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December 9, 1997

Oracle's stock plummets after disappointing earnings report

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oracle Corp. stock lost nearly a third of its value today in frenetic trading as investors reacted to a disappointing earnings report from the database software maker.

Oracle shares plunged $9.25, or 29 percent, to $23.12 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The selloff chopped about $9 billion off the company's total market value, and pulled other technology shares lower with it.

More than 77 million Oracle shares had traded hands by late morning, more than 10 times the volume of any other stock.

Oracle said after financial markets closed Monday that its second-quarter earnings rose just 4 percent because of economic turmoil in Asia and the strength of the U.S. dollar. Several investment firms this morning downgraded their opinions of Oracle.

Oracle earned $187 million, or 19 cents a share, for the three months ended Nov. 30, compared with net income of $179 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose 23 percent to $1.6 billion from $1.3 billion.

The results failed to meet analysts' expectations. Those surveyed by First Call on average predicted profits of 23 cents a share.

Oracle, based in Redwood City, Calif., is the second-largest independent software company behind Microsoft Corp.




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