Oracle Corp.'s (NYSE:ORCL) stock slid over 8% in premarket trading Thursday as investors panicked over a plan to raise $40 billion to fund AI infrastructure, but CNBC’s Jim Cramer is defending the software giant, arguing the financing isn’t "outrageous" given the company’s $638 billion backlog.
Backlog Vs. Funding Fears
The sharp selloff—following a 10% tumble in after-hours trading—highlights a growing rift on Wall Street regarding the massive cash burn required to scale artificial intelligence clusters.
While the tech giant reported a blockbuster remaining performance obligation (RPO) of $638 billion, a figure highlighted by Futurum Equities’ Shay Boloor as “absolutely wild,” the simultaneous $40 billion debt and equity financing announcement spooked the market.
Cramer pushed back against the bearish sentiment on social media, emphasizing that high-performance AI data centers are incredibly capital-intensive by nature.
Watch Oracle. It was a gigantic number when it came to backlog. Huge. So spending has to go up. (not a traditional levered-so-backlog spend as these are so hard to build.) BUT they can lay off what they need to lay off and the funding needs aren't outrageous. It doesn't have to…
— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) June 11, 2026
Read Also: Jensen Huang's 'Saaspocalypse' Prediction Coming True? Oracle Says Customers Have 'Quickly Moved On' From SaaS Apocalypse Narrative
The ‘Polarizing Name’ In AI Tech
Boloor noted that Oracle has quickly transitioned into a “polarizing name” because the debate has shifted from the size of its backlog to how much capital it must spend, how much equity it needs to issue, and whether the revenue carries strong enough margins to justify the buildouts.
However, he noted that bears are overlooking a crucial hidden detail. Customers are already prepaying or funding roughly $75 billion of the buildout through prepaid contracts or customer-supplied GPUs.
This “underappreciated offset” means Oracle is not carrying the massive financial burden entirely on its own balance sheet.
New CFO Hilary Maxson confirmed that these unique structures provide a lower cash CapEx requirement up front, paving the way for a highly profitable steady-state return on invested capital in the high 20s.
$ORCL is early to one of the largest AI infrastructure buildouts in the world.If OCI keeps growing near these rates, cloud growth accelerates above 50% and customer prepayments reduce the funding burden then this selloff may eventually look like the painful funding phase before… pic.twitter.com/rTY2u6OqvH
— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) June 11, 2026
How Has ORCL Performed In 2026?
Shares of ORCL have risen by just 3.26% year-to-date. It closed 2.21% lower at $201.26 apiece on Wednesday, and it was 8.12% lower in premarket on Thursday.
Over the last month, ORCL stock was up 2.17%, and it fell 9.75% over the last six months; the stock 13.40% higher over the year. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ORCL maintains a strong price trend in the medium and short terms but a weak trend in the long term, with a poor value score.
Read Also: Oracle Q4 Preview: Stock Up 50% Since April Lows, Market Expert Sees All-Time Highs Ahead
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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