Oracle can’t stop explaining ‘all is well’ after $300 billion ‘OpenAI Shock’

Oracle is actively promoting its AI data center progress and job creation efforts amidst significant investor concerns. The company’s massive $300 billion OpenAI cloud contract, signed in September 2025, has led to a substantial stock decline and ballooning debt. Despite upbeat updates, market jitters persist over the startup’s financial stability and Oracle’s deep entanglement.

Oracle is back on social media doing damage control—again. This time, it’s posting about construction progress at its AI data centres, insisting everything is “on schedule and on plan.” The company also said it’s rolling out workforce training programmes and subcontractor engagement efforts to fill “thousands of good-paying jobs” with local workers. It’s the kind of upbeat corporate update that wouldn’t raise eyebrows in normal times. But these are not normal times for Oracle.The post comes amid a brutal stock slide that has wiped out over $400 billion in market value since October. Shares have nearly halved from their September peak of $345, dragged down by mounting investor anxiety over Oracle’s massive—and massively risky—bet on OpenAI.

Oracle’s $300 billion OpenAI gamble keeps spooking investors

At the heart of the sell-off is a single deal: a $300 billion, five-year cloud computing contract with OpenAI, signed in September 2025. The agreement made Oracle the backbone of OpenAI’s Stargate data centre initiative, but it also tied the company’s future to a startup that’s still burning billions and isn’t expected to turn a profit until at least 2029.Oracle’s debt has ballooned past $100 billion. S&P Global has flagged a possible credit downgrade. Credit default swaps—essentially insurance against Oracle defaulting—spiked in November and haven’t come back down. Investor Michael Burry has publicly revealed an options bet against the stock.And the deal’s biggest backer isn’t exactly reassuring markets either. Nvidia recently walked back what was described as a $100 billion investment commitment in OpenAI, with CEO Jensen Huang clarifying the funding was “never a commitment.”

Why Oracle keeps talking—and why Wall Street keeps flinching

Oracle’s recent communications have backfired more than once. In early February, the company posted on X that it remained “highly confident in OpenAI’s ability to raise funds and meet its commitments.” The stock promptly fell nearly 3%. One venture capitalist called it “literally bank-run language.”The company has also announced plans to raise $50 billion in debt and equity this year. While that initially boosted shares, the rally fizzled within hours.Now, with the latest construction update, Oracle is clearly trying to shift the conversation toward execution and job creation. But every time it speaks, it reminds investors of the one thing they can’t stop worrying about—just how deep it’s in on OpenAI.