AI Concerns Deepen as Oracle Datacenters Reported to Delay Completion Date t...

The artificial intelligence (AI) sector faced fresh turmoil on Friday as new setbacks compounded mounting investor anxiety. Oracle Corp.'s stock extended losses after Bloomberg reported that the company has pushed back completion dates for some datacenters under development for OpenAI to 2028 from 2027, with shares falling more than 6% intraday. The news deepened a selloff already underway following disappointing earnings from Broadcom Inc., which plunged more than 12% despite posting record quarterly revenue.

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Oracle's delays stem largely from labor and material shortages, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter. The setbacks affect portions of a $300 billion contract Oracle signed with OpenAI this summer to supply computing power necessary to train and run the AI startup's models. Despite the delays, Oracle said its first data center for OpenAI in Abilene, Texas, remains on track with more than 96,000 Nvidia Corp. chips delivered.

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index fell 5.1% as of close, putting the benchmark on track for its worst decline in about two months. Beyond Broadcom and Oracle, AI-exposed stocks including Astera Labs and Coherent Corp. dropped more than 10%. The selloff extended beyond technology, with power-related stocks including Constellation Energy Corp., Vistra Corp., GE Vernova Inc. and Cummins Inc. also declining.

Oracle later Friday denied the report. A spokesperson in a statement said the company still felt confident in meeting obligations and future expansion plans. “There have been no delays to any sites required to meet our contractual commitments, and all milestones remain on track,” the spokesperson said, adding that “site selection and delivery timelines were established in close coordination with OpenAI”.

Oracle stock stettled around 4.5% lower, erasing all gains since June 11.

The developments added to mounting concerns about the sustainability of spending on infrastructure to support AI computing that has driven related companies' shares higher for most of the year. The semiconductor index remains a gain of more than 40% this year, outpacing the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500, with gains of 20% and 16%, respectively.

Oracle's Spending Spree Triggers Investor Alarm

Oracle had already suffered its worst single-day decline in almost 11 months on Thursday, plunging 11% after escalating spending on AI datacenters. Capital expenditures (Capex) reached about $12 billion in the quarter, up from $8.5 billion in preceding period, surpassing the $8.25 billion analysts had anticipated. Executives said the company now expects Capex will reach about $50 billion in the fiscal year ended May 2026, a $15 billion, or 41%, increase from its September forecast.

The results marked a reversal of fortunes for a company that just months ago was enjoying a blistering rally and clinching multi-billion-dollar data center deals with OpenAI. Oracle's fiscal second-quarter cloud sales increased 34% to $7.98 billion, with infrastructure business revenue gaining 68% to $4.08 billion. Both numbers fell just short of analysts’ estimates.

"Oracle faces its own mounting scrutiny over a debt-fueled datacenter build-out and concentration risk amid questions over the outcome of AI spending uncertainty," said Jacob Bourne, an analyst at Emarketer. Oracle's cash burn increased in the quarter and its free cash flow reached negative $10 billion. Overall, the company has about $106 billion in debt.

Broadcom's Strong Results Fail to Satisfy Investors

Broadcom's troubles emerged despite posting fourth-quarter sales of $18 billion and earnings of $1.95 per share, excluding some items, both beating analysts’ estimates. The company forecast first-quarter revenue of about $19.1 billion, above the $18.5 billion analysts expected, and said AI semiconductor revenue would double to $8.2 billion.

Yet shares tumbled as much as 12.6% on Friday, their biggest intraday drop in 10 months, following unsettling commentary from CEO Hock Tan during Thursday's conference call. Tan said the company has a backlog of $73 billion in AI product orders that will ship over the next six quarters, a figure that disappointed some investors. He also warned that total margins were narrowing because of AI product sales and held off on giving an annual AI revenue forecast.

"It was surprising to see a call that started with such good numbers and such a great story end with frustration," wrote Josh Meyers, an executive director at JPMorgan. Meyers noted investors seemed "underwhelmed" by the backlog figure and disappointed that Broadcom didn't issue full AI revenue guidance for the coming year.

Concerns intensified when Tan addressed the company's October deal with OpenAI, saying he does not expect the contract to begin yielding returns in 2026. "We do not expect much in 2026," Tan said, noting the deal will provide a bulk of its returns in 2027, 2028 and 2029. The protracted view on OpenAI revenue sparked additional concerns about whether the startup will meet its commitments, particularly after Oracle disclosed that a bulk of its future revenue commitments came from the same company.