On this edition of Stock Movers:
- Oracle (ORCL) shares are up after the company projected cloud infrastructure sales will jump more than 70% in the fiscal year that began this month, boosting investor enthusiasm for the closely watched business. Oracle, long known for its database software, has been gaining in its effort to become a major player in the business of renting out computing power and storage by targeting clients focused on artificial intelligence work. Earlier this year, it announced a joint venture — dubbed Stargate — to provide OpenAI with massive sums of computing power. It has also inked customers for the cloud business, including Elon Musk’s xAI and Meta Platforms Inc. Fiscal fourth-quarter total cloud sales increased 27% to $6.7 billion, in line with estimates. Cloud infrastructure revenue increased 52% to $3 billion, the company said Wednesday in a statement.
- Lockheed Martin (LMT) shares are down after the Air Force has cut in half its request to Congress for its signature F-35s, dealing a blow to Lockheed Martin Corp., the top US defense contractor. A Defense Department procurement request document sent to Capitol Hill this week asked for 24 of the planes, down from 48 that was forecast last year. The proposed cut is significant because the Air Force is the largest customer for the world’s biggest weapons program. The scaling back of the F-35 request may reflect one way the service is revising its funding for fiscal 2026 to comply with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to shift projected US military spending by 8% over the next five years.
- Starbucks (SBUX) shares are up after CEO Brian Niccol told the Financial Times earlier about the coffee chain's possible sale of a stake in its China business has drawn “a lot of interest,” The company is searching for a partner interested in expanding the chain from around 8,000 to 20,000 stores in China. Starbucks in no rush to close a deal and aims to have a “meaningful stake” in the operation
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