity while existing employees take on additional roles and responsibilities, and may also lead to a shortage of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles. In addition, we may not achieve or sustain the expected growth, resource redeployment or cost savings benefits of these restructurings, or may not do so within our expected timeframe. These effects could recur in connection with future acquisitions and other restructurings, and our revenues and other results of operations could be negatively affected.
Current wording
These types of restructurings have resulted, and may in the future result, in increased restructuring costs and reduced productivity. These types of restructurings may also lead to shortages of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles, loss of valuable institutional knowledge and damage to employee morale and retention. Hiring freezes or slowdowns can also result in decreased productivity while existing employees take on additional roles and responsibilities, and may also lead to a shortage of sufficiently skilled employees in certain roles. In addition, we may not achieve or sustain the expected growth, resource redeployment or cost savings benefits of these restructurings, or may not do so within our expected timeframe. These effects could recur in connection with future acquisitions and other restructurings, and our revenues and other results of operations could be negatively affected.
Previous wording
We may lose key employees or may be unable to hire enough qualified employees. We rely on hiring qualified employees and retaining our senior management, including our Chairman of the Board, Chief Technology Officer and founder; our Chief Executive Officer; other executive team members; and key employees. In the technology industry, especially in the AI field, competition for highly skilled business, product development and technical personnel is intense and ongoing.
Current wording
We may lose key employees or may be unable to hire enough qualified employees. We rely on hiring qualified employees and retaining our senior management, including our Executive Chair of the Board, Chief Technology Officer and founder; our Chief Executive Officers; other executive team members; and key employees. In the technology industry, especially in the AI field, competition for highly skilled business, product development and technical personnel is intense and ongoing. For example, in recent years, recruiting, hiring and retaining employees with expertise in the AI computing industry has become increasingly difficult as the demand for AI computing infrastructure has increased as a result of the increase in AI and machine learning development, deployment and demand. In addition, implementation of AI tools may require new skills and capabilities, and we may not be successful in reskilling current employees.
Previous wording
Our general compensation program includes restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance-based equity, which are important tools in attracting and retaining employees in our industry. If our stock price stagnates or declines, our ability to retain or attract employees may be harmed. We continually evaluate our compensation practices and consider changes from time to time, which may have an impact on our ability to retain employees and the amount of stock-based compensation expense that we record. Any changes in our compensation practices or those of our competitors could affect our ability to retain and motivate existing personnel and recruit new personnel.
Current wording
Our general compensation program includes restricted stock units (RSUs), stock options and performance-based equity, which are important tools in attracting and retaining employees in our industry. Our stock price has been volatile in recent periods, and if it were to stagnate or further decline, our ability to retain or attract employees may be harmed. We continually evaluate our compensation practices and consider changes from time to time, which may have an impact on our ability to retain employees and the amount of stock-based compensation expense that we record. Any changes in our compensation practices or those of our competitors could affect our ability to retain and motivate existing personnel and recruit new personnel.
Previous wording
There are risks associated with our cloud and license and hardware indirect sales channels which could affect our future operating results. Our cloud and license and hardware indirect channel networks consist primarily of resellers, system integrators/implementers, consultants, education providers, internet service providers, network integrators and ISVs. Our relationships with these channel participants are important elements of our cloud, software and hardware marketing and sales efforts. Our financial results could be adversely affected if:
Current wording
There are risks associated with our cloud and software and hardware indirect sales channels which could affect our future operating results. Our cloud and software and hardware indirect channel networks consist primarily of resellers, system integrators/implementers, consultants, education providers, internet service providers, network integrators and ISVs. Our relationships with these channel participants are important elements of our cloud, software and hardware marketing and sales efforts. Our financial results could be adversely affected if:
Previous wording
Acquisitions present many risks and we may not achieve the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of a transaction. We regularly review and consider strategic acquisitions of companies, products, services and technologies as a part of our corporate strategy, and we expect to continue making acquisitions in the future. However, our strategic acquisition program carries several risks, including but not limited to:
Current wording
Acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances present many risks and we may not achieve the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of a transaction. We regularly review and consider strategic acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances. These transactions present material risks and challenges, including but not limited to:
Previous wording
acquisitions that do not meet strategic expectations, including due to difficulties integrating acquired companies, negative impacts from imposed business practices or different go-to-market strategies, and the risk of overpaying or failing to realize expected returns on our investments, each or all of which could adversely affect our business or operating results and potentially cause impairment to assets that we recorded as a part of an acquisition, including intangible assets and goodwill;
Current wording
transactions that do not meet strategic expectations, including due to difficulties integrating acquired companies, negative impacts from imposed business practices or different go-to-market strategies, and the risk of overpaying or failing to realize expected returns on our investments, each or all of which could adversely affect our business or operating results and potentially cause impairment to assets that we recorded as a part of an acquisition, including intangible assets and goodwill;
Previous wording
failure to realize expected revenue growth from an acquisition for a number of reasons, including (1) more customers than expected declining to renew or terminating their contracts; (2) difficulty selling acquired products or service offerings to our customer base; (3) acquired customers declining to purchase our technologies due to differing business practices; or (4) contract models utilized by an acquired company conflicting with our revenue recognition methods;
Current wording
failure to realize expected revenue growth from a strategic transaction for a number of reasons, including (1) more customers than expected declining to renew or terminating their contracts; (2) difficulty selling acquired products or service offerings to our customer base; (3) acquired customers declining to purchase our technologies due to differing business practices; or (4) contract models utilized by an acquired company conflicting with our revenue recognition methods;
Previous wording
We are subject to risks with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. We are subject to evolving, and sometimes conflicting, laws, regulations, policies and stakeholder expectations relating to matters beyond our core products and services, including ESG matters, such as environmental sustainability, climate change, human capital and workforce matters. The Nomination and Governance Committee of our Board oversees and periodically reviews our ESG programs and our management evaluates if climate or environmental risks could significantly impact our core or strategic business functions, including service delivery and support, product development and deployment, supply chain management, facility operations, employee recruitment and retention or brand reputation. Any failure to identify and address these risks could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial performance and growth.
Current wording
We are subject to risks with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. We are subject to evolving, and sometimes conflicting, laws, executive orders, regulations, policies and stakeholder expectations relating to matters beyond our core products and services, including ESG matters, such as environmental sustainability, climate change, human capital and workforce matters. The Nomination and Governance Committee of our Board oversees and periodically reviews our ESG programs and our management evaluates if climate or environmental risks could significantly impact our core or strategic business functions, including service delivery and support, product development and deployment, supply chain management, facility operations, employee recruitment and retention or brand reputation. Any failure to identify and address these risks could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial performance and growth.
Previous wording
If our security measures for our products and services are compromised and as a result, our data, our customers’ data or our IT systems are accessed improperly, made unavailable, or improperly modified, our products and services may be perceived as vulnerable, our brand and reputation could be damaged, the IT services we provide to our customers could be disrupted, and customers may stop using our products and services, any of which could reduce our revenue and earnings, increase our expenses and expose us to legal claims and regulatory actions. Our products and services, including Oracle Cloud Services, store, retrieve, process and manage third-party data, such as our customers’ data, as well as our own data. We believe that Oracle has been and is a target for computer hackers, cyberattacks and other perpetrators or threat actors because Oracle stores and processes large amounts of data, including sensitive data such as health sciences (including patient health information), financial services, retail, hospitality, telecommunications and government data. We and our third-party vendors are regularly subject to attempts by third parties (which may include individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, such as state-sponsored organizations, nation-states and individuals sponsored by them) to identify and exploit product and service vulnerabilities, penetrate or bypass our security measures, and gain unauthorized access to our or our customers’, partners’ and suppliers’ software, hardware and cloud offerings, networks and systems. Such malicious attacks can lead, and have led, to the compromise of personal information or the confidential information or data of Oracle or our customers. Attempts of this nature typically involve IT-related viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs that attack networks, systems, products and services, exploit potential security vulnerabilities of networks, systems, products and services, create system disruptions and cause shutdowns or denials of service. Third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce customers, partners, employees or suppliers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other credentials to gain access to our data, our customers’, suppliers’ or partners’ data or the IT systems of Oracle, our customers, suppliers or partners. Our products and services, including our Oracle Cloud Services, may also be accessed or modified improperly as a result of customer, partner, employee, contractor or supplier error or malfeasance.
Current wording
We are subject to business, financial and reputational risks related to cybersecurity incidents and data breaches. Our products and services, including Oracle Cloud, store, retrieve, process and manage third-party data, such as our customers’ data, as well as our own data. We believe that Oracle has been and is a target for computer hackers, cyberattacks and other perpetrators or threat actors because Oracle stores and processes large amounts of data, including sensitive data such as health sciences (including patient health information), financial services, retail, hospitality, telecommunications and government data. We and our third-party vendors are regularly subject to attacks by third parties (which may include individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, such as state-sponsored organizations, nation-states and individuals sponsored by them) designed to identify and exploit product and service vulnerabilities, penetrate or bypass our security measures, and gain unauthorized access to our or our customers’, partners’ and suppliers’ software, hardware and cloud offerings, networks and systems. Such malicious attacks can lead, and have led, to the compromise of personal information or the confidential information or data of Oracle or our customers. Attacks of this nature typically involve IT-related viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs that attack networks, systems, products and services, exploit potential security vulnerabilities of networks, systems, products and services, create system disruptions and cause shutdowns or denials of service. Third parties seek to attempt to fraudulently induce customers, partners, employees or suppliers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other credentials to gain access to our data, our customers’, suppliers’ or partners’ data or the IT systems of Oracle, our customers, suppliers or partners. They also seek to access or modify improperly our products and services, including our Oracle Cloud; these actions can occur in a variety of ways, including as a result of customer, partner, employee, contractor or supplier error or malfeasance.
Previous wording
When a cyberattack or other security event or incident results in unauthorized access to, or modification or exfiltration of, our customers’ or suppliers’ data, other external data, our own data or our IT systems, or if the services we provide to our customers are disrupted, or if our products or services are reported to have (or are perceived as having) security vulnerabilities, we have incurred and could incur significant expenses and could suffer substantial damage to our brand and reputation. If our customers lose confidence in the security and reliability of our products and services, including our cloud offerings, they may reduce or terminate their spending with us. In addition, cyberattacks and other security events or incidents have resulted and could result in: significant investigation and remediation costs; loss or destruction of data; operational disruptions; inappropriate use of proprietary and sensitive data; lawsuits; indemnity obligations; regulatory investigations and financial penalties; and increased legal liability, including in some cases contractual costs for customer notification and fraud monitoring. Our remediation efforts may not be successful.
Current wording
When a cyberattack or other security event or incident results in unauthorized access to, or modification, loss, destruction or exfiltration of, our customers’ or suppliers’ data, other external data, our own data or our IT systems, or if the services we provide to our customers are disrupted, or if our products or services are reported to have (or are perceived as having) security vulnerabilities, we have incurred and may continue to incur significant expenses and may suffer substantial damage to our brand and reputation. If our customers lose confidence in the security and reliability of our products and services, including our cloud offerings, they may reduce or terminate their spending with us. In addition, cyberattacks and other security events or incidents have resulted and could result in: significant investigation and remediation costs; loss or destruction of data; operational disruptions; inappropriate use of proprietary and sensitive data; lawsuits; indemnity obligations; regulatory investigations and financial penalties; and increased legal liability, including in some cases contractual costs for customer notification and fraud monitoring.
Previous wording
Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to, or sabotage IT systems, constantly evolve, grow more complex over time, and often are not detected until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate or implement adequate measures to prevent such techniques. Our internal IT systems continue to evolve and we are often early adopters of new technologies. However, our business policies and internal security controls may not keep pace with emerging threats. We may not detect or confirm any security breach and loss of information for a significant period of time after the security breach.
Current wording
Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to, or sabotage IT systems, constantly evolve, grow more complex over time, and often are not detected until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate or implement adequate measures to prevent such techniques. The increasing use of AI technologies may also introduce or accelerate existing cybersecurity and operational risks. AI systems may be susceptible to the introduction of malicious code, manipulation, or other misuse, and may be used by third parties to develop or deploy more sophisticated attacks. In addition, the rapid pace at which AI-related risks can emerge and evolve may challenge our ability to timely identify, assess and mitigate such risks. If we are unable to adapt our processes, controls and technologies effectively, our systems, data and operations could be adversely affected. Our internal IT systems continue to evolve and we are often early adopters of new technologies. However, our business policies and internal security controls may not keep pace with emerging threats. We may not detect or confirm any security breach and loss of information or fully remediate the impact for a significant period of time after the security breach. Our remediation efforts may not be successful.
Previous wording
Our products operate in conjunction with and are dependent on a wide variety of third-party products, components and services. If a security vulnerability exists in one of these components, a targeted exploit could lead to increased costs, liability claims, customer dissatisfaction, reduced revenue, or harm to our reputation or competitive position. We also have an active acquisition program and have acquired a number of companies, products, services and technologies over the years. While we make significant efforts to address any IT security issues with respect to our acquired companies, we may still inherit such risks when we integrate these companies within Oracle.
Current wording
Our products operate in conjunction with and are dependent on a wide variety of third-party products, components and services. If a security vulnerability exists in one of these components, a targeted exploit could lead to increased costs, liability claims, customer dissatisfaction, reduced revenues, or harm to our reputation or competitive position, including as a result of business interruption, data loss or unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, data. We also have an active acquisition, joint venture and strategic alliance program and have entered into a number of strategic transactions with respect to companies, products, services and technologies over the years. While we make significant efforts to address any IT security issues with respect to such companies, products, services and technologies, we may still face such risks and additional or unidentified vulnerabilities when we integrate such companies or partner with such third parties.
Previous wording
Following the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the rate of global consideration and adoption of privacy laws has increased, giving rise to more global jurisdictions in which regulatory inquiries and audits may be requested of Oracle, and if we are not deemed to be in compliance, could result in enforcement actions and/or fines. This is true in the U.S. where, for example, a number of states have enacted privacy laws, the U.S. Congress has been considering several privacy and security-related bills at the federal level, the federal government is pursuing a range of cybersecurity initiatives pertaining to critical infrastructure companies and government contractors, and a number of other state legislatures have passed or are considering privacy laws. Regulators globally are also imposing greater monetary fines for privacy violations. The GDPR provides for monetary penalties of up to €20 million, or up to 4% of an organization’s worldwide revenue of the preceding financial year, whichever is greater. These penalties can be significant. For example, a U.S.-based technology company was fined €1.2 billion for alleged GDPR violations in 2023. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to fine companies for unfair and deceptive data protection practices, and these fines may increase in size. Taken together, the laws or regulations associated with the enhanced protection of personal and other types of data could greatly increase the size of potential fines related to data protection, and our cost of providing our products and services could result in changes to our business practices or even prevent us from offering certain services in jurisdictions in which we operate. Although we have implemented contracts, diligence programs, policies and procedures designed to address compliance with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, partners, suppliers, data providers or agents will not violate such laws and regulations or our contracts, policies and procedures. Additionally, public perception and standards related to the privacy of personal information can shift rapidly, in ways that may affect our reputation or influence regulators to enact regulations and laws that may limit our ability to provide certain products and services. For example, numerous jurisdictions, including the EU, have passed or are considering laws and regulations that would impose additional data privacy and other compliance requirements on the use of AI and could require us to adjust or limit our product offerings in such jurisdictions.
Current wording
Following the European Union (EU)’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the rate of global consideration and adoption of privacy laws has increased, giving rise to more global jurisdictions in which regulatory inquiries and audits may be requested of Oracle, and if we are not deemed to be in compliance, could result in enforcement actions and/or fines. This is true in the U.S. where, for example, a number of states have enacted privacy laws, the U.S. Congress has been considering several privacy and security-related bills at the federal level, the federal government is pursuing a range of cybersecurity initiatives pertaining to critical infrastructure companies and government contractors, and a number of other state legislatures have passed or are considering privacy laws. Regulators globally are also imposing greater monetary fines for privacy violations. The GDPR provides for monetary penalties of up to €20 million, or up to 4% of an organization’s worldwide revenue of the preceding financial year, whichever is greater. These penalties can be significant. For example, a U.S.-based technology company was fined €1.2 billion for alleged GDPR violations in 2023. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to fine companies for unfair and deceptive data protection practices, and these fines may increase in size. Taken together, the laws or regulations associated with the enhanced protection of personal and other types of data could greatly increase the size of potential fines related to data protection, and our cost of providing our products and services could result in changes to our business practices or even prevent us from offering certain services in jurisdictions in which we operate. Although we have implemented contracts, diligence programs, policies and procedures designed to address compliance with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, partners, suppliers, data providers or agents will not violate such laws and regulations or our contracts, policies and procedures. Additionally, public perception and standards related to the privacy of personal information can shift rapidly, in ways that may affect our reputation or influence regulators to enact regulations and laws that may limit our ability to provide certain products and services. For example, numerous jurisdictions, including the EU, have passed or are considering laws and regulations that would impose additional data privacy and other compliance requirements on the use of AI and could require us to adjust or limit our product offerings in such jurisdictions.
Previous wording
We may be subjected to increased taxes due to changes in U.S. or international tax laws or from adverse resolutions of tax audits and controversies. As a multinational corporation, we incur income taxes as well as non-income-based taxes (such as payroll, sales, use, property and value-added taxes) in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant uncertainties exist with respect to the application of the various taxes to the businesses in which we engage, often requiring that we make judgments in determining our tax liabilities and worldwide provision for income taxes. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities in the U.S. and internationally, which has led to disagreements regarding our treatment of various items, including our intercompany transfer prices and calculations and the applicability of withholding taxes to our cross-border transactions. Any unfavorable resolution of these tax audits and controversies could cause our tax liabilities to increase and may have a material and adverse impact on our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate. Although we believe that our income and non-income-based tax estimates are reasonable, there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and tax accruals.
Current wording
We may be subjected to increased taxes due to changes in U.S. or international tax laws, the inability to obtain or retain tax incentives, or from adverse resolutions of tax audits and controversies. As a multinational corporation, we incur income taxes as well as non-income-based taxes (such as payroll, sales, use, property and value-added taxes) in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. We also apply for and may obtain various U.S. state and local and foreign country income, property, sales and other tax incentives for infrastructure or other investments and business activities. Significant uncertainties exist with respect to the application of the various taxes to the businesses in which we engage and our intercompany transactions and arrangements, often requiring that we make judgments in determining our tax liabilities and worldwide provision for income taxes. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities in the U.S. and internationally, which has led to disagreements regarding our treatment of, or positions taken with respect to, various items, including foreign tax credits, foreign-earned profits, intercompany transfer prices and transactions, and the applicability of sales or use taxes or withholding taxes to our operations and intercompany transactions. Any unfavorable resolution of these tax audits and controversies, or the loss of any tax incentives obtained or anticipated, could cause our tax liabilities to increase and may have a material, adverse impact on our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate and on our business. Although we believe that our income and non-income-based tax estimates are reasonable, there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and tax accruals.
Previous wording
Our future income tax provisions and effective tax rate could materially increase under the tax changes discussed above or if other changes are made to applicable tax laws and rules in the U.S. or in other countries in which we do business. Our provision for income taxes also could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of income earned or losses incurred in jurisdictions with differing statutory tax rates, fluctuations in our stock price and level of stock-based compensation expense, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities and by other factors.
Current wording
Our future income tax provisions and effective tax rate could materially increase as a result of tax changes such as those discussed above or if any other changes are made to applicable tax laws and rules in the U.S. or in other countries in which we do business. Our provision for income taxes also could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of income earned or losses incurred in jurisdictions with differing statutory tax rates, fluctuations in our stock price and level of stock-based compensation expense, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities and by other factors.
Previous wording
Our international sales and operations and global customer base subject us to additional risks that can adversely affect our operating results. We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from, and have significant operations, outside of the U.S., and in both our U.S. and non-U.S. operations we serve customers based in or with ties to numerous jurisdictions around the world. Compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. These laws and regulations include data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, foreign currency-related regulations, competition/antitrust regulations, anti-bribery laws and other laws prohibiting payments to governmental officials such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), market access regulations, tariffs, and import, export and general trade regulations, including but not limited to sanctions and embargos. Violations of these laws and regulations can result in monetary fines, civil and/or criminal penalties, enforcement actions against us, our officers or our employees, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business, including disgorgement, the loss of trade privileges, and other remedial measures. Any such violations could result in prohibitions on our ability to offer our products and services in one or more countries or territories or to certain entities, could delay or prevent potential acquisitions and could also materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business and our operating results.
Current wording
Our international sales and operations and global customer base subject us to additional risks, including trade restrictions, export controls and sanctions, that can adversely affect our operating results. We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from, and have significant operations, outside of the U.S., and in both our U.S. and non-U.S. operations we serve customers based in or with ties to numerous jurisdictions around the world. Compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. These laws and regulations include data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, foreign currency-related regulations, competition/antitrust regulations, anti-bribery laws and other laws prohibiting payments to governmental officials such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), market access regulations, tariffs, and import, export and general trade regulations, including but not limited to sanctions and embargos. Violations of these laws and regulations can result in monetary fines, civil and/or criminal penalties, enforcement actions against us, our officers or our employees, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business, including disgorgement, the loss of trade privileges, and other remedial measures. Any such violations could result in prohibitions on our ability to offer our products and services in one or more countries or territories or to certain entities, and any such violations (or even an allegation of violations) could result in us exiting a market or segment, could delay or prevent potential acquisitions and could also materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business and our operating results.
Previous wording
Changes to sanctions or export control regulations in the U.S. and the other jurisdictions where we currently operate or have dealings, or in the future may operate or have dealings, can require suspension or termination of business (including financial transactions) in or with certain countries and territories or with certain customers. In addition, we continue to closely monitor international relations and it is difficult to anticipate the effect geopolitical developments may have on us. Compliance with any further sanctions, export controls or other regulatory restrictions (and any countermeasures thereto) taken by the U.S. or other countries could prevent us from serving certain customers or restrict us or our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions, which could have an adverse effect on our operations and results of operations. For example, the U.S. enacted a law making it unlawful, beginning in January 2025, to provide internet hosting services to TikTok that are used to enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of TikTok for users within the U.S. The President issued executive orders that prohibit enforcement until a future date, and also prohibit the imposition of penalties at any time for providing services during the time period covered by the prohibition of enforcement, and ordered the Attorney General to notify relevant service providers that continuing to provide services during the prohibition of enforcement does not violate the statute. If the prohibition is lifted or expires without a resolution that satisfies relevant legal requirements, we may no longer be able to provide those services to TikTok, and if we cannot redeploy that capacity in a timely manner, our revenues and profits would be adversely impacted.
Current wording
Changes to sanctions or export control regulations or their enforcement in the U.S. and the other jurisdictions where we currently operate or have dealings, or in the future may operate or have dealings, can require suspension or termination of business (including financial transactions) in or with certain countries and territories or with certain customers. In addition, we continue to closely monitor international relations and it is difficult to anticipate the effect geopolitical developments may have on us. Evolving restrictions and rules governing access to cloud-based infrastructure or GPU-enabled services by customers in certain jurisdictions, could require additional compliance controls or limit our ability to provide, lease, host or otherwise make available such resources to affected customers. Compliance with any further sanctions, export controls or other regulatory restrictions (and any countermeasures thereto) taken by the U.S. or other countries could prevent us from serving certain customers or restrict us or our customers from operating in specific jurisdictions, which could have an adverse effect on our operations and results of operations.
Previous wording
political unrest, terrorism and war, including but not limited to the current Russia-Ukraine war and its potential economic and geopolitical impacts on Europe, where a material portion of our business is carried out;
Current wording
political unrest, terrorism and war, including but not limited to the current Middle East conflicts and the Russia-Ukraine war and its potential economic and geopolitical impacts on Europe, where a material portion of our business is carried out;
Showing the first 40 of 60 pairs. Open the source sections for the rest.
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Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We may be unsuccessful in developing and selling new products and services, integrating acquired products and services and enhancing our existing products and services.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our AI products may not operate as anticipated, which could adversely affect our reputation, revenues and profitability.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
If we do not successfully execute our Oracle Cloud strategy, including our offerings of Oracle Cloud, our revenues and profitability may decline.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our cloud offerings and hardware offerings are complex, and if we cannot successfully manage this complexity, including the sourcing of technologies and components, the results of these businesses will suffer.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We may not receive significant revenues from our current research and development efforts for several years, if at all.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our products and services may not function properly if we experience significant coding, manufacturing or configuration errors in our cloud, software and hardware offerings.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
If we are unable to compete effectively, the results of operations and prospects for our business could be harmed.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Any failure to offer high-quality technical support services may adversely affect our relationships with our customers and our financial results.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our periodic workforce restructurings and reorganizations can be disruptive.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We may lose key employees or may be unable to hire enough qualified employees.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
There are risks associated with our cloud and software and hardware indirect sales channels which could affect our future operating results.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances present many risks and we may not achieve the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of a transaction.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We are subject to risks with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our business practices with respect to data could give rise to operational interruption, liabilities or reputational harm as a result of governmental regulation, legal requirements or industry standards relating to privacy and data protection.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Third parties have claimed, and in the future may claim, infringement or misuse of intellectual property rights and/or breach of license agreement provisions.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Adverse litigation results could affect our business.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We may be subjected to increased taxes due to changes in U.S. or international tax laws, the inability to obtain or retain tax incentives, or from adverse resolutions of tax audits and controversies.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our international sales and operations and global customer base subject us to additional risks, including trade restrictions, export controls and sanctions, that can adversely affect our operating results.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
The healthcare industry is highly regulated, and thus, we are subject to several laws, regulations and industry initiatives, non-compliance with certain of which could adversely affect our healthcare business.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our sales to local, state, federal and foreign government customers expose us to business volatility and risks, including government budgeting cycles and appropriations, government shutdowns, procurement regulations, governmental policy shifts, early termination of contracts, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Environmental and other related laws and regulations subject us to a number of risks and could result in significant liabilities and costs.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our operations can be difficult for us to predict because our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate significantly based on a number of factors.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Changes in currency exchange rates can adversely affect customer demand and our revenues and profitability.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our stock price could become more volatile and your investment could lose value.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We cannot guarantee that our stock repurchase program will be fully implemented or that it will enhance long-term stockholder value.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Jurisdictions around the world are developing and passing new regulations that apply specifically to the use of AI. For example, the U.S. AI regulatory framework remains in development and has been introduced at the federal level through executive orders and legislation has been introduced and enacted at the state level. Additionally, obligations under the EU AI Act have gone into effect and will continue to be implemented in phases through 2030, and other jurisdictions have passed or are considering similarly focused legislation. Regulatory uncertainty, including the lack of comprehensive federal legislation and a patchwork of existing and proposed frameworks and regulatory initiatives in numerous jurisdictions, may expose us to compliance challenges, costs and uncertainties requiring us to manage varying and sometimes conflicting expectations in the U.S. and globally, including potential government restrictions on AI infrastructure, compute resources, model weights, cross-border AI services, customer access and localization or nationalization initiatives. Our failure to adapt to these changes, or any failure by our employees, contractors, partners, suppliers, customers or agents to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our AI products or our related policies and procedures, could result in legal, financial and reputational consequences including, but not limited to, being required to adjust or limit our product offerings or our use of AI in certain jurisdictions to comply with new and evolving AI laws and regulations.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
We also rely on third-party suppliers to provide equipment and components required to outfit these data centers on a timely basis. We do not control the operation of these third-party data centers, and they may suffer interruptions in service from events beyond our control, including from acts of government, natural events, power loss, break-ins or misconduct by those third parties. Ongoing or future delays or the inability to meet customer demand could cause the loss of additional sales, delay our revenue recognition or increase our costs, all of which could adversely affect the margins of our business. We typically depreciate these assets over their estimated useful lives, which could be shortened should our cloud strategies change, which could adversely affect our profitability. Further, evolving customer requirements and technological changes in data center design and equipment may require retrofits or other incremental capital expenditures, and physical damage to data centers or key energy infrastructure from natural disasters, geopolitical events, terrorist events or other catastrophic events could adversely affect our profitability.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Data Privacy, Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property Risks
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All of these factors can from time to time materially impact our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.
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Economic, political and market conditions can adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability, which in turn could adversely affect our stock price.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Our business is influenced by a range of factors that are beyond our control and that we have no comparative advantage in forecasting. These include: